SEATTLE -- Five Central Washington University players scored in double figures, including a game-high 18 points from senior Mark McLaughlin, but the Wildcats were unable to keep up with the high-scoring Dixie State University squad in a 106-89 loss to the Red Storm at the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic on Friday afternoon at Brougham Pavilion.
 
The Wildcats fell to 0-1 with their season-opening loss, while Dixie State, which was listed among others receiving votes in the pre-season NCAA Division II national poll, improved to 2-0. The 106 points scored by the Red Storm were the most allowed by CWU in a season opener in school history.
 
McLaughlin was the Wildcats' leading scorer, but was just 7 of 25 from the field. He made four of his final five shot attempts after starting the game 3 of 20, while his CWU teammates combined to shoot nearly 50 percent (48.9 percent; 23 of 47).
 
CWU blitzed out to a 10-4 lead in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the game, and the Wildcats led as late as the 12:56 mark in the first half, but Dixie State used an 8-0 run to take a five-point lead and then outscored CWU by a 26-5 margin over the final 8 1/2 minutes of the half, and the Red Storm led by a 55-33 count at halftime.
 
The closest that the Wildcats would get the rest of the way was a 17-point margin twice in the second half, including the final differential. Junior Joshua Lord scored the game's final points on a three-pointer with 1:04 remaining.
 
Lord scored 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting, including 2 of 3 from three-point range, in his regular-season debut for CWU. He also dished out four assists, while backcourt teammate Jordan Russell (So., Tacoma, Wash./Lincoln HS) finished with five assists without a turnover.
 
Senior JB Pillard III finished with 13 points and a team-high five rebounds, while seniorKevin Davis (Federal Way, Wash./Todd Beamer HS) added 11 points and sophomore Joey Roppo (Monroe, Wash.) totaled 10 points in 19 minutes off the bench for the Wildcats, who lost their season opener for the third consecutive year.
 
Dixie State, which held a 42-29 rebounding edge and shot 57.6 percent from the field, also had five players score in double figures. Zach Robbins and DeQuan Thompson scored 18 apiece, while Dalton Groskreutz adding 16. Reserved Mason Sawyer and Louis Garrett contributed 15 each as the Red Storm bench outscored the CWU reserves by a 44-30 count. Kimball Payne led all players with seven assists and Jordan Rex had a game-high nine rebounds for Dixie State, which defeated the Wildcats for the third time in as many series meetings.
 
CWU will wrap up its two-day stay at the tournament on Saturday, facing Colorado Christian University in a 3 p.m. contest. The Wildcats will then make their 2013-14 home debut in Nicholson Pavilion next Friday (Nov. 22) against Hawaii Pacific University at 6 p.n. as part of the GNAC/PacWest Challenge.
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Sodexo Tip-Off Classic
Friday, November 15, 2013
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
                                             
Dixie State 106, Central Washington 89
 
CENTRAL WASHINGTON (0-1)
Mark McLaughlin 7-25 4-5 18; Joshua Lord 6-9 2-2 16; JB Pillard III 5-9 3-3 13; Kevin Davis 4-6 2-4 11; Joey Roppo 2-5 4-4 10; Dylan Radliff 2-5 3-4 9; Jeff Budinich 3-5 1-2 8; Jalen Peake 1-3 0-0 3; Jordan Russell 0-2 1-2 1; Marc Rodgers 0-1 0-0 0; Terry Dawn 0-1 0-0 0; Julian Vaughn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-72 20-26 89.
 
DIXIE STATE (2-0)
DeQuan Thompson 7-11 3-4 18; Zach Robbins 6-8 6-7 18; Dalton Groskreutz 6-9 3-3 16; Louis Garrett 2-6 10-12 15; Mason Sawyer 5-7 2-4 15; Landon Clegg 2-5 2-2 8; Robbie Nielson 1-1 3-4 6; Jordan Rex 3-5 0-0 6; Kimball Payne 2-5 0-0 4; Nate Ensign 0-0 0-0 0; Darius Williams 0-0 0-0 0; Braden Saunders 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-59 29-36 106.
 
Central Washington           33           56           --  89
Dixie State                           55           51           --106
 
3-point goals--Central Washington 9-25 (Radliff 2-3; Roppo 2-4; Lord 2-3; Peake 1-3; Davis 1-1; Budinich 1-1; Rodgers 0-1; Dawn 0-1; Russell 0-2; McLaughlin 0-6), Dixie State 9-17 (Sawyer 3-3; Clegg 2-5; Garrett 1-2; Groskreutz 1-2; Thompson 1-3; Nielson 1-1; Saunders 0-1). Fouled out--Central Washington-None, Dixie State-None. Rebounds--Central Washington 29 (Pillard 5), Dixie State 42 (Rex 9). Assists--Central Washington 13 (Russell 5), Dixie State 20 (Payne 7). Total fouls--Central Washington 26, Dixie State 19.Technical fouls--Central Washington-None, Dixie State-TEAM. Att--230.