SEATTLE, Wash. -- The Saturday clash between Vanguard and Central Washington came down to the final minute, and Kailen Rains and Erik Howlin rose to the role of heroes.  Rains nailed a triple with 19 ticks left, and Howlin made two blocks during the final minute to send VU home with a 65-62 victory.  TNeither side had held a lead of over 10 points and there were nine ties and 13 lead changes documented during the contest..  The Lions improved to 4-2 overall and put CWU down to 5-4 as both sides embark on their conference schedules. 
 
What Happened?  The matchup began with the Wildcats taking an early lead, but Rains' layup at 18:15 leveled the score, a common theme for the afternoon matchup inside the Brougham Pavilion. CWU scored the next four, but Howlin and Dylan Swillis swung VU ahead with six unanswered points.  Central Washington would lead by six with 6:42 left in the first interval (26-20), but free throws from Howlin, a contested layup made by Swillis, and a trey from Rains had the Blue and Gold ahead 29-28 just three minutes later.  Both squads went ahead over the next two minutes, though a clean three from Bryson Metz ending the scoring in the period and sent the Lions to the locker room up 34-32.
 
VU shot 50% from the floor (13-for-26) and from downtown (4-8) during the first 20 minutes, and the lineup went 4-4 from the free-throw line.  CWU shot at a 54.1% clip from the field in the first half but were not as good from the charity stripe (2-for-6) and beyond the arc (4-of-13). 
 
The score was tied three times over the first three minutes of the second stanza, with Metz and Howlin splashing down threes during that stretch.  Both defenses were dialed in to begin the second half, as both squads had tallied less than 20 points after 10 minutes had passed in the period.  However, a jumper by Howlin around the midway mark elevated the Blue and Gold, who ran up the biggest lead of the game by either side at 58-50 over the next three minutes.  Swillis banked in a layup off the glass twice and Sammy Howlin connected on a short shot to put the Lions in good shape.  Yet the Wildcats returned to form and erased the gap with a 10-2 stretch to not things at 60-all with 2:33 to go. 
 
Aibigho Ujadughele pocketed the next bucket with a strong layup through the key to put Vanguard ahead, but a foul and two conversations by CWU tied the game for the ninth time.  Both sides then missed go-ahead shots, with Erik Howlin making his first huge block with 44 seconds to go to deny the Wildcats.  The Lions took a timeout with 40 seconds remaining and ran through the phases until Rains popped open.  Erik Howlin hit him with a great pass, and the grad student sank the three to set up the victory.  Central Washington still had a say with 18 seconds on the board, yet the Wildcats missed their first attempt to tie things, and  with four seconds to go, Howlin leapt in the way of their second attemp and made another block to secure the victory. 
 
The Blue and Gold shot 44.8% in the second half and ended with a 47.3% rate for the game.  VU went 4-for-10 from beyond the arc in the second half, ending the day with a 44.4% mark (8-18).  The Lions made five of the team's seven free throws for a 71.4% mark for the game (1-for-3 in the second half).  CWU was held to a 38.4% rate from the field in the second half and shot 46% from the game.  The Wildcats had a slim lead in total rebounds (31-29) and a 9-6 edge in offensive boards.  VU made more steals (8-6), but Central Washington had more blocks (5-3).
 
 Erik Howlin led Vanguard with 12 points, six rebounds, and two blocks.  Both Metz and Rain added in 10 points, with Ujadughele and Swillis next with eight.  Pape Cisse had a game-high five assists, and Ujadughele was second on the squad with five rebounds. 
 
Why is it Important?  Vanguard has now defeated CWU in back-to-back games and is penciled in fourth in the Pacific West Conference standings before any teams have played a league match
 
What was Said?  "I'm really proud of the ways our guys bounced back today," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday.  "We got beat in every facet of the game the day before by a good SPU team and we had to turn around and play the GNAC champs less than 24 hours later.  Our guys showed a ton of resiliency and togetherness in the way they competed, and while it wasn't pretty, we found a way to get it done."
 
"When we defend the way we did today, we believe we can play with anyone left on our schedule and win on any night."
 
What's Next?  The Lions host Menlo in the opening PacWest game of the year on December 4 at 7:30 p.m.