MEN'S BASKETBALL

GREAT WESTERN SHOOTOUT - Game 4

Western Washington 82, Fort Lewis 61

No.17 Vikings hot early en route to 10th straight win and tourney title

LAS VEGAS, Nevada --- Forced to start a small lineup because of injuries, Western Washington University still was able to use a red-hot start to gain control as the nationally ranked Vikings defeated Fort Lewis College, 82-61, in final-day men's basketball action Friday at the third annual Great Western Shootout being held at the Doolittle Community Center.

Tourney host Western, ranked No.17 in the latest National Basketball Coaches Association/NCAA Division II Poll, improved to 11-1 overall with its 10th consecutive triumph.  The Vikings defeated Washburn, 71-56, in first-day action Thursday.  Forward Derrick Webb (Sr., Port Orchard/South Kitsap) led five Western players in double figures with 22 points and also had eight rebounds.

Guard DeAndre Lansdowne had a game-high 23 points for Fort Lewis, which slipped to 8-3 with its second straight loss. The Skyhawks fell to Central Washington, 91-82, on Thursday.

Western, which was already without forward Michael Duty because of a long-term finger injury, also played without forward Zach Bruce (Sr., Oceanside, CA) because of an ankle injury suffered in the victory over Washburn.

Because of the injuries, Western started center Dave Vanderjagt (Sr., Townsville, Australia) with four players 6-foot-3 or under, and it worked brilliantly, as the Vikings jumped to a 24-4 lead in the first 12 minutes and never looked back. 

Guard Morris Anderson (Sr., Federal Way) scored nine of Western's first 14 points in the run and finished with 15 points and a game-high seven assists.  Vanderjagt had 13 points, as did reserve forward Rory Blanche (So., Ashland, OR), and guard Harold McAllister (Sr., Vancouver/Mountain View) had 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Western shot 48.4 percent (30-of-62) from the field.  Fort Lewis, which missed 11 of its first 12 shots, finished at 33.9 percent (19-of-56).

The Vikings entered the game ranked among the top 10 nationally in scoring defense (55.5), field-goal percentage defense (36.6) and 3-pt. percentage defense (24.2).

Anderson, who was named tournament MVP, made his first two free throw attempts, giving him a school-record 39 in a row before missing an attempt early in the second half.  The old record was 37, set by Jared Stevenson in 1997-98.

Joining Anderson on the all-tournament team were Webb, Lansdowne, Jon Clift from Central Washington and De'Andre Washington and William McNeill from Washburn.

It was the fourth tie or outright tourney title for the Vikings this season.

Western takes a break for Christmas before playing host to Dixie State University on Tuesday, Dec. 29 (7 p.m.) on Haggen Court at Carver Gymnasium.

Newspaper Box Score

Fort Lewis vs Western Washington

12/18/09 5:00 PM at Doolittle Community Ctr. - Las Vegas, NV

At Doolittle Community Ctr. - Las Vegas, NV

WESTERN WASHINGTON 82, FORT LEWIS 61

FORT LEWIS (8-3)

DeAndre Lansdowne 8-16 6-7 23; David Kanyinda 4-12 1-2 12; Torrey Udall 0-1

9-10 9; Kyle Behrens 2-3 1-2 5; Matt Morris 1-1 1-2 3; Matthias Weissl 1-5

0-0 3; Mark Jeranko 1-4 0-0 2; Connor Drumm 1-2 0-0 2; Daniel Steffensen 1-5

0-0 2; Louie Labate 0-0 0-0 0; Taylor Faust 0-0 0-0 0; Matt Billups 0-5 0-0

0; Bryse Velasquez 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 18-23 61.

WESTERN WASHINGTON (11-1)

Webb,Derrick 9-13 1-2 22; Anderson,Morris 5-10 3-4 15; Blanche,Rory 4-10 5-6

13; Vanderjagt,Dave 5-9 3-5 13; McAllister,Harold 4-7 1-3 10; Ready,Andrew

2-6 1-3 6; Mitchell,Chris 1-3 1-2 3; Sheppard,Matt 0-1 0-0 0;

Severson,Cameron 0-2 0-0 0; Woodworth,Richard 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-62 15-25

82.

Fort Lewis....................   22   39  -   61

Western Washington............   38   44  -   82

3-point goals--Fort Lewis 5-19 (David Kanyinda 3-8; Matthias Weissl 1-4;

DeAndre Lansdowne 1-2; Daniel Steffensen 0-3; Bryse Velasquez 0-2), Western

Washington 7-18 (Webb,Derrick 3-4; Anderson,Morris 2-6; Ready,Andrew 1-1;

McAllister,Harold 1-3; Sheppard,Matt 0-1; Severson,Cameron 0-1; Blanche,Rory

0-2). Fouled out--Fort Lewis-Kyle Behrens, Western Washington-None.

Rebounds--Fort Lewis 35 (DeAndre Lansdowne 5), Western Washington 42

(McAllister,Harold 8; Webb,Derrick 8). Assists--Fort Lewis 5 (Matt Billups

2; Daniel Steffensen 2), Western Washington 18 (Anderson,Morris 7). Total

fouls--Fort Lewis 22, Western Washington 13. Technical fouls--Fort Lewis-TM,

Western Washington-None. A-135

2009 Great Western Shootout - Game 4