SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A key 12-4 run midway through the second half propelled the Vanguard men's basketball team to an 85-76 victory over Central Washington on Friday at the PLNU Thanksgiving Classic.

The Lions remained unbeaten at 4-0, the program's best start since the 2018-19 season. The Wildcats dropped to 3-3.

Five Lions scored in double figures, led by 15 points apiece from Anthony Tello and Bryson Metz. Tello hit a pair of threes to go along with three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Metz posted his season-high in scoring, and was a pest on the defensive end with four steals.

Senior Jackson Larsen tied Leonard Turner and Micah Swartz for team-high rebounding honors with five, adding 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. 

Turner had an efficient game as he scored his 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, knocking down a pair of triples. 

The fifth Lion in double figures was Carson Frawley, all 12 of his points coming via the three-pointer. He was the key factor in VU holding a 20-12 edge in bench points.

Chris Chiles also had a productive game, hitting 4-of-5 floor shots for nine points with two rebounds and a steal.

The Lions shot 55.4 (31 of 56) percent from the field, including 9-of-15 from distance. They overcame a free throw shooting discrepancy which saw the Wildcats hit 21 of 26 (80.8%) overall compared to 14 of 18 (77.8%) for VU.

VU forced 15 Central Washington turnovers and funneled those into 18 points. The Blue and Gold also attacked the basket relentlessly in the second half, which helped build a 42-34 edge in points in the paint.

What Happened?: Leading 56-55 with 10:13 to go, the Lions proceeded to make nine of their last 12 from the floor and were a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.

Frawley started the frenzy with an offensive board off a Tello miss, and buried a three to put the Lions up by four. Tello completed a traditional three-point play finishing with an off-balance layup on a foul by Jordan Clark. His free throw gave VU a 62-56 lead with 9:01 on the clock.

Metz got downhill on a strong drive to the basket as his layup extended the lead to eight. After Maverick Sanders answered with a Wildcat layup, Larsen converted on the inside as VU retook an eight-point lead.

Sanders hit one-of-two at the charity stripe to trim VU's lead to seven, but Chiles got inside again for a basket as the Lions exposed CWU's interior. The 68-59 cushion with 6:54 remaining did not deter the Wildcats from eventually cutting their deficit to five on a Mitch Brizee jumper with just under six minutes to go.

However, the Lions scored on their next three possessions – with Tello and Turner each producing two free throw makes around a Larsen jumper – and the Lions maintained a 74-65 edge at the four minute media timeout.

The Lions poured it on, getting a three from Metz and another Larsen jumper to take a 79-69 lead with 1:39 to go. Swartz and Metz both went 2-of-2 from the foul line to ice the win.

Two early threes from Turner created an early 8-5 lead for the Blue and Gold. Larsen maneuvered inside for a pair of buckets and a 12-8 VU lead, but the Wildcats rallied for a 7-0 run to grab a three-point advantage with 11:52 left in the first half.

Back came the Lions with Frawley and Tello triples to take an 18-15 lead. The Lions stayed in front the remainder of the half, although CWU cut the deficit to one on a number of occasions, including on Garrett Anderson's bucket with 44 seconds to go. 

VU shot 57.1 (16-of-28) percent in the first half, but only led 40-39 as CWU went 10 of 12 from the charity stripe compared to 3 of 5 for the Lions.

What Was Said?: "I'm proud of the fellas for continuing to find ways to come together and get it done against good teams," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday. "Central Washington is so well coached and really tough mentally and physically, so it took everything for us to create a little separation in the second half. We felt like they pressured us out of some things with their defense and credit them for really hurting us on the glass. I felt the difference was that we settled down and executed better in the second half at both ends of the floor and started highlighting the hot hand a little more offensively. It was fun to see Carson have a breakout game shooting the ball and having five guys in double figures is always a good sign for us."

What's Next?: The Lions continue play at the PLNU Thanksgiving Classic with a 2:00 p.m. tip against Seattle Pacific on Saturday.