CWU men’s basketball narrowly defeated Northwest University 100-93 on Oct. 31 in a cutthroat exhibition game that ran into overtime.

The Wildcats came out strong with a 46-42 lead at the end of the first half.  The second half saw the lead jump back and forth between the two rivals until CWU junior, Drake Rademacher, scored a three-pointer with just six seconds left on the clock.

In a last minute attempt to save the game, Northwest’s Danie Ghebremichael threw an offhand shot that succeeded as the buzzer sounded at the end of the second half. Nicholson Pavilion went into an uproar as the score evened out and five minutes were added to the clock. In overtime the Wildcats outscored the Eagles 15-8.

Overall, the CWU team shot a total of 49.3 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from the 3-point line. Assistant coach Drew Harris said the Wildcats were still finding their feet as a team and adjusting to the idea of a new season.

“It’s our first game,” Harris said. “I think we played okay. It’s a learning experience. Northwest [has] played three games before this so they came in a little more prepared than us.”

Harris said the team were trying out different player rotations for the the upcoming season.

“We were trying to play a bunch of guys… to see how the new guys would fit into our system,” Harris said. “Normally we would have our rotation a little more solidified and not try as many things as we did tonight.”

Junior Naim Ladd led the way in scoring with a total of 23 points and was named player of the game. Ladd said he was happy with the way the team played.

“It wasn’t pitch perfect, but it was the first game of the season so I’m pretty sure a lot of the guys had the jitters,” Ladd said. “We stayed focused and we came down and got the win so that’s what really matters.”

Ladd said the high stakes of overtime required the Wildcat’s complete focus to pull off the win.

“I was a little bit fatigued, I’m not gonna lie,” Ladd said. “Mentally, you’ve just gotta stay focused. That’s one thing my dad taught me… I wasn’t going to let any distractions get to me. It was a close game, but overall our team pulled it out when we needed to.”

Sage Woodruff also scored double digits. Woodruff contributed a total of 18 points, 12 of which were from behind the arc. The senior forward said he had mixed feelings about how the team played on the night.

“We expected to be up on that team. It ended up being a learning experience at the end of the day,” Woodruff said. “We want to win the GNAC championship, but we’re going to have to get to a whole other level if we want to make that. It’s just something we’ve got to learn from and make a positive out of.”

The official CWU basketball season will officially begin on Nov. 10 in Portland, Oregon when the Wildcats face off against Cal State Bernardino.