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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The opening tipoff can't come soon enough for the Eagles and Grizzlies.
 
Eager for redemption after both lost Big Sky Conference games on Thursday, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team plays at Montana Saturday (Jan. 23) at 6:05 p.m. Pacific time in rematch of last year's Big Sky Tournament championship game.
 
Fans can listen to the game 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.
 
Eastern is coming off an 85-71 road loss at Montana State that snapped EWU's three-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Montana lost for the first time in seven league games when the Grizzlies were upset 63-58 by Idaho. That sets the stage for an epic rematch of last year's league title tilt, a come-from-behind 69-65 Eagle win on UM's home court. Earlier in the season, Eastern beat Montana 75-69 as part of a 4-0 record at Dahlberg Arena.
 
"We have to re-group -- we have an even tougher assignment on Saturday," Eastern head coach Jim Hayford said after his team's five-game winning streak over the Bobcats came to an end. "It's a long season and we have to keep focusing on development so we learn from each of these lessons. We have to keep getting better so we're the best team in the conference in March. But I want us to be the best team in the conference on Thursdays and Saturday. We have some things to work on."
 
Eastern is looking for its first road breakthrough of the league season, having gone 3-0 at home and 0-3 on the road thus far. For the season, EWU is perfect at home (6-0) where it has made a blistering 56 percent of its shots from the field – including 45 percent from 3-point range. But on the road where they are 3-9, the Eagles have made 46 percent from the field, and just 36 percent from the arc.
 
In Bozeman, sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk followed the first triple-double in school history with his best scoring night of the season, finishing with 22 points, 13 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. He made 6-of-11 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 3-point attempts, and sank 7-of-9 free throws to finish just three points away from his career high. He was coming off a performance of 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for EWU's first triple-double in school history last Saturday (Jan. 16) against Northern Arizona.
 
However, the Bobcats made things difficult for EWU inside and outside when they held senior Venky Jois to just eight shots from the field total, choosing to foul him as he went to the basket. His 3-of-10 free throw performance made it difficult for EWU to overcome a combined 2-of-15 3-point shooting performance by Austin McBroom and Felix Von Hofe, who both entered the game in the top 15 in NCAA Division I in 3-pointers made per game, with a combined total of more than seven per outing.
 
"If you are going to win on the road, and your two elite shooters – and they have proven they are – are 2-of-15, that makes you have to play perfect in other places," explained Hayford. "But we really struggled at the line – Venky had a tough night. They just fouled him before he shot the ball and he had a tough free throw night -- now you have to be really perfect to be able to do it."
 
The Eagles are now 9-9 overall and 3-3 in the league, and the Grizzlies are 11-7 on the season and 6-1 in the Big Sky. Montana, the preseason favorite by the media to win the league title, won its first six league games, including four on the road. Making Eastern's task even tougher on Saturday is the fact Montana is the league's top defensive team against the 3-point shot, holding opponents to 31.2 percent to rank 51st in NCAA Division I. Eastern is eighth nationally in 3-pointers per game (10.6) and 26th in percentage (39.3).
 
After the Montana game, 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.



 

Opponent/Series Notes 

 
* 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.
 
* 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 continue Mondays 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 continue through at least Feb. 29, with the show on March 7 depending 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 18 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 702-602 in the first half (average score of 39-33) and has been outscored 785-765 in the second half (43-42).
 
* Eastern's scoring average for the season is at 81.1 points to rank 31st in NCAA Division I and lead the Big Sky Conference through games of Jan. 21. 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.
 
* Proving how difficult it is to win on the road, the Eagles led Montana State for just 5:23 and made only 42 percent of their shots from the field, including just 7-of-25 3-point attempts (28 percent). In its three-game homestand, EWU led 113:30 out of a total of 120 possible minutes, 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.
 
* Eastern's average of 10.6 3-pointers per game is eighth in NCAA Division I (previously fourth after eight games) and leads the Big Sky, and the team's percentage is 26th at 39.3 percent (previously 175th/33.9 percent after six games). Austin McBroom (3.59 per game) and Felix Von Hofe (3.29 per game) and are ranked 1-2 in the Big Sky, and are sixth and 19th, respectively, in the nation. 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.
 
* Senior Venky Jois is just one point from moving into third in school history. He now has 1,549 points, just 1 from Irv Leifer (1942-47) and 15 from reaching the 1,564 scored by former teammate Tyler Harvey. His school-record total of 218 blocked shots are 28 from the league record of 247 (Brian Qvale, Montana, 2008-11). Jois has 878 rebounds to rank third in school history, and he also ranks on leaders lists for games played (107, 12th), scoring average (14.50, 12th), rebounding average (8.2, eighth), field goals attempted (1,078, fourth), field goals made (614, second), free throws made (317, third) and owns school records for dunks (131) and free throws attempted (567). He had a huge weekend in Eastern's home sweep on Jan. 14 and 16, 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 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.
 
* Preseason Big Sky Conference MVP Venky Jois is ranked a season-high third in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage, having made 68.2 percent of his shots thus far (he was also third at 72.4 percent after his first seven games played). He has had a three double-doubles in his last seven 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 1,549 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 567 free throws attempted in his career, he broke the previous school record of 499 set by Dave Hayden from 1970-73. His 317 free throws made are third in school history, with Rodney Stuckey (2006-07) owning the record of 386. Jois also owns school records with 218 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 15.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 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 39th in NCAA Division I. In addition, his average of 3.59 3-pointers per game leads the league (just ahead of teammate Felix Von Hofe) and is sixth nationally. McBroom is also 27th in the nation in minutes per game with a league-leading 36.4 average, and he is 37th in 3-point percentage (.433). He is 10th in the league and 178th nationally in free throw percentage, making 50-of-62 for 80.6 percent (he was 10th nationally after making 19 of his first 20). He has upped his assists average to 3.3 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, averaged 13.3 points in his first three starts this season (all victories). He sank 15-of-20 shots in those three games, including 6-of-9 3-point shots. In five games played this season, he is averaging 9.4 points and r.4 rebounds per game, while making 56.3 percent of his shots and 7-of-15 3-pointers (46.7 percent). 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 15.1 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 19th in NCAA Division I in 3-pointers per game with an average of 3.29 per game (second in the Big Sky behind teammate Austin McBroom at 3.59). He had no 3-point attempts in his outing against Southern Utah, but EWU still won easily 106-80. He is also 40th nationally and fifth in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (.431). 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. He followed that with his fourth double-double of his career and third this season with 22 points and 13 rebounds at Montana State (1/21/16). Bliznyuk plays a position head coach Jim 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 11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals with a deft ability to get to the rim. He has made 21-of-64 3-pointers thus far for 33 percent, and is 48-of-106 inside the stripe (45 percent) with an overall percentage of 41 percent. He has also made 44-of-59 free throws (74.6 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 6.1 points on 49 percent shooting from the field, and is also averaging 17.63 minutes and 2.9 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 17 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 11.5 minutes, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 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 2.0 points, 0.8 assists and 7.6 minutes on the season. Ty Gibson has seen significant action as a true freshman, averaging 8.3 minutes and 2.0 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 6.1 minutes and 1.8 points thus far, and started his first career game against George Fox on Nov. 15. Freshman redshirt Cody Benzel has averaged 4.4 points in an average of 6.1 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.
 

 
 

Recent Game Recap

 
* After making 50 percent or better from the field in its last three games at home, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team was out-scored at the 3-point line by 12 points and fell to the Bobcats 85-71 Jan. 21 at Worthington Arena in Bozeman, Mont. Sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk led three Eagles in double figures with 22 points, notching his second-straight double-double with 13 rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists. The Bobcats sank 11-of-22 3-points shots in the game, compared to 7-of-25 for the Eagles. The Bobcats closed the game out at the free throw line, making 11-of-14 in the last 2:36 to extend a five-point lead with 10:26 remaining to as much as 16 in the final minutes. Four of Eastern's five starters combined to make just 3-of-18 shots in the first half, and 14-of-40 in the game (35 percent). From the 3-point line, three starters combined for a 3-of-19 performance (15 percent). The result was a 42-percent shooting night for the Eagles, who had shot 50 percent or better in each of their previous three games. MSU, meanwhile, converted 30-of-66 shots for 46 percent, including 11-of-22 3-point attempts. Eastern is now 7-0 this season when it has a better field goal percentage than its opponent, and 2-9 when it has been out-shot. Sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk, coming off the first triple-double in school history, had 15 of EWU's 30 points at halftime. He finished with a team-high 22, coming just three from his career high of 25. He made 6-of-11 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 3-point attempts, and made 7-of-9 free throws. He also had 13 rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists. Senior graduate transfer Austin McBroom scored 19 points, with 5-of-8 shooting on 2-point shots and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. However, he was just 1-of-8 from the 3-point arc.  Senior Venky Jois finished with 11 points and six rebounds, but was held to 4-of-8 shooting from the field and made 3-of-10 free throws. He also had three blocked shots, giving him 218 in his career to rank just 29 behind the league record. Consecutive 3-pointers by Bogdan Bliznyuk, Felix Von Hofe and Julian Harrell fueled an 11-0 Eastern run in the second half to cut a 12-point Bobcat lead to one. But the Bobcats responded with an 11-3 run to regain a nine-point advantage with 9:55 left, and led by no less than seven the rest of the way. Eastern used an early 10-0 run to open a 16-10 lead in the first half, during which the Eagles held MSU scoreless for 3:11. But the Bobcats were scorching hot after that, making 8-of-15 3-pointers and leading 38-30 at halftime. Bogdan Bliznyuk had 15 of EWU's 30 points, but Marcus Colbert topped that with 17. It was just the fifth time all season EWU has trailed at halftime. EWU is 9-4 when it's led or been tied at halftime this season, and 0-5 when it's trailed.