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First-year Eastern Washington University men's basketball coach Shantay Legans got his first glimpse of what "success by committee" looks like.
 
Graduate transfer Benas Griciunas scored a team-high 18 points in leading the Eagles to a 76-70 victory over Portland on Sunday (Oct. 29) at the Chiles Center in Portland, Ore., in an exhibition game benefitting the American Red Cross Hurricane Maria disaster relief efforts.
 
Senior Sir Washington scored 16 points and had 11 key second-half points for EWU. Sophomore Mason Peatling chipped in 11, and Bogdan Bliznyuk scored in 10 with six assists and seven rebounds. The Eagles sank 13 3-pointers in the game and won the rebounding battle 43-38.
 
"We played pretty good, and it was good for our team to go on the road and face some adversity against a good team," said Legans, who made his unofficial debut as head coach. "To be able to go up, lose the lead and then take the lead back and hold on down the stretch was good for us."
 
The game does not count in the season record or statistics for either team, but was a bonus in providing Legans an early glimpse of his first Eagle team.
 
"We want to thank Terry Porter and the University of Portland for inviting us," added Legans of the game added less than a week ago. "They are a first-class institution, so that made the entire trip worthwhile. They treated us with great respect, and it was just great having the game and important to do this. It was a lot of fun and for a great cause."
 
 
Records . . .
 
* The Eagles are coming off a third-straight appearance in a national postseason tournament, and were 22-12 overall a year ago. Eastern finished 13-5 in the Big Sky to finish second behind regular season champion North Dakota, and then the Eagles advanced to the semifinals of the league tournament.
 
* Portland head coach Terry Porter has nine newcomers on this year's team, and will open the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. against Portland State at the Chiles Center. Porter and his staff return four lettermen and two starters from last year's team, which finished 11-22 overall and 2-16 in the West Coast Conference.
 
 
What it Means . . .
 
* The game does not count in the season record or statistics for either team. In allowing the Eagles to Pilots to play an early exhibition, the NCAA approved the waiver request as part of its initiative in supporting disaster relief efforts across the country. All gate proceeds supported Red Cross Hurricane Relief Efforts. Fans can also donate directly to the American Red Cross website.
 
 
What's Next . . .
 
* The Eagles began practices for the 2017-18 season on Oct. 2, and will officially open the season at home at Reese Court on Nov. 10 at 1:05 p.m. against Walla Walla. The Eagles then go on the road for 10-straight games, including games against Pac-12 foes Washington on Nov 12 and Stanford on Nov. 14, before playing three games in Las Vegas.
 
 
Keys to Game . . .
 
* Before the season, Legans talked of his team's "success by committee" and in the first half seven different Eagles scored. Five of those players scored between five and nine points in the half, and five had at least two rebounds. In all, 13 Eagles played in the game, but six players saw the majority of action in the second half.
 
 
Turning Point . . .
* The Eagles led by just one with just two minutes left, but Bogdan Bliznyuk fed Mason Peatling for a dunk that was followed by a pair of free throws by Jesse Hunt with 1:13 remaining to give EWU a five-point advantage. A basket and two free throws by Bogdan Bliznyuk extended the lead to six, as Portland missed its last five shots of the game.
 
 
Top Performers . . .
 
* Seven-footer Benas Griciunas sank 6-of-13 shots from the field with a trio of 3-pointers to finish with 18 points, and also had nine rebounds.
* Senior guard Sir Washington scored 11 of his points in the second half, finishing the game with 16 to go along with five boards. He made 6-of-11 shots with four 3-pointers.
* Sophomore forward Mason Peatling chipped in 11 points and six rebounds, making 5-of-11 shots from the floor.
* Senior Bogdan Bliznyuk, a candidate for Big Sky Conference Player of the Year honors, made only 3-of-14 shots from the field. But two of them were 3-pointers and he sank both of his free throws. The only player in school history to have a triple-double, he finished with six assists and seven rebounds.
* Junior Ty Gibson, who along with Bliznyuk is serving as a team co-captain this season, chipped in nine points, five rebounds and a pair of assists. He made 3-of-4 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers.
* Junior Jesse Hunt played 20 minutes off the bench and had eight points and four rebounds.
 
 
Key Stats . . .
 
* Eastern made 38.8 percent of its shots from the field, but was even better from the 3-point arc by making 13-of-31 for 41.9 percent. The Eagles also had a 43-38 rebounding advantage and made 9-of-11 free throws, including six of eight in the last 1:13 to ice the win.
 
 
Other Team Highlights . . .
* The Eagles led for 33:20 of the game, but their biggest lead was just eight points. Portland led for only 2:27 and by as many as three, and the game was tied for 4:13.
 
 
Notables . . .
* Eastern's eight newcomers this season include Lithuanian seven-footer Benas Griciunas, a graduate transfer who has 59 games of NCAA Division I experience. His best scoring performance while at UNC Charlotte was 14 points and his best as a freshman at Auburn was eight. He had 12 rebounds once while playing for the 49ers. Other newcomers who saw action for the Eagles were freshmen Richard Polanco, Jack Perry, Brendan Howard, Kim Aiken Jr., and Tanner Groves.
 
* One of Eastern's new players, Richard Polanco, is from the Dominican Republic, which was also impacted by Hurricane Maria after it made a direct hit on Puerto Rico on Sept. 20. Although his family and home survived the hurricane relatively unscathed, he was in the country at the time and had his return to EWU delayed as a result. In addition, Portland freshman point guard JoJo Walker is a Carolina, Puerto Rico, native whose family has been dealing with the impact of the hurricanes on a first-hand basis.
 
* Led by Big Sky Conference Player of the Year candidate Bogdan Bliznyuk, the Eagles feature a team with size throughout their lineup. A 6-foot-6 point-forward, Bliznyuk was named to the preseason All-Big Sky team, and is one of 10 returning players to the Eagle roster. The Eagles return eight letterwinners from last year, including a trio of returning starters -- Bliznyuk, Mason Peatling and Luka Vulikic. The others are Cody Benzel, Grant Gibb, Ty Gibson, Jesse Hunt and Sir Washington, with Jacob Davison and Joshua Thomas returning as a 2016-17 redshirts. A senior, Bliznyuk was a second team All-Big Sky Conference selection a year ago, and was the league's Freshman of the Year in 2014-15.
 
 
Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
 
On Benas Griciunas: "I've been trying to tell people – he's a great person and a great teammate. He puts in all the hard work and he's a great-shooting big guy who makes a lot of threes. He hit a couple of those early and it changed the way Portland had to guard. He was out there making threes like he was Cody Benzel or Ty Gibson. We got a really good player when he decided to play his senior season with us."
 
On Areas to Improve: "We have to keep getting better. There are a lot of things we need to work on and we are not anywhere we want to be as a team. Bogdan didn't have his greatest game tonight, but was still able to get seven rebounds and six assists, and played great defense early and down the stretch. He really showed of leadership on his part, and everybody knows he'll play better offensively. I thought our offense at times was a little stagnant, and I have to get better at play-calling and make it easier for our guys. There is a lot myself and our coaching staff can do to help us get better. It was good having veterans out there because they saved us."
 
On Portland: "They are going to be good – they have a lot of size and have good guards. They are a well-coached team and are very young, but they have a lot of talent. It was a lot of fun for our guys."