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:  ewustats.com for EWU home games.
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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Third place is the biggest caveat, but there is a lot more riding on Eastern Washington University's home men's basketball games this week at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.The Eagles seek a bit of retribution when they host North Dakota Thursday (Feb. 11) at 6:05 p.m. Pacific time in a battle for third place in the Big Sky Conference standings. Two days later on Saturday (Feb. 13), Eastern hosts Northern Colorado at 2:05 p.m. Pacific time.
 
Both games will be broadcast live regionally on SWX. Fans can also listen to the games on 700-AM ESPN and via the web at www.700espn.com. All EWU home games and conference road games are broadcast on www.watchbigsky.com.
 
Eastern is 13-10 overall and is the only team in the Big Sky with a four-game winning streak, while the next-best streaks are two wins. Just Eastern, Weber State (8-2) and league-leading Montana (9-2) have won seven of their last nine.
 
"The parity in the league this season is like no other conference race I have been a part," said Eastern head coach Jim Hayford, whose team is 8-0 this season at Reese Court "You need to bring focus and energy or else . . . "
 
Thursday's game against the Fighting Hawks will be a battle of 7-4 teams in the league standings. North Dakota, now 12-10 after sweeping Idaho State and previous league-league leader Weber State at home last week, knocked off the Eagles 79-71 in the second league game of the year for both squads. Northern Colorado beat Eastern 96-90 in the league opener for both schools, and the Bears head into their game Thursday at Idaho with a 5-6 league mark and 8-15 overall record.
 
North Dakota has the league's best turnover margin at plus 1.1 per game, and forces the most turnovers in the league at 14.3 per game with 7.7 steals per outing. Eastern is second in turnover margin (+0.4), and averages the fewest turnovers in the league at 11.5. North Dakota's Quinton Hooker earned the BSC Player of the Week honor from the league office, while Eastern's Bogdan Bliznyuk earned the same honor from College Sports Madness. Both have had the first triple-doubles in school history in recent weeks.
 
"Including their win against Weber State, North Dakota is playing as well as anybody," added Hayford. "We've won seven of our last nine, but we need to continue to get better."
 
In the first meeting, North Dakota sank 53 percent of their shots from the field, including 69 percent in the second half. That came a game after UNC made 62 percent for the game and scored 78 points in the final 27 minutes.
 
But Eastern is 7-2 since Julian Harrell joined the starting lineup on Jan. 9, and the Eagles are combining a league-leading offensive attack with stretches of impressive defense. In fact, in Eastern's road wins last week over Northern Arizona (84-73) and Southern Utah (81-67), Eastern allowed just 56 total first-half points. Those efforts represent two of EWU's seven defensive performances out of 46 halves this season in which the Eagles have held opponents to 29 points or fewer.
 
Eastern led for 73 of 80 minutes in a road sweep, and in its last seven wins, has led 91 percent of the time. "We're playing some good basketball right now," said Hayford.
 
In last week's SUU victory, EWU sank 52 percent of its field goal attempts and made 83 percent of its free throws, but also held SUU to just two field goals in an eight-minute stretch. While fighting to maintain a four-point lead, the Eagles kept the Thunderbirds at the 60-point mark for a key 2:21 stretch in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the game.
 
Eastern out-scored the Lumberjacks 50-28 over a 19-minute stretch spanning halftime to turn a three-point advantage into a 25-point lead en route to EWU's first Big Sky road victory in five tries. The Eagles sank 17-of-27 shots during that stretch (63 percent), including 10 of the team's 13 3-pointers made in the game.
 
Last week's road trip began the second half of league play for the Eagles. It will be extremely important toward EWU's goals of finishing the season with a winning record and, perhaps more importantly, earning one of four first-round byes in the Big Sky Conference Tournament March 8-12 in Reno.
 
Following this week's home games, Eastern plays its final three regular season league road games – Feb. 18 at Sacramento State, Feb. 20 at Portland State and Feb. 27 at Idaho. The Eagles close the league season at home versus Idaho State on March 3 and Weber State on March 5.
 
 
Link to Fact Book
 
The complete version of the 2015-16 EWU men's basketball fact book may be found at:
http://goeags.com/sports/2016/1/7/MBB_Other%20Links-Archive.aspx
 
 
More Eagle Basketball Links
 
Eastern Basketball -- http://goeags.com/index.aspx?path=mbball
Link to Ticket Information -- http://goeags.com/sports/2015/12/19/genticketinfo.aspxSpokesman-Review EWU Basketball Page -- http://www.spokesman.com/ewuhoops
Story on Eagle Head Coach Jim Hayford -- http://www.inlander.com/spokane/the-man-in-the-red-blazer/Content?oid=2603878
Story on Mid-Season Top 5 Australians (Jois & Von Hofe included): http://pickandroll.com.au/ncaa-men-simmons-headlines-mid-season-top-5-aussies/
Eagle Radio Podcasts: https://soundcloud.com/ewuathletics-1/tracks
Big Sky Conference Basketball: http://www.bigskyconf.com/index.aspx?tab=basketball&path=mbball
NCAA Basketball -- http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-baskbl/ncaa-m-baskbl-body.html
ESPN College Scoreboard -- http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/scoreboard
Tyler Harvey NBA D-League Page -- http://dleague.nba.com/player/tyler-harvey/
Tyler Harvey Video of 3-Point Barrage in D-League: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMTL11v5kkQ
Rodney Stuckey NBA Page -- http://www.nba.com/playerfile/rodney_stuckey/index.html
More Information and Links are Available at: HTTP://WWW.GOEAGS.COM

 
 
Opponent/Series Notes 
 
* Eastern is now 2-6 all-time against North Dakota, with last year's 102-80 home victory marking EWU's first victory in five tries since UND joined the Big Sky in the 2012-13 season. Until that season, Eastern hadn't played North Dakota since Dec. 11, 1982, when EWU lost 75-71 in Grand Forks. A year earlier, the Eagles beat North Dakota 81-72 in Cheney in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
 
* Earlier this season in Grand Forks, Eastern rallied from a 10-point deficit in the first half to take a six-point lead in the second half, but the Eagles lost 79-71 to North Dakota on Jan. 2. Three Eagles scored in double figures, and the game featured nine lead changes and seven ties before the Fighting Hawks made 11-of-14 free throws down the stretch. North Dakota made 67 percent of its shots in the second half (16-of-24), sinking 15-of-21 from inside the 3-point stripe after intermission. For the game, North Dakota sank 53 percent from the field, including 59 percent of its 2-point shots. Junior Felix Von Hofe led EWU in scoring for the third-straight game, finishing with a game-high 19 with five 3-pointers and six rebounds. Senior Venky Jois made 6-of-11 shots to finish with 17 points, eight rebounds and a team-leading four assists. Senior graduate transfer Austin McBroom had 17, making 4-of-10 3-pointers. Sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk made 3-of-5 shots and had two assists, but he played only 21 minutes because of foul trouble and fouled out with 6:40 to play. After EWU took a 65-64 lead with left on a 3-pointer by Felix Von Hofe, the Fighting Hawks sandwiched a pair of baskets around an EWU miss to take the lead for good. A basket by Julian Harrell at the 2:33 mark were the last points for the Eagles -- who missed their next five attempts -- until making a bucket with 40 ticks left. The Eagles made only 38.7 percent of their field goal attempts after entering the game ranked 27th in NCAA Division I (48.8 percent). Eastern made only four of their first 18, but still finished the game 11-of-28 from the 3-point stripe. The Eagles, however, were just 13-of-34 from inside the arc for 38 percent. An 8-0 run was the highlight in the first half, as Eastern overcame a 10-point deficit to trail by just one at halftime, 31-30. Von Hofe made four of his five 3-pointers in the game in the second half, and EWU led by as many as six at 46-40 with 14:27 left.
 
* The Eagles are 9-10 all-time versus UNC (6-3 in Cheney, 3-7 in Greeley), with the first meeting taking place on Dec. 20, 1971, when Eastern beat the Bears 76-68 in Greeley, Colo. Since then, all of the meetings have been with EWU as a member of NCAA Division I (since 1983-84), starting in the 2006-07 season when the Bears became a Big Sky Conference member. Last year, EWU played the Bears just once, winning 95-85 in Cheney.
 
* For the first 13 minutes earlier this season in Greeley, things went according to plan in the Big Sky Conference opener for Eastern, but Northern Colorado exploded for 78 points in the final 27 minutes to beat the Eagles 96-90 on Dec. 31. Felix Von Hofe scored 27 points for the Eagles, marking his third-straight game of at least 27. Venky Jois had his second-straight double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds, but EWU never led in the second half after taking a 24-18 lead in the opening 12:47. The Bears made 40-of-65 shots from the field for 62 percent, including 9-of-13 3-pointers (69 percent). In the second half alone, Northern Colorado made 66 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Eagles 22-10. The Bears had 16 of their 20 second-chance points after intermission. Senior graduate transfer Austin McBroom added 18 points and sophomore Sir Washington made 3-of-6 shots from the field and 5-of-6 free throws to finish with 11 points. Eastern was within 83-81 with 2:20 to play, but the Bears scored 10 of the next 12 points to go up by 10 with 37 seconds left. The biggest blow in that run was an offensive rebound – UNC's 11th of the half – that led to a basket and eight-point lead at the 1:19 mark. The final rebounding margin was 39-36 in favor of the Bears, but it was a tale of two halves. Eastern led 26-17 at halftime and had 12 offensive rebounds leading to 11 second-chance points (16 in the game). But in the second half, UNC out-rebounded the Eagles 22-11, with 11 offensive boards leading to 16 UNC second-chance points (20 in the game).
 
* 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.
 
 
 
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 1,641 points as an Eagle, he is exactly 100 points behind the school record of 1,741 held by Ron Cox (1974-77). His point total is currently 16th in Big Sky history, just five from moving into 15th, 22 from 14th and 32 from the No. 13 position.
 
* If Jois equals his 16.5 scoring average the rest of the season (including one Big Sky Tournament game), Jois would finish with 1,773 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 225 blocked shots are 22 from the league record of 247 (Brian Qvale, Montana, 2008-11). Jois also has 931 rebounds in his career to rank third in school history and seventh all-time in the Big Sky. 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 2,572 (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 22nd in Big Sky history and fifth in school history in career field goal percentage (57.3 percent). His accuracy as a senior of 67.1 percent is on pace to set a school record (Ron Cox, 66.0 percent in 1977) and rank as the fourth-best in league history. Jois also ranks on EWU's leaders lists for games played (112, ninth), scoring average (14.70, 10th), rebounding average (8.3, eighth), field goals attempted (1,136, third), field goals made (651, second), free throws made (335, second) and owns school records for dunks (141) and free throws attempted (600).
 
 
 
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's scoring average for the season is at 82.0 points to rank 19th in NCAA Division I and lead the Big Sky Conference through games of Feb. 6. 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 is now 10-0 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 6-1 when their opponent makes 44.9 percent or less from the field. Against Southern Utah on Feb. 6, the Eagles won for the fifth-straight time when they've made at least 50 percent of their shots, finishing 26-of-50 for 42 percent with nine 3-pointers. The Eagles, ranked 10th in NCAA Division I entering the game with a season accuracy rate of 49.5 percent, are now 9-2 when making at least 50 percent.
 
* Eastern is 7-2 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 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds on 53 percent shooting in 10 games played, while often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent's best player.
 
* Eastern has now led for 150:39 out of 160 total minutes – 94 percent -- in its last four games, and only trailed for 1:37 (tied for the other 7:30). The Eagles led for 33:16 at Southern Utah, 39:45 at Northern Arizona, 38:25 versus Sacramento State and 39:13 against Portland State to continue a recent trend. 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 254:09 out of 280 minutes – 91 percent -- in its last seven victories. In a three-game homestand in January, 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 five league home games, Eastern has led for 191:08 out of 200 minutes.
 
* Featuring a school-record performance with 20 3-pointers against Portland State on Jan. 28, Eastern's average of 10.4 3-pointers per game is seventh in NCAA Division I (previously fourth after eight games) and leads the Big Sky. The team's percentage is 20th at 39.3 percent (previously 175th/33.9 percent after six games). Austin McBroom (3.5 per game) and Felix Von Hofe (3.09 per game) are ranked first and third in the Big Sky and are seventh and 24th, respectively, in the nation. Against PSU on Jan. 28, the Eagles made 20-of-31 to break the previous record of 18 3-pointers set against New Hope on Dec. 4, 2010 (the Big Sky record is 30). 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.
 
* 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 17 of 23 games this season, and has a 13-4 record in those 17 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 902-753 in the first half (average score of 39-32) and has been outscored 998-985 in the second half (43-42).
 
* Because of his team's involvement with the C.H.A.M.P.S (College Headed and Making Progress) program at Whitman Elementary School in Spokane, senior Venky Jois is one of 154 nominees nationally for the NABC/Allstate Good Works Team. The 10-player squad will be announced in February, and the distinguished award shines a spotlight on a select group of student-athletes who have shown dedication to community service and altruism in their communities. Eastern student-athletes spend part of their time at Whitman with the entire student body, but a majority of their time is spent one-on-one with a fifth-grade student. The unique program follows each Whitman student for eight years through middle school and high school. Once a EWU student-athlete graduates, an incoming player will begin mentoring their student. Jois, an Academic All-America candidate with a 3.49 grade point average as a pre-med student at EWU, has also been a part of several other team community projects. Those include Salvation Army backpacks and school supplies distribution; Salvation Army Christmas Eve meal for the homeless; participation in AAU Youth Basketball Day; food drive for the West Plains Food Bank; and campus move-in days. He's a three-time member of the Big Sky Conference All-Academic Team, and three times has been honored on All-Big Sky Conference teams (2012-13 Freshman of the Year and all-league honorable mention; 2013-14 all-league honorable mention; 2014-15 all-league first team for a squad that won Big Sky regular season and tournament titles to advance to the NCAA Tournament). Last season he selected to the Big Sky Conference All-Tournament team and is the preseason choice for 2015-16 MVP honors in the league.
 
* Entering the 2015-16 season, head coach Jim Hayford was selected by College Sports Madness as its preseason Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. Additionally, Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports rated him as one of the top 21 offensive coaches in all of NCAA Division I.
 
* Head coach Jim Hayford – the 2014-15 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year -- took over an Eastern team four years ago that had been to the Big Sky Conference Tournament just once in five seasons, but in the 2014-15 season he took the Eagles to new heights. The Eagles entered the 2015-16 season with 66 victories overall, 39 league wins and four Big Sky Tournament game triumphs under Hayford, and the 26 victories last season are the fourth-most in the more than 50-year history of the league. In fact, a local newspaper dubbed Hayford the "Wizard in Cheney" in a feature article in November 2015. On July 8, 2015, Hayford signed a new five-year agreement which extends his contract at EWU through the 2019-20 season. The new five-year agreement replaced the contract he signed a year prior.
 
* For the second year in a row, EWU was honored with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award. Eastern's 3.27 team grade point average was the best in the Big Sky Conference in the 2014-15 season, and .20 better than the team's 3.07 average of a year ago.
 
* Active within the last year in the pro ranks are 14 former Eagles, including Tyler Harvey and Drew Brandon from last year's Eagle team. Harvey is now with the Erie Bay Hawks of the NBA's Developmental League after getting drafted in the second round (51st overall) by the Orlando Magic in the 2015 NBA Draft. Harvey averaged 10.6 points, 2.0 assists and 1.4 rebounds for the Magic's "Blue" summer squad. Brandon is in his first year with the Bayer Giants in the Germany ProA League. Eastern's professional players are headlined by NBA veteran Rodney Stuckey, who is in his second season with Indiana after seven seasons with the Detroit Pistons. In 2014-15 – his eighth season as a pro and first with the Indiana Pacers – Stuckey averaged 12.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 0.8 steals per game in 71 games (36 starts). He made a career-best 39.0 percent of his 3-point attempts, sinking 55-of-141. Stuckey signed a new 3-year, $21 million contract with the Pacers on July 21, 2015.
 
 
 
Player Notes 
 
* Continuing a recent tear starting on Jan. 16 when he had the first triple-double in school history, sophomore forward Bogdan Bliznyuk averaged 24.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game in Eastern's road sweep over Northern Arizona (84-73) and Southern Utah (81-67) last week. As a result, he was the College Sports Madness Big Sky Player of the Week. 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. He is the only player in the league to rank in the top 25 in scoring (21st, 12.5 per game) and the top 15 in rebounding (7th, 6.4) and assists (15th, 2.7). He also ranks in the top 10 in steals (1.4) and free throw percentage (10th, 78.9 percent). In league only statistics, Bliznyuk is ranked in the top 20 in scoring (17th, 13.3) and in the top 10 in six other categories – rebounding (6th, 7.5), assists (3.3), blocked shots (6th, 1.1), free throw percentage (2nd, .857), 3-point field goal percentage (10th, .432) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4th, +2.1). Playing a key "blur" position for the Eagles, Bliznyuk has had four double-doubles in his last seven games, and a total of five this season and seven 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. 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 30-of-85 3-pointers thus far for 35 percent, and is 69-of-137 inside the stripe (50 percent) with an overall percentage of 45 percent. He has also made 60-of-76 free throws (78.9 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.
 
* Senior graduate transfer Austin McBroom is averaging 20.0 points per game to rank first in the Big Sky and 28th in NCAA Division I. His scoring average currently ranks as the eighth-best in school history In addition, his average of 3.50 3-pointers per game leads the league (teammate Felix Von Hofe is third) and is seventh nationally. His 77 total 3-pointers already ranks fifth all-time in single season school history. McBroom is also 21st in the nation in minutes per game with a league-leading 36.9 average, and he is 42nd in 3-point percentage (.421). He is eighth in the league and 147th nationally in free throw percentage, making 82-of-101 for 81.2 percent (he was 10th nationally after making 19 of his first 20). He has upped his assists average to 3.4 per game, ranking 10th 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 third in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage, having made 67.1 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 fourth all-time in the Big Sky. He is also 60th nationally and fourth in the league in rebounding (8.8 per game), 58th/3rd in blocked shots (1.86) and 165th/10th in scoring (16.5). Jois has had seven double-doubles in his last 12 games (three in a row), including his 34th career double-double against Southern Utah (2/6/16) with 11 points and 11 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 600 free throws attempted in his career, he broke the previous school record of 499 set by Dave Hayden from 1970-73. His 335 free throws made are second in school history, with Rodney Stuckey (2006-07) owning the record of 386. Jois also owns school records with 225 blocked shots (second in Big Sky history) and 141 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 16.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.9 blocks. Jois has eight double-doubles this season and 34 total in his career. 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.
 
* 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 10 games played this season, he is averaging 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while making 53.2 percent of his shots and 13-of-32 3-pointers (40.6 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 13.5 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 24th in NCAA Division I in 3-pointers per game with an average of 3.09 per game (he was third with a 3.86 average following EWU's game on Jan. 9) and is 29th 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, has scored in double figures five 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). 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 5.8 points on 51 percent shooting from the field, and is also averaging 17.3 minutes and 2.8 rebounds with 17 assists and 14 steals.
 
* Six Eagles have already made their college basketball debuts this season, and five of them have played in at least 20 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 10.2 minutes, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 points per game as a nine-game starter. He missed EWU's game at Western Carolina with a sprained ankle. Redshirt freshman Will Ferris, who came off the bench to play 23 minutes against Seattle on Nov. 23 and score a career-high nine points, is averaging 1.8 points, 0.7 assists and 6.9 minutes on the season. Ty Gibson has seen significant action as a true freshman, averaging 7.5 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 5.4 minutes and 1.7 points thus far, and started his first career game against George Fox on Nov. 15. Freshman redshirt Cody Benzel has averaged 3.8 points in an average of 5.9 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. Benzel is third in the Big Sky in 3-point field goal accuracy, making 25-of-57 for 43.9 percent. 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.
 
* Two major cogs in Eastern's roll to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament last season – Venky Jois and Bogdan Bliznyuk -- were selected to the preseason All-Big Sky Conference team as selected by a panel of sportswriters, broadcasters and sports information directors in the league. Jois, a senior 6-foot-8 forward, is EWU's lone returning starter this season and was selected as the league's preseason MVP. A year ago, Eastern's Tyler Harvey won the award and went on to lead NCAA Division I in scoring and was eventually drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft by Orlando. Besides Jois, Bliznyuk was also selected to the seven-player team and was the only underclassmen chosen. The others honored included Montana's Martin Breunig, Montana State's Marcus Colbert, Northern Arizona's Kris Yanku and Weber State's Joel Bolomboy and Jeremy Senglin.
 
 
 
Quoting Coach Hayford
 
On Bogdan Bliznyuk: "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."
 
On SUU Win: "Our players really toughed it out and were offensively efficient. It was good that in both games we just came in, played to our identity, and left with wins and a sweep. The numbers we look for are 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 80 percent from the line, and we did all three of those. The offense was good enough and scored 81, and we held them to 43 percent on a night they were shooting the three-ball really well. Our defense was good enough and we out-rebounded them. That's how you win road games."
 
On Performance at NAU: "The great part is how we played in the first 30 minutes, and then had a big enough lead to close out the game. We played like we have been playing at home. We played 40 minutes and came in here and got a road win. It's what you want to do. If you are the better team, you want to come in in the first half and take the game away from the other team. Then you answer in the beginning of the second half and get separation -- we did a really good job with that. I'm proud of our team."
 
 
 
Recent Game Recaps
 
* Gaining a season-best fourth-straight win wasn't easy, but two key second-half 3-pointers by Felix Von Hofe, a career-high 26 points by Bogdan Bliznyuk, 19 points by Austin McBroom and yet another double-double by Venky Jois led the Eagles to an 81-67 Big Sky Conference road win at Southern Utah on Feb. 6 in Cedar City, Utah. Eastern sank 52 percent of its field goal attempts and made 83 percent of its free throws, but the Eagles did the job on defense as well. With the Thunderbirds within striking distance late in the game, Eastern held SUU to just two field goals in an eight-minute stretch and ended up holding Southern Utah to 43 percent shooting in the game. The victory, coupled with EWU's 84-73 triumph two days earlier at Northern Arizona, gave EWU its first two-game road sweep involving Southern Utah or Northern Arizona since 2004 when the Eagles swept past NAU and Sacramento State. Bliznyuk bettered his previous best of 25 against North Dakota on Jan. 24, 2015. He made 7-of-13 shots from the field and 11-of-12 free throws, and also had seven rebounds and three assists. Jois sank 7-of-14 shots with a trio of 3-pointers to finish with 19 points and two assists. Jois finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Junior Felix Von Hofe finished with nine points, making all three of his 3-point shot attempts, and Cody Benzel sank a pair of treys in the first half. Eastern was ahead just 55-53 when Von Hofe hit a key 3-pointer with 9:52 to play to give EWU a five-point advantage. However, that was a precursor to an even bigger turning point late in the game when EWU was clinging to a 68-63 lead. After an EWU miss, Sir Washington got the offensive rebound, setting the stage for an out-of-bounds play with five seconds on the shot clock that resulted in Von Hofe nailing another 3-pointer with 2:21 left. Eastern added six free throws in the last 2:02, as well as baskets by Washington and Austin McBroom in the final minute, to close out the win. Eastern equaled its second-best free throw percentage of the season at 83.3 percent, including 18-of-21 in the second half (86 percent) and its last 10 of the game.
 
* Eastern led from start-to-finish for the sixth time in its last eight games, and the Eagles registered their first Big Sky Conference road win of the season with an 84-73 victory at Northern Arizona on Feb. 4 in Flagstaff, Ariz. Four Eagles scored in double figures, led by the 28 of senior graduate transfer Austin McBroom. Sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk and senior Venky Jois added double-doubles for the Eagles, who kept themselves in the hunt for one of four first-round berths in the league tournament in March. Eastern had a torrid stretch of 13 makes in 19 attempts (68 percent) – including seven 3-pointers – to turn a three-point lead in the first half into a 14-point advantage. Eastern led by as many as 25 and no fewer than 10 in the second half in improving to 6-4 in the league. The Eagles held NAU to 36 percent shooting from the field in the first half, and held NAU's leading scorer – Kris Yanku (15.0 per game) -- to just two points. Yanku had an 0-of-5 shooting night, with Julian Harrell and Sir Washington guarding him. Eastern led for 39:45 of the game and, for the third-straight outing, never trailed and was not tied. In the game, the Eagles made 13-of-34 3-point shots for 38 percent and made 45 percent overall. Bliznyuk finished with his fourth double-double in the last six games, hitting a career-high six 3-pointers and finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds. McBroom hit 7-of-16 shots overall, 4-of-10 from the 3-point stripe and 10-of-12 from the free throw line to finish with 28 points. He also had six assists and three steals. Jois, who was ranked third in NCAA Division I entering the game with a .676 shooting percentage, made 6-of-8 shots against the Lumberjacks to finish with a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. He now has seven double-doubles this season and 33 in his career. Junior Felix Von Hofe was the fourth Eagle in double figures, making 3-of-10 3-pointers and 3-of-4 free throws to finish with 12 points. He also had five rebounds.