Upcoming Games (times Pacific)

Coverage

Radio: All Eastern games are on 700-AM ESPN in Spokane. Larry Weir returns for his 23rd season calling the play-by-play, starting 30 minutes prior to tipoff.
Internet Radio: www.700espn.com or www.tunein.com.
Radio iPhone App: Search for "Spokane Radio" and download app. An app is also available for tunein radio.
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=114303&a=1 for MSU game; http://www.sidearmstats.com/montana/mbball/ for UM game; ewustats.com for EWU home games.
EWU Coaches Show: The next show, featuring head coach Jim Hayford & host Larry Weir, takes place Monday, Jan. 18 live at 6 p.m. Pacific time from the Swinging Doors Restaurant in North Spokane (W. 1018 Francis). Shows continue Mondays through at least Feb. 29. Fans may attend the one-hour shows live, or listen on 700-AM ESPN and via the web at www.700espn.com.
 

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If Eagle fans want to see the Grizzlies or Bobcats, they'll need to pack their bags.
 
In the lone meetings against the Montana schools this season, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team heads back on the road to face Montana State on Thursday (Jan. 21) and Montana on Saturday (Jan. 23) in a pair of Big Sky Conference games that begin at 6:05 p.m. Pacific time.
 
Fans can listen to the games on 700-AM ESPN and via the web at www.700espn.com. All EWU home games and conference road games are broadcast on www.watchbigky.com.
 
Since Eastern became a member of the Big Sky Conference in the 1987-88 season, the Eagles have played the Bobcats and Grizzlies in Cheney. But because of the new 12-team schedule format adopted last year, this is the rare year where the Eagles won't face their two long-time rivals at Reese Court. Eastern has hosted the Grizzlies at Reese Court every year since the 1986-87 season and the Bobcats since 1982-83.
 
In any event, the Eagles will put their three-game winning streak on the line versus teams on opposite ends of the league standings thus far. Montana State is in a tie for ninth with a 2-4 record in league play and 7-11 mark overall. The Bobcats have defeated Northern Arizona on the road (74-72 in overtime) and Sacramento State at home (71-64), but have lost their last three games.
 
 "Montana State is a greatly-improved team from last year," said Eastern head coach Jim Hayford of the Bobcats, who have already equaled their season win total of a year ago (7-23/4-14 Big Sky). "Coach (Brian) Fish had a great recruiting class and has probably the best freshman in the conference (Tyler Hall, averaging 17.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game). We'll have our hands full."
 
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, are 11-6 overall and 6-0 in the league with four conference road victories already. Montana, the preseason favorite by the media to win the league title, hosts Idaho on Jan. 21 before facing EWU.
 
"The Griz are undefeated and playing as well as anyone," said Hayford of his team's trip to Missoula. Eastern was 4-0 last season at Dahlberg Arena, including a pair of victories over Montana and two other wins en route to the Big Sky Conference Tournament title.
 
Eastern is rejuvenated, having won three-straight after losing both games – on the road – to open the league season. The Eagles are 9-8 overall and 3-2 in the league after taking care of business in wire-to-wire home victories over Idaho (74-60 on Jan. 9), Southern Utah (106-80 on Jan. 14) and Northern Arizona (96-73 on Jan. 16).
 
"We welcome both challenges," added Hayford, whose team is 3-0 with forward Julian Harrell in the starting lineup. "We feel like we are playing our best basketball of the season and eager to see how we hold up on another Big Sky road trip this week."
 
In the three-game homestand, EWU led 113:30 out of a total of 120 possible minutes. The Eagles sank 57 percent of their shots (99-of-174) and had an average winning margin of 21.0 points per game. Eastern averaged 92 points per game while allowing an average of 71.
 
 "We're very grateful for a very solid homestand these three games," he said after the NAU win. "We played really well and found our balance and rhythm as a team these last two weeks."
 
After this weekend's games, Eastern returns to Reese Court to face Portland State and Sacramento State. The Eagles take on the Vikings on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m., then host the Hornets at 12:05 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30.
 
Link to Fact Book
The complete version of the 2015-16 EWU men's basketball fact book may be found at: http://goeags.com/sports/2016/1/7/MBB_Other%20Links-Archive.aspx
 
More Eagle Basketball Links
Eastern Basketball -- http://goeags.com/index.aspx?path=mbball
Link to Ticket Information -- http://goeags.com/sports/2015/12/19/genticketinfo.aspxSpokesman-Review EWU Basketball Page -- http://www.spokesman.com/ewuhoops
Story on Eagle Head Coach Jim Hayford -- http://www.inlander.com/spokane/the-man-in-the-red-blazer/Content?oid=2603878
Story on Mid-Season Top 5 Australians (Jois & Von Hofe included): http://pickandroll.com.au/ncaa-men-simmons-headlines-mid-season-top-5-aussies/
Eagle Radio Podcasts: https://soundcloud.com/ewuathletics-1/tracks
Big Sky Conference Basketball: http://www.bigskyconf.com/index.aspx?tab=basketball&path=mbball
NCAA Basketball -- http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-baskbl/ncaa-m-baskbl-body.html
ESPN College Scoreboard -- http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/scoreboard
Tyler Harvey NBA D-League Page -- http://dleague.nba.com/player/tyler-harvey/
Tyler Harvey Video of 3-Point Barrage in D-League: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMTL11v5kkQ
Rodney Stuckey NBA Page -- http://www.nba.com/playerfile/rodney_stuckey/index.html
More Information and Links are Available at: HTTP://WWW.GOEAGS.COM


 

Opponent/Series Notes 

 
* Eastern has won seven of the last eight meetings against MSU with a current five-game winning streak. Eastern has swept the Bobcats in each of the last two seasons, with a 92-68 home win last season coming after a 61-51 road win earlier in the year. Eastern hasn't lost to the Bobcats since falling 70-68 in Bozeman on Jan. 5, 2013. Eastern has won 18 of the last 31 after winning just once in the previous 13 games (not counting two MSU forfeits).
 
* Since Eastern became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, the Eagles are 29-35 against Montana State (includes two MSU forfeits in the 1993-94 season). Since 1983-84, Eastern is 9-23 in Bozeman and 20-12 in Cheney against the Bobcats. EWU trails in the all-time series 36-43 (22-12 in Cheney, 11-28 in Bozeman, 3-3 neutral). In the 2011-12 season, Eastern recorded a huge 82-66 road victory over the Bobcats in the first Big Sky Conference game in the head coaching career of Jim Hayford, then later in the year won in Cheney 69-52. Hayford is 7-1 versus the Bobcats, including a 3-1 record in Bozeman and 4-0 mark at home.
 
* The Eagles finished 4-0 in the 2015-16 season in Missoula, including a come-from-behind 69-65 win over the Grizzlies in the Big Sky Conference Championship Game on March 14, 2015. Earlier in the season, Eastern beat Montana 75-69 (2/5/15) and then defeated Idaho (91-83) and Sacramento State (91-83) in the first two games of the league tourney in Missoula. Before going 3-0 in the tournament, EWU was previously 0-3 in the tourney in Missoula, including its last appearance in the 2012 semifinals when the No. 4 seeded Eagles lost 74-66 to the top-seeded Grizzlies. One of the other losses in Missoula was to Northern Arizona in 2000 when EWU shared the regular season title with Montana and lost the tiebreaker to host the tourney – just like in 2015-16.
 
* Eastern is 20-48 against the Grizzlies since 1983-84, including a 9-26 record in Missoula, 11-20 in Cheney and 0-2 on neutral courts versus the Grizzlies, who lead the overall series 65-41. Until winning 75-69 on Feb. 4, 2015, the Eagles had lost their last 12 meetings in Missoula, dating back to a 71-52 Eagle win on Feb. 7, 2004. The Grizzlies returned the favor by handing Eastern a 77-76 home loss on Feb. 28, 2015. Eastern has lost 20 of the last 26 meetings, including all three meetings in the 2011-12 season and two more in 2012-13.
 
* The Eagles and Grizzlies have played in two exciting overtime games in the last nine seasons. Eastern's 59-55 home victory over Montana in 2011 helped clinch a postseason berth for the Eagles and, in the process, kept the Grizzlies from clinching at least a share of the league title. In the 2005-06 season, Eastern lost 73-71 to Montana in overtime in the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Flagstaff, Ariz. Eastern trailed by 14 before a late 10-0 run put Eastern back into the game. But Eagle freshman Rodney Stuckey missed a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer to end regulation. Montana then went on a 6-0 run in overtime to end Eastern's season.
 
* In last season's Big Sky title game, Eastern out-scored Montana 21-6 in the final six minutes in the improbable 69-65 comeback victory in Missoula that advanced EWU to its second NCAA Tournament berth in school history. The Eagles trailed by 11 before the quartet of tournament MVP Tyler Harvey, senior Drew Brandon, all-tournament selection Venky Jois and sophomore Felix Von Hofe scored all 21 points in EWU's furious rally. Eastern also forced four UM turnovers in that stretch to help EWU to its first-ever tournament win over the Grizzlies. Tied at 42 in the second half, Montana's Brett Weisner scored the first 13 points in a 17-4 Montana run that gave the Grizzlies a 59-48 lead with 6:15 left. To that point, the game featured five ties and nine lead changes, and there were an additional three lead changes after that. In EWU's game-ending 21-6 run, Tyler Harvey led the Eagles with eight points, including a three-point play with 43 seconds to play to give the Eagles a four-point lead. Drew Brandon had six, including the basket with 1:33 left that gave EWU the lead for good and two free throws with six seconds to play to ice the win. Venky Jois added a pair of baskets, and Felix Von Hofe made a huge 3-pointer with 2:10 left that gave EWU a 62-61 advantage.
 
* Before last year's tourney win, Eastern was 0-4 versus Montana in the league tournament, including in 2002 when the fifth-seeded Grizzlies upset second-seeded EWU 70-66. Also included in the series history was an 81-75 victory in Missoula to end the 1998-99 season that clinched the sixth and final berth in the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the Eagles. That victory snapped Eastern's eight-game losing streak in Missoula. Also, a 77-75 Eagle home loss at the end of the 1999-2000 regular season kept EWU from hosting the league tournament and gave Montana a share of the Big Sky title in front of 5,426 fans at Reese Court in Cheney. The Eagles had taken a 12-point lead with 8:06 to play in the second half, but went the next 6:21 without scoring. During Montana's 17-0 run, the Eagles missed 10-straight field goal attempts while the Grizzlies made 6-of-7 shots. The loss was Eastern's first in eight conference home games. Montana made 4-of-6 free throws in the last 23 seconds to clinch the win and hold off Eastern's comeback attempt that included a trio of three-pointers in the last 1:45.
 
* This year's Big Sky Conference Tournament will include all 12 teams at a neutral site, the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. The first round takes place on March 8 (seeds #5-12), followed by quarterfinals (March 10), semifinals (March 11) and the championship game (March 12).
 
* Of EWU's first 14 games of the season, just three were at home – Nov. 15, Nov. 17 and Dec. 6. A Dec. 17 game against Morehead State would have been one of only two home games for the Eagles in a 12-game stretch from Nov. 23 to Jan. 2, but it was canceled because of weather-related travel difficulties for the Kentucky-based team. Thus, by the time the Eagles played Idaho, they had not played at home in more than a month and played 10 of 11 on the road (including its last six). Thus far, EWU is 4-0 at home and 3-8 on the road.
 
* The Eagles had a 6-6 record in non-conference play, with three of those losses coming to upper echelon squads in NCAA Division I (Mississippi State, Davidson and Pittsburgh). With two of EWU's wins against lower-division teams, that gave Eastern seven opponents – mid-majors if you will –to prepare for the rigors of league play. The Eagles finished those seven games with a 4-3 record, including road wins at San Francisco and Denver. Fresh off its best season in the school's NCAA Division I history, Eastern played teams from nine different conferences in the 2015-16 non-conference portion of EWU's season.
 
 
 

Game Notes 

 
* Coaches Shows featuring head coach Jim Hayford and host Larry Weir will continue on Monday (Jan. 18) at 6 p.m. Pacific time at the Swinging Doors Restaurant in North Spokane (W. 1018 Francis). Fans may attend the one-hour shows live, or listen on 700-AM ESPN and via the web at www.700espn.com. Shows will be on Mondays from Jan. 18 through at least Feb. 29. The show on March 7 depends on team travel arrangements for the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Reno, Nevada. Shows on March 14 and March 21 are also possible and will be determined by EWU's postseason fate and availability of Hayford.
 
* Eastern has now led at halftime in 13 of 17 games this season, and has a 9-4 record in those 13 games. Until a 96-86 loss to Davidson on Dec. 9 and an 84-51 setback to Pitt two days later, EWU had led at halftime in its first eight games of the year. The Eagles trailed by eight and 19 points, respectively in those two games. Eastern has out-scored opponents 672-564 in the first half (average score of 39-33) and has been outscored 738-724 in the second half (43-42).
 
* Eastern's scoring average for the season is at 82.1 points to rank 26th in NCAA Division I and lead the Big Sky Conference through games of Jan. 17. Eastern had scored 290 points in its first three games for an average of 96.7 points per game to rank fifth nationally. Last year's team set a school record with 2,820 points scored and averaged 80.6 per game to rank third in NCAA Division I.
 
* Eastern's average of 10.8 3-pointers per game is fifth in NCAA Division I (previously fourth after eight games) and leads the Big Sky, and the team's percentage is 19th at 39.9 percent (previously 175th/33.9 percent after six games). Austin McBroom (3.75 per game) and Felix Von Hofe (3.44 per game) and are ranked 1-2 in the Big Sky, and are third and 12th, respectively, in the nation – the only teammates to rank in the top 15. McBroom, who is 23rd nationally in 3-point accuracy (45.1 percent), is sixth in the nation when combining the per game and percentage rankings (3+23=26). A year ago, Eastern was fifth with an average of 9.8 made treys per game, and its 40.0 percent accuracy was eighth-best in the nation.
 
* Through games of Jan. 17, the Eagles are one of only five teams in NCAA Division I to have three players average at least 15.0 points per game – Richmond, Arkansas, Hampton and St. Bonaventure are the other four. Austin McBroom (19.4 per game), Venky Jois (16.3) and Felix Von Hofe (15.7) have a collective average of 51.4 to rank behind Richmond (52.0), equal St. Bonaventure (51.4) and rank ahead of Arkansas (50.0) and Hampton (48.8).
 
* Because of his team's involvement with the C.H.A.M.P.S (College Headed and Making Progress) program at Whitman Elementary School in Spokane, senior Venky Jois is one of 154 nominees nationally for the NABC/Allstate Good Works Team. The 10-player squad will be announced in February, and the distinguished award shines a spotlight on a select group of student-athletes who have shown dedication to community service and altruism in their communities. Eastern student-athletes spend part of their time at Whitman with the entire student body, but a majority of their time is spent one-on-one with a fifth-grade student. The unique program follows each Whitman student for eight years through middle school and high school. Once a EWU student-athlete graduates, an incoming player will begin mentoring their student. Jois, an Academic All-America candidate with a 3.51 grade point average as a pre-med student at EWU, has also been a part of several other team community projects. Those include Salvation Army backpacks and school supplies distribution; Salvation Army Christmas Eve meal for the homeless; participation in AAU Youth Basketball Day; food drive for the West Plains Food Bank; and campus move-in days. He's a three-time member of the Big Sky Conference All-Academic Team, and three times has been honored on All-Big Sky Conference teams (2012-13 Freshman of the Year and all-league honorable mention; 2013-14 all-league honorable mention; 2014-15 all-league first team for a squad that won Big Sky regular season and tournament titles to advance to the NCAA Tournament). Last season he selected to the Big Sky Conference All-Tournament team and is the preseason choice for 2015-16 MVP honors in the league.
 
* Entering the 2015-16 season, head coach Jim Hayford was selected by College Sports Madness as its preseason Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. Additionally, Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports rated him as one of the top 21 offensive coaches in all of NCAA Division I.
 
* Head coach Jim Hayford – the 2014-15 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year -- took over an Eastern team four years ago that had been to the Big Sky Conference Tournament just once in five seasons, but in the 2014-15 season he took the Eagles to new heights. The Eagles entered the 2015-16 season with 66 victories overall, 39 league wins and four Big Sky Tournament game triumphs under Hayford, and the 26 victories last season are the fourth-most in the more than 50-year history of the league. In fact, a local newspaper dubbed Hayford the "Wizard in Cheney" in a feature article in November 2015. On July 8, 2015, Hayford signed a new five-year agreement which extends his contract at EWU through the 2019-20 season. The new five-year agreement replaced the contract he signed a year prior.
 
* For the second year in a row, EWU was honored with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award. Eastern's 3.27 team grade point average was the best in the Big Sky Conference in the 2014-15 season, and .20 better than the team's 3.07 average of a year ago.
 
* Active within the last year in the pro ranks are 14 former Eagles, including Tyler Harvey and Drew Brandon from last year's Eagle team. Harvey is now with the Erie Bay Hawks of the NBA's Developmental League after getting drafted in the second round (51st overall) by the Orlando Magic in the 2015 NBA Draft. Harvey averaged 10.6 points, 2.0 assists and 1.4 rebounds for the Magic's "Blue" summer squad. Brandon is in his first year with the Bayer Giants in the Germany ProA League. Eastern's professional players are headlined by NBA veteran Rodney Stuckey, who is in his second season with Indiana after seven seasons with the Detroit Pistons. In 2014-15 – his eighth season as a pro and first with the Indiana Pacers – Stuckey averaged 12.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 0.8 steals per game in 71 games (36 starts). He made a career-best 39.0 percent of his 3-point attempts, sinking 55-of-141. Stuckey signed a new 3-year, $21 million contract with the Pacers on July 21, 2015.
 
 
 

Player Notes 

 
* Senior Venky Jois, had a huge weekend in Eastern's home sweep last week, scoring 45 points on 21-of-28 (75 percent) shooting from the field, with a total of 11 dunks. Jois also had 20 rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and a pair of steals. Eastern beat Southern Utah 106-80 and Northern Arizona 96-73 in a pair of romps that EWU led for a total of 73:22 and trailed for just 4:09 out of 80 minutes. He made 11-of-16 shots with six dunks to score 24 against SUU, and also had 12 rebounds to record his fourth double-double of the season and 30th of his career. He made 10-of-12 shots from the field with five dunks, and added eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a 21-point effort versus NAU. Jois, who has moved into second on the Big Sky Conference career leaders list for blocked shots, became the fourth player in school history to hit the 1,500-point mark in his Eagle career with 24 against Southern Utah on Jan. 14. He now has 1,538 to rank fourth in school history, just 12 from moving into third and 26 from reaching the 1,564 scored by former teammate Tyler Harvey. His school-record total of 215 blocked shots are 32 from the league record of 247 (Brian Qvale, Montana, 2008-11). Jois has 872 rebounds to rank third in school history, and he also ranks on leaders lists for games played (106, 13th), scoring average (14.50, 12th), rebounding average (8.2, eighth), field goals attempted (1,070, fourth), field goals made (610, second), free throws made (314, fourth) and owns school records for dunks (131) and free throws attempted (557).
 
* Preseason Big Sky Conference MVP Venky Jois is ranked fourth in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage, having made 69.1 percent of his shots thus far (he was as high as third at 72.4 percent after his first seven games played). He has had a three double-doubles in his last six games, including his 30th career double-double against Southern Utah on Jan. 14, finishing with 24 points and 12 rebounds. He had his first double-double of the season with 21 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots at Davidson on Dec. 9. One game later versus Pitt, he moved up two spots to sixth on EWU's all-time career scoring list. He is now fourth in school history with 1,538 points, ahead of the 1,438 of Rodney Stuckey, who now plays for the Indiana Pacers in the NBA. Jois played in the 100th game of his career and became the 16th player in school history to hit the century mark on Dec. 14 when EWU played at Western Carolina. He equaled his career high with seven assists on Nov. 29 against South Dakota, which double and triple teamed him when he got the ball in the post and limited him to just three shots. He also went to the free throw line five times against the Coyotes to surpass the school's career record for charity shots. Now with 557 free throws attempted in his career, he broke the previous school record of 499 set by Dave Hayden from 1970-73. His 314 free throws made are fourth in school history, with Rodney Stuckey (2006-07) owning the record of 386. Jois also owns school records with 215 blocked shots (second in Big Sky history) and 131 dunks. He averaged 16.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots per game as a junior, and so far as a senior has averages of 16.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 blocks. Jois has four double-doubles this season and 30 total in his career.
 
* Senior graduate transfer Austin McBroom is averaging 19.4 points per game to rank first in the Big Sky and 38th in NCAA Division I. In addition, his average of 3.75 3-pointers per game leads the league (just ahead of teammate Felix Von Hofe) and is third nationally. McBroom is also 24th in the nation in minutes per game with a league-leading 36.3 average, and he is 23rd in 3-point percentage (.451). He is ninth in the league and 145th nationally in free throw percentage, making 44-of-54 for 81.5 percent (he was 10th nationally after making 19 of his first 20). He has upped his assists average to 3.4 per game, ranking 11th in the league. The Eagles lost a pair of All-Big Sky guards from last year's NCAA Tournament team, but McBroom has provided an instant solution for the Eagles. He scored 76 points on Eastern's East Coast road trip, including 33 at Davidson on Dec. 11, 14 two nights later at Pitt and 29 on Dec. 14 at Western Carolina. His performance against Davidson included a 12-of-19 shooting night, and eclipsed his previous top game as an Eagle of 20 points (versus Pacific) and as a collegian of 26 points (for Saint Louis against Bradley on 11/29/14). He sank 10-of-17 shots from the field at Western Carolina, including 7-of-12 3-point attempts. His 19 points, five 3-pointers and five assists helped EWU win at San Francisco 81-77 on Dec. 1. He had a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists versus George Fox on Nov. 15. McBroom came to EWU with 97 games and 45 starts worth of NCAA Division I experience -- he played in 66 games at Saint Louis (15 as a starter) and 31 (30 as a starter) at Central Michigan in 2011-12.
 
* Junior Julian Harrell, a transfer from City College of San Francisco who previously played at Penn, has averaged 13.3 points in three starts this season (all victories). He has sank 15-of-20 shots, including 6-of-9 3-point shots. He made the first start of his career against Idaho (1/9/16), helping EWU to a 28-12 lead by scoring all 10 of his first-half points in that stretch on a trio of 3-pointers and a free throw. He finished with 14 points and three rebounds in a total of 25 minutes, then had 15 points in 19 minutes on 6-of-7 shooting against Southern Utah (1/14/16). In his third start against Northern Arizona on Jan. 16, he played just He had two points, five rebounds and an assist in 10 minutes of action in his Eagle debut versus North Dakota (1/4/16) after missing the first 13 games with a hand injury. He also takes on the added role of usually guarding the opposing team's best player.
 
* Junior sharpshooter Felix Von Hofe is averaging 15.7 points on the season, but in a five-game stretch from Dec. 14 to Jan. 9, he averaged 24.0 points with outings of 28, 27 (twice) and 19 (twice). In that stretch, he made 52.6 percent of his shots overall (40-of-76) and 50.0 percent of his 3-point shots (27-of-54), and also made 13-of-16 free throws (81.3 percent) and averaged 4.4 rebounds.  Von Hofe ranks 12th in NCAA Division I in 3-pointers per game with an average of 3.44 per game (second in the Big Sky behind teammate Austin McBroom at 3.75). He had no 3-point attempts in his outing against Southern Utah, but EWU still won easily 106-80. He is also 27th nationally and fourth in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (.447). He was selected on Dec. 21 as the Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week after back-to-back career-best performances. The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter eclipsed his career high with 28 in a huge 74-58 road win at Denver on Dec. 20 on 9-of-18 shooting from the field and 8-of-14 from the 3-point stripe. Von Hofe finished two treys away from the school record of 10 and also had six rebounds -- two from his career high. One game earlier, he scored 27 at Western Carolina, which bested his previous high of 25 points set against Seattle on Nov. 18. He made 10-of-16 shots overall and 5-of-9 from the 3-point stripe against Western Carolina, for two-game totals of 19-of-34 (55.9 percent) and 13-of-23 (56.5 percent).
 
* Playing a key "blur" position for the Eagles, sophomore forward Bogdan Bliznyuk registered the first triple-double in school history with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in a 96-73 victory over Northern Arizona (1/16/16). 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. Bliznyuk plays a position Hayford calls a "blur" because it shares attributes of a shooting guard, small forward and power forward. He has been used frequently at bringing the ball up the court, and is averaging 10.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals with a deft ability to get to the rim. He has made 18-of-60 3-pointers thus far for 30 percent, and is 45-of-99 inside the stripe (45 percent) with an overall percentage of 40 percent. He has also made 37-of-50 free throws (74.0 percent). He was the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year after coming off the bench to average 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds for the Eagles. It's an honor now won six times in the past 14 seasons by Eastern players, including current Eagle Venky Jois in the 2012-13 season. Bliznyuk, who also earned Big Sky All-Academic honors, averaged 12.0 poi­­nts in league play to rank 24th in the Big Sky -- tops among all freshmen. He was also fifth in field goal shooting (58.0 percent) and 12th in rebounding (5.6). Bliznyuk is formerly from Lutsk, Ukraine, but graduated from Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, Wash., in 2014. He was less than 2 years old when his father, a truck driver, died in an accident. Their mother moved them to Federal Way five years later to be closer to family. Born with a gap in his upper jaw, he has had multiple surgeries after moving to the United States, included transferring bone from his hip. He officially became a United States citizen on Jan. 12, 2016.
 
* Guard sophomore Sir Washington came two points from his career high by hitting all five of his shots and three free throws to finish with 13 points in a 96-73 win over Northern Arizona (1/16/16). The Eagle sixth man opened the season with 11 points in the team's opener at Mississippi State, and topped that with career highs of 15 points and nine rebounds against Great Falls on Dec. 6. He also scored 11 in two other games, including Northern Colorado (12/31/16) in the team's league opener. He was injured and didn't play versus Idaho (1/9/16). He has started four games thus far, and is averaging 6.3 points on 48 percent shooting from the field, and is also averaging 17.6 minutes and 2.8 rebounds with 12 assists and 12 steals.
 
* Six Eagles have already made their college basketball debuts this season, and five of them have played in at least 16 Eastern games. Those five were inserted into the starting lineup by head coach Jim Hayford against Great Falls on Dec. 6.
 
* Starting true freshman Jesse Hunt, a 6-foot-7 forward, made the first start of his career against Pacific (11/28/15), and is averaging 11.9 minutes, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 points per game as a nine-game starter. He missed EWU's game at Western Carolina with a sprained ankle. Redshirt freshman Will Ferris, who came off the bench to play 23 minutes against Seattle on Nov. 23 and score a career-high nine points, is averaging 1.8 points, 0.8 assists and 7.6 minutes on the season. Ty Gibson has seen significant action as a true freshman, averaging 8.8 minutes and 2.1 points per game and starting twice. He made all three of his 3-point attempts and a free throw to finish with a season-high 10 points against Southern Utah (1/14/16). Redshirt freshman Bear Henderson has averaged 6.4 minutes and 1.9 points thus far, and started his first career game against George Fox on Nov. 15. Freshman redshirt Cody Benzel has averaged 4.7 points in an average of 6.3 minutes, including 23 points on a 7-of-14 3-point shooting performance against Great Falls on Dec. 6. He also had a 12-point performance against South Dakota on Nov. 29 when he made four 3-pointers in just eight minutes of action. All five of those players made their collegiate debuts in EWU's opener at Mississippi State on Nov. 13, and Ferris, Benzel and Gibson made the first starts of their careers against Great Falls. True freshman Michael Wearne made his collegiate debut versus George Fox, however, will now redshirt because of a hip injury requiring surgery.
 
* Making his NCAA Division I debut against Mississippi State on Nov. 13 was junior college transfer Rico Nuno, who had a career-high seven rebounds at Denver on Dec. 20 and is averaging 1.8 rebounds, 0.6 points and 6.5 minutes per game. Senior graduate transfer Austin McBroom made his Eagle debut against the Bulldogs, and junior transfer Julian Harrell played for the first time on Jan. 2 after missing the first 13 games with a hand injury. Three Eagles – transfer Geremy McKay, transfer Mario Soto and freshman Grant Gibb – will redshirt.
 
* Two major cogs in Eastern's roll to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament last season – Venky Jois and Bogdan Bliznyuk -- were selected to the preseason All-Big Sky Conference team as selected by a panel of sportswriters, broadcasters and sports information directors in the league. Jois, a senior 6-foot-8 forward, is EWU's lone returning starter this season and was selected as the league's preseason MVP. A year ago, Eastern's Tyler Harvey won the award and went on to lead NCAA Division I in scoring and was eventually drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft by Orlando. Besides Jois, Bliznyuk was also selected to the seven-player team and was the only underclassmen chosen. The others honored included Montana's Martin Breunig, Montana State's Marcus Colbert, Northern Arizona's Kris Yanku and Weber State's Joel Bolomboy and Jeremy Senglin.
 
 
 

Quoting Coach Hayford

 
On Bogdan Bliznyuk's Triple-Double: "For Bogdan to do that today is something that he will hold for the rest of his life. I'm really proud and happy for him. 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 Bogdan, and 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 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 against NAU 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. Our team is gaining identity every week, and that's what I'm most excited about."
 
On Southern Utah Win & Inside Game: "We set the tone of the game early by going inside to Venky. They have one experienced post player and we wanted to go at him and get him into foul trouble. They didn't double-team him, so Venky was really good. You can't have a dominant inside performance unless they respect the guys around him. We only shot four threes in the first half (against Southern Utah) while we picked them apart inside. Then, to make sure we kept the game separation, we came out the first six minutes of the second half and had a nice little high-low game going with Julian and Venky and we established that. That's how you win a conference game by 25 points."
 
On Julian Harrell: "He's a triple-threat player – you have to guard him off the drive and you have to guard him on the 3-point line. And then he's a great passer. When you put that with the other pieces, it comes together. That kind of rounded us off, and took away some of the bumps we were hitting. Julian has bought into what our team really needed, and that's guarding the other team's best player. I think that's filled a lot of holes for us. He's a fourth-year junior – he's played defense since he was a freshman. With each week he gains more stamina and his hand gets more comfortable. It's hard for opponents when you look at our starting lineup because we have five dynamic offensive players – what are you going to stop? We just have to get those five dynamic offensive players to play defense."
 
On Similar Skills of Guard/Forwards: "We talk about it in our program that we like to have blurs. Felix really developed his two-point game and that's been a big step forward for him. When you look at Julian, Bogdan and Felix, you have three guys who all are 6-5, 6-6 and you have to worry about their shot and their drive. It's really hard to guard."
 
On Keeping Turnover Numbers Low: "It's a trademark on all of our teams and we put a big emphasis on that. No turnover goes unpunished in our practices."  
 
 
 

Recent Game Recaps

 
* Sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk registered the first triple-double in school history with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists to lead EWU to a 96-73 Big Sky Conference victory over Northern Arizona on Jan. 16 at Reese Court. 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. Bliznyuk 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. 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. Also in double figures for the Eagles were Austin McBroom (19), Sir Washington (13) and Julian Harrell (11). Besides having five players finish 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). Eastern shot better than 50 percent for the third-straight game, finishing at 55 percent (36-of-65). 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. 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 McBroom and eight by Washington.
 
* With senior Venky Jois leading the way with 24 points and 12 rebounds, Eastern displayed a superb drive game in powering past Southern Utah 106-80 Jan. 14 at Reese Court. The 30th double-double in the career of Jois was complemented by a 61 percent shooting night for the Eagles – their second-best of the season and tops against a NCAA Division I opponent. Austin McBroom scored 25 points in just 27 minutes of action – the same amount Jois played. Julian Harrell had 15 in just 19 minutes. Eastern finished with 11 3-pointers, but attempted just four in the first half. Eastern led by as many as 19 points in the first half and 32 in the second half. Two hot stretches were paramount in the Eagle win. In the first half, Eastern had a stretch of making 10-of-12 shots. In the second half, the Eagles made 10 of their first 11 shots to open a 31-point lead at 78-47 with 13 minutes left on a 3-point play by Austin McBroom. Eastern led by as many as 32. McBroom sank 8-of-12 shots from the field, including 4-of-5 3-pointers to finish with 25 points. He also made all five of his free throws and had a pair of assists. Jois, who was ranked fourth in the nation entering the game with a .679 field goal percentage, made 11-of-16 shots with six dunks. Junior Julian Harrell, a transfer from City College of San Francisco who previously played at Penn, scored 15 in his second start of the season. He made 6-of-7 shots and also had three rebounds. True freshman Ty Gibson came off the bench to make all three of his 3-point shots and finish with 10 points in 13 minutes of action. Sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk finished with a career-high six assists, and also had eight points and four rebounds. Junior Felix Von Hofe finished with only four points, but attempted just three shots – including no 3-point attempts after entering the game leading the Big Sky and ranking second in NCAA Division I with an average of 3.86 makes per game.