Bogdan Bliznyuk isn't your normal 6-foot-6 forward – he's a "blur."
The Eastern Washington University sophomore registered the first triple-double in school history with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists to lead to a 96-73 Big Sky Conference victory over Northern Arizona Saturday (Jan. 16) at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
Last year's Big Sky Freshman of the Year helped the Eagles lead by as many as 15 in the first half and 26 in the second half to complete EWU's unbeaten three-game homestand. In those three games, Eastern led 113:30 out of a total of 120 possible minutes.
"We're very grateful for a very solid homestand these three games," said Eastern head coach
Jim Hayford. "We played really well and found our balance and rhythm as a team these last two weeks."
Senior
Venky Jois completed a huge weekend with 21 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. He had five dunks on Saturday, giving him 11 for the week, which included a 106-80 victory over Southern Utah on Thursday. Jois made 21-of-28 shots (75 percent) in the two games and had 20 rebounds, three blocks and three assists.
Also in double figures for the Eagles against the Lumberjacks were
Austin McBroom (19),
Sir Washington (13) and
Julian Harrell (11). But the day belonged to Bliznyuk, who plays a position Hayford calls a "blur" because it shares attributes of a shooting guard, small forward and power forward.
He made 4-of-12 shots from the field and both of his free throws, and also had three blocked shots in his fourth performance of at least a double-double of his career and second this season. Not even Rodney Stuckey, now of the Indiana Pacers, or former All-Big Sky point guard
Drew Brandon, were able to register the rare feat.
"For Bogdan to do that today is something that he will hold for the rest of his life," said Hayford. "I'm really proud and happy for him.
Won-Lost Records . . . * The Eagles are now 3-2 in the Big Sky and 9-8 overall with their second-straight league victory after opening the year with road defeats at Northern Colorado and North Dakota. In the last three games, including a 74-60 win over Idaho and 106-80 romp over Southern Utah, Eastern has led for 113:30 out of a possible 120 minutes.
* Now 1-4 in the Big Sky and 3-13 overall, Northern Arizona is the hard-luck team so far in the Big Sky. The Lumberjacks rallied from 25 down against Idaho on Jan. 14 and owned a 46-38 scoring advantage in the second half, but lost 83-76. In a 73-63 win over Southern Utah, NAU closed the game on a 16-5 run. The victory snapped an eight-game losing streak and earned the Lumberjacks their first win over a Division I opponent. In its two home games to open the league season, NAU lost in two overtimes to Montana (90-84) and in one overtime to Montana State (74-72). The Lumberjacks are just 1-9 on opponent home courts, but NAU was selected to finish fourth by both the media and coaches in Big Sky preseason polls, right behind No. 3 Eastern. A year ago, the Lumberjacks were 13-5 in the Big Sky and finished the year 23-15 and as the runner-up in the CollegeInsider Tournament (CIT).
What It Means . . . * Eastern head coach
Jim Hayford said after the Idaho victory that it "puts a little fuel in the tank – we were running on fumes being on the road so long." But now, the Eagles head back on the road with a surplus of energy. Eastern has had a dominating advantage at the 3-point line in its last three games, making a collective 36-of-73 (49 percent) while limiting opponents to 15-of-48 (31 percent).
What's Next . . . Eastern heads on the road in the lone meetings of the season against the Montana schools. Eastern faces Montana State on Thursday (Jan. 21) and Montana on Saturday (Jan. 23) in a pair of games that begin at 6:05 p.m. Pacific time. The Bobcats enter their game at Northern Colorado on Jan. 16 with a 7-10 record overall and 2-3 in the Big Sky, while the Grizzlies are 11-6 overall and 6-0 in the league following a 65-61 road win at North Dakota on Jan. 16. Montana, the preseason favorite by the media to win the league title, plays at Idaho on Jan. 21 before facing EWU.
Keys to Game . . . * Balance was key for the Eagles in the victory, with five players scoring in double figures. Eastern also had a dominating 43-21 rebounding advantage – its best against a NCAA Division I opponent this season (EWU out-rebounded George Fox by 24). The result was a 21-5 advantage in second-chance points, again, a best versus a DI opponent (25 versus George Fox).
Top Performers . . * Sophomore
Bogdan Bliznyuk nearly had a double-double in the first half alone, scoring nine points and grabbing seven rebounds to go along with a trio of assists. He finished with the first triple-double in school history with 11 points, 14 rebounds (one from his career high) and a career-high 10 assists (his previous career high was six against Southern Utah one game earlier).
* Senior graduate transfer
Austin McBroom had 15 of his 19 points in the second half. He made 5-of-10 3-point attempts after entering the game fifth in NCAA Division I with an average of 3.67 per outing.
* Senior
Venky Jois, who was ranked fourth in the nation entering the game with a .680 field goal percentage, made 10-of-12 shots from the field with five dunks, and added eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
* Sixth-man
Sir Washington made all five of his shots and 3-of-4 free throws to finish with 13 points, two away from his career high. He also had four rebounds and an assist in 22 minutes of action.
* Junior
Julian Harrell, a transfer from City College of San Francisco who previously played at Penn, made 4-of-6 shots to finish with 11 points and four rebounds in just 20 minutes of action.
* Redshirt freshman
Cody Benzel from Spokane entered the game in the first half and hit a pair of 3-point attempts, both during EWU's 12-0 run that gave the Eagles a 42-27 advantage.
* Junior
Felix Von Hofe finished with only seven points on a 2-of-9 shooting night (1-of-6 from the 3-point arc).
Turning Point . . . * Northern Arizona was within 10 points with 16:10 left in the game, but over the next 10 minutes the Eagles went on a 29-13 run to open their biggest lead of the game at 80-54 with 6:20 to play. Six different Eagles scored in that stretch, including 11 by
Austin McBroom and eight by
Sir Washington.
Key Stats . . . * Eastern shot better than 50 percent for the third-straight game, finishing at 55 percent (36-of-65). In the three-game homestand, the Eagles sank 57 percent of their shots (99-of-174) and had an average winning margin of 21.0 points per game. The Eagles averaged 92 points per game while allowing an average of 71.
Team Highlights . . . * Continuing a trend started in the first two games of its homestand, Eastern led for 15:47 out of the first 20 minutes. The Eagles jumped out to a 16-9 lead, but a 13-2 NAU run helped open a four-point edge for the Lumberjacks. However, EWU responded with a pair of 12-0 runs, holding NAU without a point for stretches of 5:06 and 3:56. Five different Eagles scored in the first run, and four scored in the second spurt. The result of the two scoring runs was a 15-point Eagle lead and 45-32 halftime advantage.
Notables . . . * Prior to the NAU game, Eagle players have flirted with a triple-double five previous times in school history, including three by last year's senior point guard,
Drew Brandon. He finished with 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds against Idaho on Jan. 31, 2015, marking the third time in his career he has come one stat away from the first triple-double in school history. He also had 10 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and two assists in EWU's 2014-15 opener against Texas Southern. He had 15 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists on Jan. 11, 2014, versus Montana State. Prior to Brandon, the closest any Eastern player in recorded school history has come to a triple-double was Rodney Stuckey with 14 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists against Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 19, 2005, and Justin Crosgile with 13 points, eight rebounds and nine assists versus on Nov. 20, 2012.
* Eastern has now led at halftime in 13 of 17 games this season, and has a 9-4 record in those 13 games.
* Eastern's scoring average for the season entering the NAU game was at 81.2 points to rank 34th in NCAA Division I and lead the Big Sky Conference through games of Jan. 15. Eastern's average of 10.8 3-pointers per game was fifth, and the team's overall field goal percentage (49.1 percent) and from 3-point range (40.0 percent) were both 18th.
* Since Eastern became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, the Eagles are now 28-35 versus Northern Arizona, including an 8-22 record in Flagstaff, Ariz., 19-12 in Cheney and 1-1 on neutral courts. A year ago, Eastern lost 73-59 in Flagstaff in the lone meeting between to two schools. Eastern has, however, won the last five meetings in Cheney dating back to a 73-69 loss on Jan. 15, 2010. Eastern trails in the all-time series 28-36 (8-22 in Flagstaff, 19-12 in Cheney, 1-2 neutral). The only meeting before Eastern became a member of NCAA Division I was an 84-80 NAU victory on Dec. 20, 1969, in Fresno, Calif.
More Comments from Head Coach Jim Hayford . . . On Bogdan Bliznyuk: "The glue of our program is our position that we call a 'blur.' We try to blur the 2,3 and 4 positions, and to be able to do that, you have to be able to score off the drive, off the post-up and be able to shoot the three. And then you have to be an excellent passer because we are going to run offense through you. The ultimate blur is our reigning Big Sky Freshman of the year,
Bogdan Bliznyuk. You can't say blur without a 'B,' and you can't say Bogdan and Bliznyuk without a 'B'' The ultimate stat that supports what we try to do at that position is to get a triple-double. He's had a tough go of it so far this year, but he doesn't put his head down – he just keeps working hard. Today is a good launching point for him to have the kind of season he's been anticipating since his freshman season ended last year against Georgetown."
On
Venky Jois &
Austin McBroom: "Venky had a great weekend – he was just unstoppable inside. He's playing with great power and confidence. Austin is shooting the ball well."
On Lumberjacks: Northern Arizona is going to be a really good team. They remind me of Venky, Tyler (Harvey) and our crew when they were freshmen. It's going to be a tough game when we go back to Flagstaff. That is a group that is going to improve."
On Three-Game Winning Streak: "We are getting better defensively every day. Obviously the home court helps – we're undefeated at home. It's just finding a team identity. Adding Julian to the mix helps and getting Sir healthy as a solid sixth man – he had a great performance today and that helps. Our freshmen are getting a little hair on their chest – they are getting older and when we go to them they play well. When we put Cody in there in the first half his two threes were very key. That opened up some things because Felix was having a tough shooting day. Our team is gaining identity every week, and that's what I'm most excited about."
