Central’s men’s basketball team begins their final six-game stretch of the regular season with its first two games at home against Saint Martin’s University (SMU) and Seattle Pacific University (SPU).

The Wildcats sit in fifth place in the GNAC, with a record of 9-5 in conference play and an overall record of 14-5. Central has played tough for it’s last four games, winning three of them.

With multiple top five matchups, the turnout of these next two games will be vital for the team’s final placement within the GNAC.

The Wildcats have the advantage down the stretch with four of their six remaining games at home.

“Its nice to get back home and get into your normal routine,” head coach Greg Sparling said.

Coming into this week, the Wildcats are 7-1 at home and 5-4 on the road.

The team’s only loss at home came against rival Western Washington University earlier this season.

“It’s always a big advantage playing at home. We have a good crowd all the time which helps,” senior guard Devin Matthews said. “For our young players it helps playing at home, especially against good teams.”

Even with Central’s impressive record at home this season, Sparling still wants to keep the team focused on one opponent at a time.  

“You just gotta take everything one game a time, once you take care of Saint Martin’s then you can look on to the next person,” Sparling said.

Central split with SMU and SPU earlier this season on the road, defeating SMU and losing to SPU.

“I think [both games will be] huge,” Sparling said. “We just need to come in, play defense and rebound…I think the biggest thing is we gotta clean up the defense.”

The last time Central played SMU, the final score came out to be 75-71.

Central shot the ball well, going 55 percent from 3-point range and 48 percent from the field.

“In our team’s history, all of our games have been close with Saint Martin’s,” Matthews said. “They’ve always been a test.

The Wildcats struggled offensively in their first matchup against SPU.

They shot 42 percent from the field and 13 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. However, Central offensively has the edge on their home court averaging 89 points per game.

After this week, Central will head west to face WWU, then end its road tour against Simon Fraser University. The Wildcats will then play their last two regular season games at home against both Alaska schools.

“You can expect [us] to have a lot of energy, few mistakes and a team that you guys see is hungry and desire to win,” senior guard Gary Jacobs said.