­­­­­­­Eastern Washington University "Eagles" Men's Basketball (3-2/0-0 Big Sky) Nov. 26 – vs. Denver, 6:05 p.m., Cheney, Wash. Nov. 27 – vs. San Francisco, 6:05 p.m., Cheney, Wash. all times Pacific
Radio:	700-AM ESPN in Spokane, with Larry Weir calling the play-by-play. Broadcasts begin a half-hour prior to tipoff
Internet Radio:	http://www.700espn.com or http://www.tunein.com
Radio iPhone App:	Search for "700 ESPN" and download app. An app is also available for tunein radio.
TV:	None
­­­Webcast:	All EWU home games and all Big Sky Conference games available via http://goeags.com/sports/2016/1/5/watchbigsky.aspx?id=73 or http://watchbigsky.com
Live Stats:	http://ewustats.com for all EWU home games;
Weekly Coaches Show:	Resuming Jan. 3, 6 p.m. at the Swinging Doors in North Spokane (Jan. 3, Jan. 10 and then Mondays Jan. 16 through at least Feb. 27) . . .  700-AM ESPN, http://www.700espn.com & via iphone app. (search for "Spokane Radio" and download app).

The Eagles are going from a classic victory to hosting the Eastern Classic.
 
Riding a two-game winning streak and coming off the championship of the Legends Classic Sub-Regional in Cheney, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team plays Denver and San Francisco this weekend as part of the Eastern Classic at Reese Court. Fellow Big Sky Conference opponent Sacramento State will also play the Pioneers and Dons.
 
The Eagles will play Denver Saturday (Nov. 26) at 6:05 p.m, right after the Hornets take on USF. The following day on Sunday (Nov. 27), Denver and Sacramento State pair-off at 12:05 p.m., then EWU hosts San Francisco at 6:05 following an EWU women's game versus Multnomah at 3 p.m.
 
Fans can also listen to both Eastern games on 700-AM ESPN and via the web at www.700espn.com, with pre-game coverage starting a half-hour prior to tipoff. Eastern's games will also be broadcast via www.watchbigsky.com.
 
The Eagles are 3-2 this season, and will first play a Denver team 1-1 headed into a game versus Utah Valley State on Wednesday (Nov. 23). San Francisco also plays on Nov. 23, taking a 2-0 record into its game versus Troy. Thus far, Denver has lost to Jacksonville (92-84) at home and defeated San Jose State (74-69) on the road, while USF has defeated the University of Illinois at Chicago (82-80) at home, and beat UC Santa Barbara (75-63) on the road.
 
Sacramento State, whose head coach, Brian Katz, is a close friend of EWU head coach Jim Hayford, is 1-3 thus far. The Eagles and Hornets will play each on Feb. 2 in Cheney in the lone meeting between the two schools during the league season.
 
"This will be an exciting weekend of basketball action at Reese Court," said head coach Jim Hayford. "We are honored to bring three strong basketball programs to town. I would encourage all Eastern fans to come out and support the team this weekend."
 
Eastern is coming off a thrilling, 80-76 double-overtime victory over Seattle in the title game of the Legends Classic Sub-Regional. The Eagles sank 3-pointers to send the game into overtime and to a second extra period, then won it by making their last four treys of the game in a 2-minute span. Eastern also defeated Bryant 81-77 in the semifinals. Tournament MVP and senior graduate transfer Jacob Wiley had had 38 points, 18 rebounds, six blocked shots, six assists and a pair of steals in the two games. Junior Bogdan Bliznyuk had a career-high 32 points in the semifinal victory.
 
Prior to that, the Eagles were 0-2 on a challenging road trip, including an 85-52 loss at 21st-ranked Texas on Nov. 17. Three days earlier, Eastern suffered an 86-72 loss at Northwestern in which EWU rallied from a 15-point deficit to cut the lead to six on four occasions. Bliznyuk scored 25 against Northwestern, then had 22 versus the Longhorns. Wiley had 29 points in the two games with a pair of double-figure games.
 
Eastern opened its home schedule with a 70-47 victory over Linfield on Nov. 11, hitting 16-of-32 3-point attempts in the game. Senior Felix Von Hofe led the way with seven 3-pointers and 21 total points, and Cody Benzel had five treys and 17 points. Eastern also beat Saint Martin's an 80-69 in an exhibition game on Oct. 30. Wiley, a NAIA All-American last season at Lewis-Clark State, led the Eagles with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
 
 
 

Team Notes

 
Wiley's Numbers Stack Up Well Against Those of EWU's All-Time Leading Scorer
 
Senior graduate transfer Jacob Wiley has already compiled some impressive numbers five games into what will be a one-year career at EWU. He's averaging 15.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 blocked shots and 2.0 assists per game, while making 60.0 percent from the field. Those numbers compare favorably with those of the forward he's replacing in the starting lineup – all-time leading scorer Venky Jois. Now playing professionally, Jois averaged 14.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.3 assists in his 122-game career, and made 58.3 percent from the field. However, Wiley has a significant advantage at the free throw line where he has made 27-of-37 thus far for 87.1 percent. Jois made only 55.0 percent in his career.
 
Wiley capped a spectacular junior season in 2015-16 by earning first team NAIA All-America honors after averaging 14.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He led L-C State to a 29-5 record and was the fourth-most accurate shooter (.604) in the NAIA, as well as ranking 20th in blocks per game and 43rd in rebounds per game. An Academic All-Frontier Conference selection while at L-C State, Wiley originally played 20 games at Montana in the 2012-13 season. He is 2012 graduate of nearby Newport (Wash.) High School.
 
 
Felix Von Hofe Moves Into Fourth in Eagle History For Three Pointers
 
With a team-leading 14 3-pointers this season, senior Felix Von Hofe has moved into fourth in school history in 3-pointers made with 180. He is four away from moving into third (184, Marc Axton, 2002-05) and 30 from the No. 2 position (210, Parker Kelly 2012-15). Von Hofe is 80 from the record set by his former teammate Tyler Harvey from 2013-15 with 260. Von Hofe is also sixth in attempts with 439, and his 41.0 percent accuracy from the 3-point arc ranks 10th, tied with teammate Bogdan Bliznyuk at 41.0 percent (75-of-183). Von Hofe has had eight performances of at least 20 points in his Eastern career, including seven as a junior in 2015-16 when he had the fourth-most 3-pointers in school history with 105. He has scored in double figures twice this season and 28 times in his career (20 as a junior), and has led EWU in scoring on 10 occasions (eight in 2015-16).
 
 
Julian Harrell Will Miss Rest of Season With Shoulder Injury
 
The collegiate career for Julian Harrell will end with upcoming surgery to repair a disabling shoulder injury, head coach Jim Hayford announced Nov. 21. With a 3.89 grade point average, Harrell saw action in two of Eastern's three games this season, but played just 36 total minutes. In his 23-game career as an Eagle he averaged 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists, making 47.1 percent of his shots from the field. He transferred to Eastern from City College of San Francisco after originally playing at Penn in the 2012-13 (redshirt) and 2013-14 seasons.
 
"This is terrible news, and very disappointing for Julian, his family and his teammates," said Hayford of the 2012 graduate of Loyola High School in Los Angeles. "Julian has giving everything he can to our program for two years, and will graduate next quarter as an honors student. Though not replaceable, our team will work very hard to step up and honor Julian with our work this season."
 
Harrell will graduate from Eastern with an interdisciplinary studies/liberal arts degree. He was a Big Sky Conference All-Academic selection last season, and entered this year as a preseason fourth team All-Big Sky selection by College Sports Madness.
 
 "The hardest thing for me to do is to accept that I won't be able to play this season," said Harrell. "This team has something special brewing, and I wanted to be out there playing with my brothers. There isn't a doubt in my mind that they will be successful this year. Though I'm expected to make a full recovery, it truly hurts that I can't be on the court during the special season that this team will have. Thank you to the EWU community for the love and support since I first arrived on campus -- it means a lot. Go Eags!"
 
 
Quartet Sign Letters of Intent With Eagle Basketball
 
A quartet of high school players, including 6-foot-9 forward Tanner Groves from Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash., have signed letters of intent to play basketball and attend Eastern Washington University, EWU head coach Jim Hayford announced Nov. 9.
 
The others signed include 6-6 forward Brendan Howard, who was Montana's Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior at Great Falls High School.  The third signee was Australian Jack Perry, a 6-2 guard who joins a group of five Aussies currently on EWU's roster. The fourth was 6-7 guard/forward Kim Aiken, an All-CIF selection from East Valley High School in Redlands, Calif.
 
More on the signing class, including comments from head coach Jim Hayford, is available at: http://goeags.com/news/2016/11/9/mens-basketball-quartet-sign-letters-of-intent-with-eagle-basketball.aspx?path=mbball
 
 
Former Eagle Drew Brandon Signs with Romania Pro Team
 
Former Eastern men's basketball player Drew Brandon recently signed with the CS Phoenix Galati in Romania after playing previously in Germany.
 
A member of EWU's 2015 NCAA Tournament team, CS Phoenix is a member of the Romania Liga Nationala League. In 30 games as a rookie for Bayer in Germany last season, Brandon averaged 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. He was named to the Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Pro A squad as an honorable mention selection, and was on its All-Defensive Team.
 
Former Eagles Venky Jois and Tyler Harvey are also currently playing overseas. In his first four games with Tartu Ulikool/Rock in Estonia in the 2016-17 season, Jois was averaging 7.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.8 blocked shots per game, including 17 points and 13 rebounds in an 88-57 victory over Audentese in Estonia.
 
In his first five games with Auxilium Torino in Italy in the 2016-17 season, Harvey was averaging 6.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game, and made 8-of-29 3-point shots. He averaged 11.9 points in 37 games as a rookie for the Erie Bay Hawks in the NBA's Developmental League, making 80-of-231 three-pointers for 34.6 percent.
 
Eastern has 14 former players who have played in the pro ranks within the last year. The complete list of current and former professionals is located at: http://goeags.com/sports/2016/6/27/eagles-in-the-pros.aspx
 
 
Eagles Picked as High as No. 5 in Preseason Polls
 
The Big Sky Conference men's basketball race is going to be a dogfight, and 2016-17 preseason predictions bear that out. Coming off its best back-to-back seasons in its NCAA Division I history, Eastern has been picked fifth by the media and seventh by the coaches in the league's preseason basketball polls released Oct. 14.
 
While the Eagles appear loaded and ready for another Big Sky title run, the rest of the league is as well. Weber State was picked to win the title in both polls, while the media picked Montana at No. 2, Idaho third and North Dakota to finish fourth just ahead of the Eagles and Idaho State at No. 5. After Weber State, the coaches picked the order of finish as Idaho, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho State, Montana State and then EWU.
 
The 2017 Big Sky men's basketball championship will take place March 7 through 11 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev.
 
 
Trio of Eagles Earn Preseason Honors
 
Junior forward Bogdan Bliznyuk was selected as a first team selection on the College Sports Madness preseason All-Big Sky Conference team. Seniors Felix Von Hofe and Julian Harrell were both picked as fourth team selections. All three were starters last season on a team that featured a pair of All-Big Sky Conference and All-District 6 selections in Venky Jois and Austin McBroom. 
 
"We lost two great starters from last year's team to graduation. It's nice to see the other three guys who started recognized for what they have done," said Eastern head coach Jim Hayford. "I am excited about what they will do as leaders of this year's team."
 
Last year, Bliznyuk averaged 12.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, and registered the first triple-double in school history. Von Hofe averaged 13.0 points and 3.1 made 3-pointers per game, and Harrell chipped in 8.3 points and 2.8 rebounds after missing 13 games with a hand injury.
 
 
Eagles Gain Experience With Summer Tour to Australia
 
Besides its three returning starters, the 16-player roster includes four other returning letterwinners, one transfer who sat out last season (Geremy McKay), three other players who redshirted in 2015-16, four incoming freshmen and senior graduate transfer Jacob Wiley, who began his career at Montana before transferring to Lewis-Clark State.
 
This season's preparation for the Eagles had the added benefit of a summer team tour to Australia that included seven games and a scrimmage. That became important as EWU replaces the four-year contributions of Venky Jois, who concluded his Eastern career as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,803 points. Eastern also must replace the Big Sky's leading scorer a year ago in Austin McBroom.
 
The Eagles took on some of the top clubs in Australia during the tour of Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns from Aug. 14-28. Featuring five Eastern players who call Australia their home, the Eagles played seven games – winning four -- and had a scrimmage. However, the team's three returning starters – Bogdan Bliznyuk (wrist) didn't play, Julian Harrell (concussion) saw action in just the opening scrimmage and Felix Von Hofe (shoulder) was limited.
 
 
Eagles Coming Off First Postseason Victory as a Member of NCAA Division I
 
The Eagles finished the 2015-16 season with an 18-16 record and advanced to the second round of the College Basketball Invitational, including the school's first NCAA Division I postseason win with a 79-72 victory over Pepperdine. Eastern finished fourth in the Big Sky Conference with a 10-8 league mark, then beat Northern Arizona 74-52 in the first round of the league tournament. Eastern was the Big Sky's 2014-15 regular season and tournament champion, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The 44 combined victories the last two years are the most in since EWU became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season. They are the most overall in 39 years since EWU won a combined 45 in the 1976-77 and 1977-78 seasons as a member of the NAIA.
 
Eastern finished the season ranked fifth in NCAA Division I with an average of 10.5 3-pointers made per game. Eastern also ranked 15th in NCAA Division I in scoring offense (81.4 points per game), 16th in overall field goal accuracy (48.3 percent) and 25th in accuracy from the 3-point stripe (38.5 percent).
 
 
Schedule Features Four Teams from 2016 NCAA Tourney
 
The Eagles will again travel the nation by playing teams from 13 different leagues. Eastern's schedule includes four teams which appeared in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, and four others who joined EWU last year in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). One opponent played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). But the best part of the season is 16 home games at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
 
 "The schedule gives us many great opportunities to play in front of our home fans during the non-conference season," said Hayford. "We are playing a very good group of teams which will challenge and prepare us for Big Sky Conference play."
 
Eastern picked up an 80-69 exhibition victory on Oct. 30 against Saint Martin's, which is coached by former Eastern assistant Alex Pribble. The Eagles officially opened the regular season in Cheney with a 70-47 victory against Linfield, a NCAA Division III school in the Northwest Conference.
 
Eastern then took part in the Legends Classic, falling to Northwestern 86-72 on the road on Nov. 14 and 85-52 at Texas on Nov. 17. Still looking for its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth, Northwestern finished with an overall record of 20-12 and 8-10 in the Big 10, losing to Michigan in the first round of the Big 10 Tournament. Texas (20-13 overall and 11-7 in the Big 12) lost to Baylor in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament and went on as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament where it lost to Northern Iowa in the first round. The Longhorns were ranked 21st and 23rd in the two national polls prior to playing the Eagles.
 
The Eagles returned home and won the title in the Legends Classic Sub-Regional round in Cheney. Eastern beat Bryant (8-23/5-13 Northeast Conference) 81-77 on the first day, then edged Seattle 80-76 in double-overtime the next night. Bryant beat Louisiana Monroe in the consolation game, with Eastern's Jacob Wiley earning tournament MVP honors. Seattle was in the CBI a year ago and Louisiana Monroe played in the CIT.
 
Next, Eastern hosts the EWU Classic in which they play Denver (16-15/7-9 Summit League) on Nov. 26 and San Francisco (15-15/8-10 West Coast Conference) on Nov. 27. San Francisco lost in the first round of the WCC Tournament last season to Pepperdine, which fell to Eastern 79-72 in the first round of the CBI. The Eagles beat the Dons for the second-straight year in San Francisco last season, winning 81-77.
 
On Dec. 4, Eastern will play at Seattle (13-15/7-7 Western Athletic Conference), which lost in the second round of the WAC Tournament. Seattle made it to the second round of the CBI before falling to Vermont. Eastern and the Redhawks split two games last season, with EWU winning 76-70 at home and losing on the road six days later 58-52.
 
The Eagles will return home for a pair of games against Great Falls (13-16/5-13 Frontier Conference) on Dec. 8 and Morehead State (23-14/11-5 Ohio Valley Conference) on Dec. 13. Morehead State had a successful postseason in 2015-16, making it to the finals of the CBI before losing to Nevada in three games. Nevada ended EWU's season last year with an 85-70 victory in Reno in the quarterfinals of the CBI.
 
"A lot of years we only get three or four home games in November and December, but this year we'll actually play at home more than on the road," said Hayford, whose team will play seven of its 13 non-conference games at home. "We really want Eastern fans out here supporting our team at Reese Court."
 
Eastern will hit the road for its three final non-conference games before starting league play. The Eagles play at Northern Kentucky (9-21/5-13 Horizon League) on Dec. 18, Xavier (28-6/14-4 Big East) on Dec. 20 and Colorado (22-12/10-8 Pac-12) on Dec. 22. The latter two teams participated in the 2016 NCAA Tournament -- Xavier as a No. 2 seed and Colorado at No. 8. Xavier defeated Weber State in the first round and then lost to Wisconsin in the second round. Colorado fell to UConn in the first round.
 
"When you get to play Big Ten and Big 12 teams, that's pretty cool," said Hayford. "Then we get to play Xavier in Cincinnati, as well as a Pac-12 opponent in Colorado. We are going to play in some hostile environments, but we love those experiences."
 
The Eagles will begin Big Sky play on Dec. 30 with a visit to Idaho, followed by the team's league home opener against Montana State on Jan. 5. Eastern also hosts Montana (Jan. 7), Northern Arizona (Jan. 19), Southern Utah (Jan. 21), Sacramento State (Feb. 2), Portland State (Feb. 4), Idaho (Feb. 17), Weber State (Feb. 23) and Idaho State (Feb. 25) before the regular season comes to a close on March 4 at Northern Arizona.
 
 "This is my sixth year as the head coach of Eastern and I anticipate this to be the most balanced and competitive conference season we have seen yet," added Hayford.
 
The 2017 Big Sky men's basketball championship will take place March 7 through 11 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev. Tickets for the 2017 Big Sky Basketball Championships are now on sale. Visit http://RoadtoReno.com for more information.
 
 
Coaches Shows Resume Jan. 3
 
The weekly Eastern Washington University Men's Basketball Coaches Show featuring head coach Jim Hayford and host Larry Weir began with a season preview on Nov. 8, and will return on Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. Pacific time at the Swinging Doors Restaurant in North Spokane (W. 1018 Francis). Additional interviews with players and other guests will also be featured. Fans may attend the one-hour shows live, or listen on 700-AM ESPN and via the web at www.700espn.com. Programming on 700-AM ESPN is also available via mobile phone aps (search for "Spokane Radio" and download app) and www.tunein.com (an app is also available for tunein radio).  Following the Nov. 8 show, the next two shows will take place on Tuesdays – Jan. 3 and 10. Thereafter, shows will be on Mondays from Jan. 16 through at least Feb. 27. The show on March 6 depends on team travel arrangements for the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Reno, Nevada. Shows on March 13 and March 20 are also possible and will be determined by EWU's postseason fate and availability of Hayford.
 
 
 

Series Notes

 
* Eastern is 2-3 all-time against Denver, winning 74-58 last season on Dec. 20, 2015, in Denver. The Pioneers won the first meeting on Nov. 30, 2002, by a 69-48 score in Denver, then won 77-73 in Cheney on Nov. 26, 2003. Eastern fell on the road 80-64 on Nov. 28, 2004, and then lost at home 80-61 less than a month later on Dec. 18, 2004.
 
* In last year's victory, Australians Felix Von Hofe and Venky Jois joined Austin McBroom to combine for 72 points, and the Eagles used hot 3-point shooting some great defense to register a huge 74-58 non-conference road win Dec. 20 at Magness Arena in Denver, Colo. Von Hofe scored 28 points and made eight 3-pointers, Jois had 26 points and equaled his career high with 16 rebounds and McBroom chipped in 18 points and four assists. That trio combined for all 26 of EWU's field goals, helping the Eagles sink 51 percent of their shots overall (26-of-51) and 12-of-25 3-pointers for 48 percent. Defensively, Eastern had a dominating 40-21 rebounding advantage over the Pioneers, who entered the game 3-0 against Big Sky Conference teams. Eastern held Denver scoreless for nearly seven minutes to open a 16-point lead early in the second half, then closed out the win by holding the Pioneers to just two field goals in the final nine minutes of the game. The Eagles held the Pioneers to 40 percent shooting from the field, and just 4-of-17 from the 3-point stripe (24 percent). The Pioneers entered the game ranked 33rd in NCAA Division I at 48.6 percent, and the Eagles were just ahead of them in 32nd at 48.8 percent. Von Hofe scored 16 points in a 19-7 run in the first half to give EWU the lead for good at 30-23. The Eagles closed the half with an 8-0 run, then scored six of the first seven points of the second half to take a 49-33 lead. Eastern led by no less than eight the rest of the way.
 
* Eastern is 2-1 all-time against San Francisco, losing 66-48 on Dec. 1, 1995, winning 81-76 on Dec. 11, 2014, and winning 81-77 on Dec. 1, 2015. All three games were played at USF.
 
* In last year's meeting, Hot shooting during a trio of scoring runs propelled EWU past USF for the second-straight year, winning 81-77 in a non-conference game Dec. 1 at War Memorial Gymnasium. Eastern used runs of 10-0 and 13-2 in the first half to forge a 17-point lead on sizzling 13-of-16 shooting from the field. The Eagles hit five-straight shots to regain a 17-point bulge in the second half with a 14-4 run, then held on for EWU's fourth win of the season. A late 9-1 run by the Dons cut the lead to three with 50 seconds to play, but USF missed its last three shots. Eastern's Austin McBroom clinched the victory with a free throw with seven seconds to play, but six missed charity shots in the final 58 seconds made the Eagles sweat it out. Eastern made 14-of-30 3-pointers for 47 percent, just four makes from the school record of 18. Felix Von Hofe made 8-of-11 field goals, including 4-of-7 from the 3-point stripe, to finish with 20 points. Senior graduate transfer Austin McBroom scored 19, making 5-of-9 3-pointers. He also had five assists. Senior Venky Jois finished with 11 points and a pair of blocked shots to give him 201 for his career. The preseason Big Sky Conference MVP made 5-of-6 shots from the field after entering the game ranked fifth in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage at 71.2 percent. Bogdan Bliznyuk was the fourth Eagle in double figures with 13, and also had four assists. The Eagles finished with just nine turnovers, but were out-rebounded 36-22. Eastern opened the first half by making 13 of its first 16 shots, and began the second half 8-of-10. Collectively, those starts equaled a 21-of-26 performance (81 percent), compared to 8-of-31 for the rest of the game (26 percent).
 
* In the 2014 meeting against USF, second half rebounding made the Eagles sweat, but cold-blooded shooting down the stretch closed out EWU's eighth victory in nine tries in the 2015-16 season on Dec. 11 in San Francisco, Calif. Senior Parker Kelly and junior Venky Jois had the clutch plays to give EWU the lead for good, and the Eagles made eight free throws in the final 1:15 to prevail 81-76 over San Francisco of the West Coast Conference at War Memorial Gymnasium. Four Eagles scored in double figures, including 19 by junior Tyler Harvey, who scored nine early points to hit the 1,000-point mark in his career. Ognjen Miljkovic had a team-high 20, Kelly added 15 and Jois finished with a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Jois had a 3-point play with 2:56 to play to break a 67-all tie. Then Kelly, who was playing in his 100th game as an Eagle, drained a 3-pointer to give EWU a 73-67 advantage with 2:21 to play. The Eagles closed out the win by making 8-of-10 free throws in the final 1:15. Eastern won its fifth-straight game despite getting out-rebounded 43-28 and out-shot 48 percent to 42 percent. Eastern made 12 3-pointers and sank 19-of-26 free throws for 73 percent, compared to just 53 percent from the line by the Dons (16-of-30).
 
 
 

Recent Game Recaps

 
Eastern Gets Hot When It Counts and Beats Seattle 80-76 in Double Overtime in Title Game
 
Eastern made its last four 3-pointers in the second overtime and beat Seattle 80-76 Nov. 22 at Reese Court to win the title in the Legends Classic sub-regional round in Cheney, Wash. The Eagles had made just eight of 30 3-point shots until hitting its last four in less than a two-minute span. Bogdan Bliznyuk, Sir Washington, Felix Von Hofe and Cody Benzel all hit treys to turn a 70-65 deficit into a 77-73 lead with 25 seconds to play. Before that, Benzel and Bliznyuk hit triples – both with four seconds on the clock -- to force the game into overtime and double-overtime. Tournament MVP Jacob Wiley led the way with 20 points, nine rebounds, five blocked shots, five assists and a pair of steals in the victory. Benzel and Von Hofe each has 17, and freshman Luka Vulikic added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Benzel made the second start of his career, with his outside shooting an asset versus the zone defense of the Redhawks. The graduate of Spokane's Ferris High School finished with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the 3-point arc, after scoring 12 with four 3-pointers one night earlier versus Bryant. Von Hofe has his second double-figure game of the season, finishing with 17 points with a trio of 3-pointers and 6-of-8 shooting from the free throw line. The game featured 14 lead changes and 11 times, all in the second half and overtime. The game was about as balanced as it could be, with both teams shooting at a 40 percent clip. Seattle had a slight rebounding edge at 39-38 and had 13 turnovers to EWU's 15. The Eagles finished with 10 blocked shots. The two schools meet again on Dec. 4 in Seattle. Bryant (2-3) defeated Louisiana Monroe (1-4) 64-57 in the consolation game earlier Tuesday. Joining Wiley on the all-tournament team were Seattle's Brendan Westendorf, Bryant's Nisre Zouzoua and Louisiana Monroe's Sam McDaniel.
 
 
Bliznyuk Scores Career-High 32 as Eagles Advance to Title Game
 
Junior Bogdan Bliznyuk scored a career-high 32 points to pace Eastern past Bryant 81-77 Nov. 21 at Reese Court in the Legends Classic sub-regional round in Cheney. Bliznyuk scored 21 of his points in the first half, including seven during a key run that gave EWU a nine-point halftime lead. Cody Benzel added 12 with four 3-pointers made, including a pair during an important 11-3 run in the second half that gave EWU an 11-point advantage. Senior graduate transfer Jacob Wiley scored 18 points and had a team-high nine rebounds, sinking 10-of-12 free throws and four of seven shots from the floor. The Eagles were out-shot 49 percent to 44 percent, but had a dominating 36-25 rebounding advantage and made their last 18 free throws of the game.
 
 
 

Head Coach Jim Hayford Comments

 
On Seattle Win: "It's hard scoring against that zone. But if the game goes on and on and on, suddenly it gets a little easier to score against it. We're really happy to get the win. We made some big, clutch shots. Cody made it 52-52 at the buzzer to end regulation, then Bogdan picked a good time to hit his first basket of the night to force double-overtime. It was back to a one-point game and Cody had ice in his veins and made another three. Mixed in there were some big baskets by Sir Washington as well. That all kind of hangs on the back of the performance Jake had in the second half. We were going at them with him inside, and he played really well. I thought we got great minutes from our freshman tonight – Luka had a double-double and is a very versatile player."
 
On Competitive Game: "It's why you get into this career – the joy of competition and two teams just going at it. To be in November and have a game like that is really fun – it's fun for the guys. It's really fun to be on this side of it and heartbreaking to be on the other side. Guys just stepped up and made some big plays and big shots, and some big stops too. What an exciting basketball game. Now we have to go back to Key Arena and play them again. It's fun to compete like that."
 
On Bogdan Bliznyuk Versus Bryant: "Bogdan is obviously very special. We're doing things to run offense through him as kind of a point-forward. He looked unbelievable tonight so my hat is off to him. He's a great player."
 
On Progress: "We're a work in progress – we are starting a freshman, two more underclassmen, and our first sub off the bench is another freshman. You just have to go and doubt your doubts, fight through it and play, and we'll form an identity."
 
On Defense/Offense: "We aren't going to be the team that just scores points in droves and all of the sudden there is a 15-0 run. We are going to have to put stops together and keep chipping away. We are going to be a tough team that has to work and probably won't put points on the board as fast as we have."
 
On Big Sky Race: "We think this is going to be the toughest Big Sky Conference race yet. I think 20 of the top 30 leading scorers in the conference are returning. We have three of the top returning starters in the conference, and that's the veteran experience of our group. We are going to lean on them, but it's going to be a very, very tough conference schedule."
 
On Big Sky Tournament in Reno: "Ultimately, you are playing for a three or four game winning streak. If you can do that in Reno, you can get the crown jewel. Playing it in Reno is a great experience because every team knows they are coming, you can plan ahead and families can see you play. I thought the environment is great. I'm glad the conference made this move to a neutral site, and I think it is only going to get better and better. It's nice to have experience there, but ultimately you have to build depth for your team to be at its best for those games."
 
On Australia Trip: "On the court we were as injured a team as I've ever seen. When you look at the five starters on last year's team and who was playing this trip, it was drastically different. So what that did create was a lot of opportunity for the younger guys to get game experience. I believe this will bear fruit in the long run. Several guys did really well against some very high-level competition. I do believe the trip is so much more to do with the process of the guys becoming a team. They got to know one another, played in front of family that they normally don't get to play in front of, and continued to build on our team culture."