Upcoming Games (times Pacific)

Coverage

Radio: Saturday's game versus PSU will aired on KXLY 920-AM and via www.700espn.com. All other 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:  ewustats.com for EWU home games, plus the PSU game.
EWU Coaches Show: The shows, featuring head coach Jim Hayford & host Larry Weir, continue Mondays until at least Feb. 29 live at 6 p.m. Pacific time from 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.
 

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The first meeting was punctuated by a record-breaking 3-point shooting exhibition by the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team. But this time around, all eyes will be on veteran forwards Venky Jois and Cameron Forte.
 
Jois can achieve several more milestones in his illustrious career when the Eagles put their seven-game winning streak on the line at Portland State in a Big Sky Conference game on Saturday (Feb. 20) at 7:05 p.m. Pacific time at the Stott Center. Eastern coaches and staff will be among the approximately 250 schools who will be wearing lapel pins to help raise awareness of autism through the national organization Autism Speaks.
 
Fans can listen to Saturday's game on KXLY-AM 920 and via the web at www.kxly920.com. All other Eastern games are on 700-AM ESPN and via the web at www.700espn.com. All EWU home games and conference road games are broadcast on www.watchbigsky.com.
 
Jois enters the rematch of a 112-83 Eastern win on Jan. 28 just three points shy of the 1,700 mark in his career, and is only 44 points behind the EWU career record of 1,741. The 6-foot-8, 230 pound junior is also only 37 rebounds from reaching 1,000, with a current total that ranks sixth in Big Sky history while his points rank 13th.
 
Already only the third player in Big Sky history to have at least 1,600 points and 900 rebounds, Jois could move into fifth all-time in the league in combined points and rebounds with 13 against the Vikings. He has 2,660 total, with Jim Potter ranking No. 5 with 2,673 from 1993-95 (1,810 points, 863 rebounds).
 
Jois, ranked second in NCAA Division I in shooting accuracy (69.2 percent), has made 22-of-25 shots in his last three games. He has 36 career double-doubles, 10 this season and nine in his last 15 games. The two times he hasn't had a double-double in his last eight games he was a rebound shy.
 
Forte, meanwhile, is just ahead of Jois in season scoring (17.8 and 16.8) and rebounding (9.3 and 9.0), respectively. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound graduate transfer from Georgia scored nearly half of his team's points with 37 to go along with 13 rebounds in the previous meeting. He made 13-of-24 field goals and 11-of-20 free throws on a night in which the Eagles set a school record with 20 3-pointers, which at the time was also a league record.
 
"We are looking forward to playing Portland State – they are a good team," said Eastern head coach Jim Hayford. "Cameron Forte is obviously a very special player, because in Cheney he kind of had his way with us. His supporting cast is better than they showed in that game. We're playing another small gym where it kind of gets crazy like it did in Sacramento. We just have to have composure and play through that. We have to stop them, and I'm sure Portland State will be very well-prepared for us. They have a very good coaching staff."
 
Eastern enters with its longest winning streak in 12 years, a seven-game stretch in which EWU has led 93 percent of the time and hasn't trailed in the last 28 minutes of any of them. Eastern has won 10 of its last 12 since opening the league season 0-2, and has led 91 percent of the time in those games.
 
The Eagles are coming off their third-straight road victory, a wire-to-wire 93-88 win at Sacramento State in which EWU made 15 of its first 19 shots. The Eagles are 16-10 overall and 10-4 in the league, and trail only 11-2 Weber State and Montana in the league standings. With games against fourth-place Idaho (9-5) and Idaho State (8-5) ahead, the Eagles still have a battle on their hands to stay in the top four in the conference and earn one of four first-round byes in the Big Sky Conference Tournament March 8-12 in Reno.
 
The Vikings, now 8-16 overall and 4-9 in the league, have dropped their last five games following an 80-74 home loss to Idaho. Portland State is 5-6 at home this season, while the Eagles are 6-10 away from home.
 
After Saturday's game, Eastern plays its final regular season league road game Feb. 27 at Idaho. The Eagles close the league season at home versus Idaho State on March 3 and Weber State on March 5.
 
 

Opponent/Series Notes 

 
* Since Eastern became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, the Eagles are now 20-21 versus the Vikings. All of the meetings have come since the 1996-97 school year when PSU joined the Big Sky Conference, and Eastern is 13-8 in Cheney and 7-12 against PSU in Portland (0-1 on neutral courts) since then. The Vikings have a 24-21 edge in the overall series. Eastern split its meetings against PSU in 2014-15, but won in Portland (92-85) and lost later in the season at home (68-66).
 
* Earlier this season on a night they made a school-record 20 3-pointers, the Eagles jumped out to a 21-4 lead and had a 10-point lead or larger for all but four minutes in an overwhelming 112-83 victory over Portland State in a Big Sky game Jan. 28 at Reese Court. Eastern sank a season-high 64 percent of its shots from the field, including 20-of-31 3-point attempts (62 percent). The Eagles broke the previous record of 18 3-pointers set against New Hope on Dec. 4, 2010. Eight Eagles made 3-pointers and six Eagles scored in double figures, led by the 25 of Austin McBroom and 23 by Venky Jois. Although Portland State's Cameron Forte had a monster game with 37 points and 13 rebounds, the Eagles held PSU to 34.3 percent shooting in the first half and led at intermission 56-32. Eastern's largest lead of 36 came with 15:11 left at 74-38 after an 18-6 run to open the second half. Sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk was a box score stuffer, finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five steals and four blocked shots. Juniors Julian Harrell and Felix Von Hofe each scored 16, and sophomore Sir Washington came off the bench to score 10 points in 16 minutes. Eastern made seven of its first eight shots in the game and ended up making 66 percent of its shots in the first half and 62 percent after halftime. The 63.8 percent accuracy bettered Eastern's other two 60-percent shooting nights this season – 63.3 versus George Fox and 61.3 against Southern Utah.
 

 

Venky Jois Milestone Watch 

 
* Senior Venky Jois, only the third player in the 53-year history of the Big Sky Conference to have more than 1,600 points and 900 rebounds in his career, is inching closer to the EWU career scoring record. Now with 1,697 points as an Eagle, he is only 44 points behind the school record of 1,741 held by Ron Cox (1974-77). His point total is currently 13th in Big Sky history, 113 from moving into the No. 12 position (1,810).
 
* If Jois equals his 16.8 scoring average the rest of the season (including one Big Sky Tournament game), Jois would finish with 1,781 to rank 13th in league history and break the school record at home on March 3 versus Idaho State. He moved from fourth to second in career scoring against Montana on Jan. 23, with a first-half dunk moving him past the 1,550 points of Irv Leifer (1942-47) and in the second half he moved past the 1,564 scored by former teammate Tyler Harvey. Jois also ranks ahead of the 1,438 of Rodney Stuckey (now with the Indiana Pacers in the NBA). 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.
 
* Besides his scoring prowess, Jois' school-record total of 231 blocked shots are 16 from the league record of 247 (Brian Qvale, Montana, 2008-11). Jois also has 963 rebounds in his career to rank third in school history and sixth all-time in the Big Sky (48 from fifth). The only other players in league history to have more than 1,600 points and 900 rebounds are Larry Krystkowiak (Montana, 1983-86, 2,017 points, 1,105 rebounds, 3,122 total) and Steve Hayes (Idaho State, 1974-77, 1,933 points, 1,147 rebounds, 3,080 total). For total points/rebounds, Jois is sixth all-time with a current total of 2,660 (No. 5 is Jim Potter, Idaho State, 1993-95, 1,810 points, 863 rebounds, 2,673 total and No. 4 is Willie Sojourner, Weber State, 1,563 points, 1,143 rebounds, 2,709 total).
 
* Jois is also currently on pace to finish 20th in Big Sky history and fifth in school history in career field goal percentage (58.0 percent). His accuracy as a senior of 69.2 percent is on pace to set a school record (Ron Cox, 66.0 percent in 1977) and rank as the third-best in league history. Jois also ranks on EWU's leaders lists for games played (115, sixth), scoring average (14.80, 10th), rebounding average (8.4, eighth), field goals attempted (1,161, third), field goals made (673, second), free throws made (347, second) and owns school records for dunks (149) and free throws attempted (623).
 
 
 

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.
 
* The Eagles and head coach Jim Hayford have already won the most games in back-to-back seasons in the school's 33 seasons as a member of NCAA Division I. Eastern has won 42 thus far (26 last year, 16 this season), to overtake the previous mark of 35. Hayford is the winningest coach in Eastern's Division I history with 82 wins in his five years at the helm (the previous mark was 69). He is averaging 16.4 victories per season thus far – just behind the all-time record of 17.3 among Eastern coaches with at least four seasons at the helm. He would need to get to 87 wins (21 this season) to surpass that high-water mark in EWU's 108 seasons of basketball.
 
* Eastern's scoring average for the season is at 83.5 points to rank 10th in NCAA Division I and lead the Big Sky Conference through games of Feb. 18. 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 school records for average are 90.0 overall (1972) and 84.2 as a member of D1 (2007).
 
* Eastern is now 13-0 this season when it has a better field goal percentage than its opponent, and 3-10 when it has been out-shot. The Eagles are also 8-1 when allowing 71 points or fewer, and 7-1 when their opponent makes 44.9 percent or less from the field. Against Sacramento State on Feb. 18, the Eagles won for the eighth-straight time when they've made at least 50 percent of their shots, finishing 31-of-58 for 53 percent with 11 3-pointers. The Eagles, ranked fifth in NCAA Division I with a season-best accuracy rate of 50.1 percent, are now 12-2 when making at least 50 percent.
 
* Eastern is 10-2 with Julian Harrell in the starting lineup, and the lone losses were 85-71 at Montana State on Jan. 21 and 74-69 at Montana on Jan. 23. Harrell missed EWU's first 13 games of the season with a hand injury, but is averaging 9.1 points and 2.9 rebounds on 55 percent shooting in 13 games played, while often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent's best player.
 
* Eastern has now led for 259:10 out of 280 total minutes – 93 percent – during its seven-game winning streak, and only trailed for 7:18 (tied for the other 13:32). Eastern's win over North Dakota was its closest of the seven games, with UND leading for 5:02 and the game tied for 2:27 in the first half. The Eagles led for 38:47 in its most recent game versus Sacramento State, 37:13 against Northern Colorado, 32:31 against UND, 33:16 at Southern Utah, 39:45 at Northern Arizona, 38:25 versus Sacramento State and 39:13 against Portland State. Versus PSU, EWU opened a double-digit lead it never relinquished at 16-4 just 3:40 into the game, and led by 20 or more for the last 26:21 of the game and 27:13 total.
 
* Eastern has now led for 362:40 out of 400 minutes – 91 percent -- in its last 10 victories. In a three-game homestand in January which started the trend, 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. But proving just how difficult it is to win on the road, Eastern led Montana on Jan. 23 for just 3:29 and two nights earlier led MSU for just 5:23. In its six league home games, Eastern has led for 223:38 out of 240 minutes (93 percent).
 
* Featuring a school-record performance with 20 3-pointers against Portland State on Jan. 28, Eastern's average of 10.6 3-pointers per game is fifth in NCAA Division I (previously fourth after eight games) and leads the Big Sky. The team's percentage is 16th at 39.5 percent (previously 175th/33.9 percent after six games). Austin McBroom (3.68 per game) and Felix Von Hofe (3.08 per game) are ranked first and third in the Big Sky and are third and 19th, respectively, in the nation. Against PSU on Jan. 28, the Eagles made 20-of-31 to break the previous school record of 18 3-pointers set against New Hope on Dec. 4, 2010 and equal the Big Sky record (since broken by Montana State with 25 on Feb. 11 versus Northern Arizona). Eastern's 20 treys were by eight different players – six by Austin McBroom, five by Felix Von Hofe, four by Julian Harrell and one each by Bogdan Bliznyuk, Sir Washington, Bear Henderson, Will Ferris and Cody Benzel. Two days later, Eastern made just 1-of-20 in a 74-67 home victory over Sacramento State. A year ago, Eastern was fifth nationally with an average of 9.8 made treys per game, and its 40.0 percent accuracy was eighth-best in the nation. With 275 3-pointers made this season, the Eagles are chasing the school record of 344 set in 2015, as well as the percentage record (.400) set the same season.
 
* This only the second time in Eastern's 33 seasons as a member of NCAA Division I that the Eagles have scored at least 100 points in four games. Eastern also achieved that feat in 2006-07 season when Rodney Stuckey averaged 24.6 points per game when the Eagles averaged 84.2 per game to establish EWU's high-water mark as a member of DI. The overall record for 100-point performances is eight set in the 1970-71 season, and the 1971-72 squad had seven when Eastern averaged a school-record 90.0 points per game.
 
* Eastern has now led at halftime in 20 of 26 games this season, and has a 16-4 record in those 20 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 946-787 in the first half (average score of 39-32) and has been outscored 1049-1036 in the second half (43-43).
 
 
 

Player Notes 

 
* Senior graduate transfer Austin McBroom earned Oscar Robertson National Player of the Year honors on Feb. 16 and Big Sky Conference Player of the Week accolades one day earlier for his historic scoring performance. He piled up the most points in back-to-back games in Big Sky Conference play in school history, finished with a combined 72 points in EWU's home sweep against North Dakota (35 points on 2/11/16) and Northern Colorado (37 points on 2/13/16). Including his 11 assists which led to 26 additional Eagle points, he had a hand in 98 of EWU's 192 points on the weekend (51 percent). His point totals rank 12th and 23rd in school history, as he made 19-of-33 shots (58 percent), 12-of-20 3-pointers (60 percent) and 22-of-25 free throws (88 percent), to go along with 10 total rebounds. It was the third time in the last two years an Eagle has scored at least 72 points in back-to-back games. But it's the most in back-to-back Big Sky Conference games in school history, besting the 70 Rodney Stuckey, now with the Indiana Pacers in the NBA, had late in the 2006-07 season against Weber State (34) and Portland State (36). Last season, Venky Jois had 38 each in back-to-back games versus Eastern Oregon and Seattle, then Tyler Harvey had a total of 73 in consecutive games versus L-C State (34) and Weber State (39). The most Harvey had in back-to-back league games was 61 last year against Northern Colorado (37) and North Dakota (24). The Big Sky record was set by Damian Lillard (now of the Portland Trailblazers), who had 75 in two games in Feb. of 2012 (40 vs. Portland State 2/2 and 35 vs. Northern Colorado 2/4).
 
* Senior graduate transfer Austin McBroom is averaging 21.3 points per game to rank first in the Big Sky and 13th in NCAA Division I. His scoring average currently ranks as the fifth-best in school history and his 533 total points are already ninth. In addition, his average of 3.68 3-pointers per game leads the league (teammate Felix Von Hofe is third) and is third nationally. His 92 total 3-pointers already ranks fourth all-time in single season school history. McBroom is also 12th in the nation in minutes per game with a league-leading 37.2 average, and he is 27th nationally and fifth in the Big Sky in 3-point percentage (.432). He is 10th in the league and 140th nationally in free throw percentage, making 117-of-144 for 81.3 percent (he was 10th nationally after making 19 of his first 20). He has upped his assists average to 3.7 per game, ranking eighth 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.
 
* Preseason Big Sky Conference MVP Venky Jois is ranked a season-high second in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage, having made 69.2 percent of his shots thus far. His current mark is on pace to break the school record of 66.0 percent set by Ron Cox in the 1976-77 season and rank third all-time in the Big Sky. He is also 50th nationally and fourth in the league in rebounding (9.0 per game), 58th/3rd in blocked shots (1.88) and 143rd/ninth in scoring (16.8). Jois has had 10 double-doubles this season, with nine in his last 15 games, including his 36th career double-double against Sacramento State (2/18/16) with 18 points and 13 boards. 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. 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 623 free throws attempted in his career, he broke the previous school record of 499 set by Dave Hayden from 1970-73. His 347 free throws made are second in school history, with Rodney Stuckey (2006-07) owning the record of 386. Jois also owns school records with 231 blocked shots (second in Big Sky history) and 149 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 16.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.9 blocks. In Eastern's home sweep versus Portland State (1/28/16) and Sacramento State (1/30/16), he averaged 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while making 63 percent of his shots from the field (19-of-30) and 75 percent from the free throw line (9-of-12). He also had three assists, three blocks and a steal to garner Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors. In a six-game stretch from Jan. 14-30, he averaged 20.5 points and 9.5 points on 53-of-79 shooting (67.1 percent) from the field, helping EWU to four victories. 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 finish with a double-double. 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.
 
 * Sophomore forward Bogdan Bliznyuk is one of only two players in the league (NAUs Kris Yanku is the other) to rank in the top 25 in scoring (19th, 12.3 per game) and the top 15 in rebounding (8th, 6.8) and assists (13th, 2.9). He also ranks in the top 10 in steals (8th, 1.38) and free throw percentage (10th, 77.4 percent). In league only statistics, Bliznyuk is ranked in the top 20 in scoring (19th, 12.8) and in the top 11 in five other categories – rebounding (7th, 8.0), assists (11th, 3.4), blocked shots (6th, 1.1), free throw percentage (6th, .814) and assist-to-turnover ratio (5th, +2.0). Playing a key "blur" position for the Eagles, Bliznyuk has had five double-doubles in his last 10 games, and a total of six this season and eight in his career. Included is 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. 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), and against Portland State (1/28/16) he had another monster game with 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five steals and four blocked shots in 34 minutes. In Eastern's road sweep over Northern Arizona (84-73) and Southern Utah (81-67), he averaged 24.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals to earn College Sports Madness Big Sky Player of the Week honors. He sank 53.8 percent of his shots overall (14-of-26), making an equal percentage and amount of shots from the 3-point stripe as well as inside (7-of-13 each). He was 7-of-13 from the field in both games as well, registering a double-double with 22 points, a career-high six 3-pointers and 10 rebounds against NAU in EWU's first Big Sky road win of the season. He then had a career-high 26 points with seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals against SUU. He made 11-of-12 free throws against the Thunderbirds, including 6-of-6 in the last 3:37 and a key steal and rebound in the final 1:43 to preserve the win.
 
* Sophomore Bogdan 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 with a deft ability to get to the rim. He has made 32-of-94 3-pointers thus far for 34 percent, and is 80-of-157 inside the stripe (51 percent) with an overall percentage of 45 percent. He has also made 65-of-84 free throws (77.4 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.
 
* 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 13 games played this season, he is averaging 9.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while making 55.3 percent of his shots and 16-of-39 3-pointers (41.0 percent). His season high is 16 points versus Portland State on Jan. 28 when he finished with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 4-of-6 3-pointers. 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). 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 13.2 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 3.08 per game (he was third with a 3.86 average following EWU's game on Jan. 9) and is 26th in accuracy at 43.3 percent (he was 22nd with a 46.2 percent accuracy rate after Jan. 9). 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).
 
* Eastern's sixth-man, sophomore guard Sir Washington made 7-of-10 shots from the field to finish with 15 points and equal his career high against Sacramento State (2/18/15). It was his most in his career against a Division I opponent, and matched his overall career high of 15 against Great Falls (12/6/15). He has scored in double figures six times this season, including a 10-point effort on perfect 3-of-3 shooting against Portland State (1/28/16). Three games earlier he 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). He also had six points, six rebounds and two steals in 28 minutes at Montana (1/23/16) and eight points, five rebounds and a career-high three assists in 15 minutes versus North Dakota (2/11/15). 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, and is averaging 6.3 points on 54 percent shooting from the field (64 percent in conference play), and is also averaging 17.5 minutes and 2.8 rebounds with 21 assists and 16 steals.
 
* Six Eagles have already made their college basketball debuts this season, and five of them have played in at least 22 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 9.5 minutes, 1.9 rebounds and 1.5 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 1.7 points, 0.7 assists and 6.8 minutes on the season. Ty Gibson has seen significant action as a true freshman, averaging 7.6 minutes and 1.9 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 5.3 minutes and 1.6 points thus far, and started his first career game against George Fox on Nov. 15. Freshman redshirt Cody Benzel has averaged 3.7 points in an average of 5.6 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 1.7 rebounds, 0.6 points and 6.4 minutes in 17 games played. He has not played since Jan. 23 because of a foot injury. 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.
 
 
 

Quoting Coach Hayford

 
On Sac State Win: "I'm really proud of our team for coming out and executing our game plan very well. We just shot the ball fantastic and adjusted to all their adjusting defenses. Sir gave us a huge spark off the bench. Their bigs are bigger than our bigs, but Venky and Bogdan held their own and out-rebounded them. Austin got fouled about 20 times tonight, but kept taking the hits. I would have like us to finish the game a little better and we turned it over a lot, so that is something we'll have to coach through and get better at. But at the end of the day, we'll take the road win here. It's a good road win."
 
On Quick Starts: "We have to give our staff a lot of credit. They have a lot of credibility with the players. Shantay, Chris and David are putting together what we've done as a staff and meeting with players in small groups. We are watching a lot of video on Friday nights, even at home so we can keep the road routine at home. They are coaching really well and the players are listening to them. And our players have incredible confidence, and one of the most important things you have to do as a coach is give your players incredible confidence. They are extremely confident that nobody can stop them. It's not always true, but you want your team to believe in that and feel that. They put it all together and we always seem to be ready to answer the opening bell. The results are great."
 
On Shooting Prowess: "We recruit to shoot – I'm not surprised by our great shooting nights. If you come to practice and watch these players, they can really shoot it. We put a premium on it and it's one of the standards of our offense. When we are shooting well it sets up our drive game and our post play."
 
On Leading Wire-to-Wire With Double-Digit Wins Throughout: "It's been a consistent theme. We've even had double-digit wins in our last two road wins too. Our players are just really dialed-in on our game plans, our scouting reports and our execution. When other teams have to scout us, they have to pick their poison – what do they want to take away? Our team is doing a really smart job of realizing what that opens up. Our players deserve a lot of credit for not just playing hard but playing smart."
 
On Venky Jois Building Program: "Tyler Harvey got a lot of attention last year, but there are some unsung heroes too in the renaissance of Eastern basketball. Venky is going to leave here as the all-time leading scorer and the all-time leader in blocked shots. He's a pre-med major and was selected to the all-academic team for our region. The reason is our program is better is that we were able to build on his back. He's that good of a player and a person. He loves Eastern – he sweats it. He said, 'I will turn this around with you Coach Hayford,' and he's done it. That's why we'll see his number retired in this gym some day."
 
On Austin McBroom Filling Gap When Tyler Harvey Departed a Year Early: "We had a gap in our program, and I don't think there was a graduate transfer in the country better than the player we were able to get. We lost a player to the NBA, but our team is playing great basketball on the offensive side, this is in large part due to because we added a player like Austin. I'm really glad he wanted to get his master's in communications here because he's made us a great offensive team. Austin only had one day of practice (leading up to the UND game). He's battling an injury and we kept him out of practice Monday and Tuesday. I guess we'll only let him practice one day the rest of the year because with a little rest, he's good for averaging 36 per game."
 
On Bogdan Bliznyuk: "Bogdan is playing great basketball -- as well as anyone on our team. I am really proud of him.  His conference statistics reflect his great ability and character."
 
 
 

Recent Game Recap

 
* Eastern made 15 of its first 19 shots to open an early double-digit lead, and ended up using a 53 percent shooting night to defeat Sacramento State 93-88 on Feb. 18 in a Big Sky Conference game at The Nest in Sacramento, Calif. The Eagles led by 18 at halftime and by as many as 20 early in the second half. The Hornets put together runs of 9-0 and 12-2 in the second half to cut the lead to four with 17 seconds left. But the Eagles sank just enough free throws – 7-of-13 in the final 3:10 to hold on for the win. Six Eagles scored in double figures, including a career-high 15 off the bench by sophomore Sir Washington. Sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk (10 points, 12 rebounds) and senior Venky Jois (18 points, 13 rebounds) both had double-doubles, and Austin McBroom sank 13-of-18 free throws to finish with 22 points and seven assists. Junior Felix Von Hofe scored 17 for the Eagles on 4-of-7 shooting from the 3-point stripe and 5-of-9 overall, and junior Julian Harrell was the sixth Eagle in double figures, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Senior Kyle Reid did not score, but contributed three rebounds and two steals in 10 minutes of action.