With their Big Sky Conference debut only hours away, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team had two players honored Friday (Dec. 30) by HoopsHD.Com as mid-season All-Big Sky Conference selections.
 
Junior forward Bogdan Bliznyuk was named that organization's "Player of the Year So Far," and he was joined on the all-league team by senior graduate transfer Jacob Wiley. The Eagles (8-5) open Big Sky Conference play at Idaho (5-6) tonight at 7 p.m. Pacific time, with the Vandals opening their doors to the Cowan Spectrum (Kibbie Dome) for free admission to the holiday game.
 
"There are three parts of the season – non-conference, conference and post-season," said Eastern head coach Jim Hayford. "Our team only has four upperclassmen this year and we need their leadership and consistent play. Jacob and Bogdan played well in November and December. Recognition for them is earned and deserved.  Now we move forward together with their leadership."
 
Already a two-time Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, after 13 games Bliznyuk is ranked in the top 10 in five different statistical categories in the league, ranking third in points (20.9 per game), 10th in rebounds (6.3), fourth in assists (4.4), second in free throw percentage (.900) and 3rd in field goal percentage (.498). He ranks 27th nationally in scoring and is 30th in free throw percentage. Originally from Lutsk, Ukraine, Bliznyuk is a 2014 graduate of Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, Wash.
 
Wiley has already compiled some impressive numbers 13 games into what will be a one-year career at EWU, and is nearly averaging a double-double in his last four outings. In EWU's last four games he's averaging 13.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocked shots and 1.8 assists while making 58.3 percent of his field goal attempts (21-of-36) and 76.9 percent of his free throws (10-of-13). He is a 2012 graduate of Newport (Wash.) High School, and played at Montana before finishing his degree and playing two seasons at Lewis-Clark State.
 
Wiley averaging 13.6 points (13th in the Big Sky), 7.6 rebounds (fourth), 3.2 blocked shots (first) and 2.0 assists per game, while making 58.9 percent from the field (second) and 86.5 percent from the free throw line (fourth). He leads the Big Sky in blocked shots per game by more than double the next player (1.4), and is ranked eighth in NCAA Division I. As a team, Eastern is 34th nationally with an average of 5.4 per game. Wiley is also 32nd nationally in field goal percentage and 61st in free throw percentage.
 
Neither player earned official All-Big Sky preseason honors, but Bliznyuk was selected as a first team selection on the College Sports Madness preseason All-Big Sky Conference 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.
 
 

More on Bliznyuk's Season Thus  Far. . .

 
Bliznyuk had his eighth 20-point performance in 13 games this season when he finished with 25 in a 76-68 loss at Colorado on Dec. 22. He had 21 in the first half, scoring 18-straight Eastern points at one point. He had a career-high 34-point effort in EWU's 88-86 win over Morehead State on Dec. 13, making 13-of-19 field goals and 7-of-10 free throws. Bliznyuk had a double-double with 31 points and 12 rebounds in EWU's 93-88 double-overtime non-conference victory over Seattle on Dec. 4 to earn his second of two Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors. Formerly from Lutsk, Ukraine, and a 2014 graduate of Todd Beamer High School near Seattle, he had 12 rebounds to finish with the 11th double-double in his career, including the school's first and only triple-double last season. The previous week, after helping EWU win three home games, Bliznyuk was also the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week.
 
He came a rebound away from the second triple-double in school history (he had the first as a sophomore last year) with 22 points, a career-high 11 assists and nine rebounds in an 85-80 win over Denver. The next night, he equaled what was then his career-high with 32 points, and added seven rebounds and seven assists in a 96-90 shootout win against San Francisco. He made 9-of-16 shots from the field, both of his 3-pointers and 12-of-13 free throws in the win over the Dons, which equaled the career high of 32 he had on Nov. 21 in a win over Bryant. In that game, Bliznyuk made 11-of-15 shots overall, both of his 3-point attempts and all eight of his free throws, to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.
 
Bliznyuk's 22 points, career-high 11 assists and nine rebounds against Denver on Nov. 26 was the fourth time since Jan. 11, 2014, that an Eagle had come one stat from a triple-double. The other three were by Drew Brandon. Bliznyuk had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists against Northern Arizona on Jan. 16, 2016, for the first triple-double in school history. The closest former Eagle Rodney Stuckey – now playing in the NBA for Indiana – came was 14 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists on Nov. 19, 2005, versus Pacific Lutheran.
 
Bliznyuk compiled some big numbers during Eastern's seven-game winning streak from Nov. 21 to Dec. 13, including four performances of at least 31 points. He averaged 25.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game in that stretch, making 53.0 percent of his field goals, 37.5 percent of his 3-point shots (9-of-24) and 89.6 percent of his free throws (43-of-48). Until falling 70-48 to Northern Kentucky on Dec. 18, Eastern hadn't lost since falling at Texas 85-52 on Nov. 17.
 
 

More on Wiley's Season Thus  Far. . .

 
Wiley had 16 points, six rebounds, five blocks and four assists versus 17th-ranked Xavier on Dec. 20, then had 10 points, eight rebounds and two more blocks against Colorado two nights later. Prior to that he had back-to-back double-double performances, with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Morehead State on Dec. 13 and 14 points and 12 more boards against Northern Kentucky on Dec. 18. He's scored in double figures in 11 of 13 games this season, and has had a pair of double figure rebounding performances.
 
Earlier this season, Wiley was the MVP of the Legends Classic sub-regional round in Cheney, Wash, finishing with 20 points, nine rebounds, five blocked shots, five assists and a pair of steals in an 80-76 double-overtime victory over Seattle in the championship game. The previous night in an 81-77 win over Bryant, he scored 18 points and had a team-high nine rebounds, sinking 10-of-12 free throws and four of seven shots from the floor.
 
Wiley's 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 Jois made only 55.0 percent in his career.
 
Wiley capped a spectacular junior season for Lewis-Clark State 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.