­­­­­­­Eastern Washington University "Eagles" Men's Basketball (9-10/4-2 Big Sky) Jan. 20 – at Southern Utah ­–Cedar City, Utah – 11:30 a.m. Jan. 25 – North Dakota ­– Cheney, Wash. – 6:05 p.m. all times Pacific
Radio:	700-AM ESPN & 105.3-FM in the Spokane/Cheney area. Larry Weir calls the play-by-play. Broadcasts begin a half-hour prior to tipoff
Internet Radio:	http://www.tunein.com  (search for Eastern Washington University)
Radio  Mobile Phone App:	Via tunein radio
TV:	None.
­­­Webcast:	All EWU home games and all Big Sky Conference games are available via Pluto TV and http://watchbigsky.com
Live Stats:	http://ewustats.com for all EWU home games, plus NAU & SUU.
Weekly Coaches Show:	Shows hosted by Larry Weir and featuring head coach Shantay Legans take place Mondays at 6 p.m. at Barrelhouse Pub & Pizza in Cheney. They are aired live on 700-AM ESPN.

The crown that Ron Cox possessed for some 14,300 days will be broken after Venky Jois wore it for less than 700.
 
Eastern Washington University men's basketball senior Bogdan Bliznyuk is a mere 19 points from the school record for career points as the Eagles look for a Big Sky Conference road sweep at Southern Utah on Saturday (Jan. 20) at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time.
 
All of EWU's remaining regular season games will be available via http://watchbigsky.com via Pluto TV. In addition, all Eastern games are carried live on 700-AM ESPN and 105.3-FM in the Spokane/Cheney area, with Larry Weir calling the play-by-play. Broadcasts begin a half-hour prior to tipoff and may also be heard via http://www.tunein.com (search for Eastern Washington University). A mobile phone app is also available via tunein radio.
 
Bliznyuk scored 28 in an 81-76 road victory at Northern Arizona on Thursday (Jan. 18) to give him 1,784 career points, just 19 behind the record of 1,803 set by his former teammate, Venky Jois, from 2012-15. Ron Cox had 1,741 points from 1974-77, and held the record for 39 years – about 14,300 days – until broken by Jois on March 3, 2016. If Bliznyuk gets the record against the Thunderbirds, Jois will have worn the crown for just 688 days.
 
Formerly from Lutsk, Ukraine, and a 2014 graduate of Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, Wash., Bliznyuk currently ranks 16th in the 55-year history of the Big Sky. He is just three points behind North Dakota's Quinton Hooker with 1,787 in four seasons from 2014-17, with Jois ranking No. 14 on the Big Sky list.
 
Bliznyuk may set the record at the free throw line after going a perfect 16-of-16 against NAU, just four charity throws shy of the school-record 20-of-20 performance by Tyler Harvey in 2015. Bliznyuk has made his last 34 free throws in a row, dating back to the second half of the North Dakota game on Jan. 31. He has a school-record 409 free throws in his career, and against the Lumberjacks broke the record for field goal attempts with a current total of 1,291.
 
 "He's a big, strong player, and he's handling the ball and getting whacked and hit a lot," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans of Bliznyuk's ability to get to the free throw line. "A lot of times he doesn't get as many calls as a smaller point guard up top, but against NAU he got a lot of calls. He did his due diligence and knocked down the free throws."
 
Eastern will be looking for its second sweep in three years on this road trip, after improving to 9-10 overall and moving into second-place in the league with a 4-2 record. Standing in the way will be a talented Thunderbirds team which earlier this season knocked off Long Beach State, Central Michigan and San Jose State to start the season 6-4.
 
Southern Utah's top four scorers are all transfers, including three from NCAA Division I programs. Dwayne Morgan has averaged 16.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in six games since joining the team as a transfer from UNLV.
 
 "They are really good and a well-coached team," said Legans. "They have some great players, including a transfer from UNLV who is a baller. They are still working him into their team since he joined them at Christmas. Before he arrived they had some big wins early against some big schools."
 
Southern Utah lost 80-76 at home to Idaho on Thursday, and are now 7-10 overall (6-3 at home) and 1-5 in the league. Senior James McGee, SUU's fifth-leading scorer with a 9.8 average, made all five of his shots with a trio of 3-pointers to finish with 17 points and six assists.
 
"They have talent on that team – one through seven are really good," he added. "We have to be ready and prepared because I know they will give a spirited effort. They have a great post player, their point guard is very crafty and they have some of the better shooters in the league. Once they get it rolling, they will be a team that will be really tough to play later in the season."
 
After winning for the fourth time in their last seven trips to Flagstaff, the Eagles have also had good success recently in both Cedar City. The Eagles have won the last four meetings in Cedar City dating back to a 69-55 loss there in the first-ever league match-up between the two schools in 2013.
                                                                                                                                             
The NAU game helped Eastern keep pace with the Montana schools in the Big Sky standings, tied for second with four other schools. Eastern and MSU are both 4-2, as well as Weber State and Idaho, with all four schools just behind league-leader Montana (6-0). The Grizzlies have four road conference wins already and Idaho has three, EWU and PSU have two and MSU, Weber State, Idaho State all have one all-important road breakthrough.
 
The Eagles are now 9-10 on the season and 4-2 in the Big Sky, and have won six of their last eight games. Following the SUU game, Eastern will return to Reese Court for home games versus North Dakota (Jan. 25) and Northern Colorado (Jan. 27). Eastern lost to the Bears 88-75 to open league play on Dec. 29, then knocked off the Fighting Hawks 77-64 two days later.
 
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.
 
 
 

Game Notes

 
Benzel's 3-Point Percentage, EWU Free Throw Shooting No. 2 in the League
 
The Eagles have been a solid free throw shooting team this season and are currently second in the league and ranked 27th in NCAA Division I (76.5 percent, as well as tops in league games only at 86.0 percent). Senior Bogdan Bliznyuk is second in the league and 31st nationally at 88.5 percent, including 38-of-39 (97.4 percent) in league games only to lead the Big Sky. He's made his last 34 free throws in a row.
 
Eastern has gotten hot from the 3-point line, and is second in league games only at 42.9 percent while ranking first defensively at 30.8 percent. Junior Cody Benzel is second in 3-point shooting at 50.0 percent (33-of-66), including 18-of-32 (56.5 percent) in league games only to rank fifth. True freshman Jack Perry is 10th on the season at 43.3 percent (26-of-60). Junior Ty Gibson has averaged 2.2 3-pointers per game (41-of-108 total) to rank 11th in the league, and is currently third on the team in scoring at 7.7 per game. One of the team's co-captains, Gibson has scored in double figures in six of the last 12 games.
 
In individual field goal shooting, injured junior Jesse Hunt is 11th in the league at 50.5 percent, as well as eighth in rebounding at 6.6 per game. Bliznyuk is right behind him in ninth in rebounding (6.2), and is also sixth in scoring (18.7) and fourth in assists (3.7). He's the only player to rank in the top three in the league in all three categories, both overall and Big Sky games only. Bliznyuk has 29 assists in six Big Sky games to lead the league with a 4.8 average.
 
 
For First Time This Season, Eagles Win a Game When Out-Shot
 
For the first time this season at Northern Arizona on Jan. 18, Eastern was out-shot and won a game. Eastern made 48.9 percent compared to 50.9 percent to the Lumberjacks, and EWU is now 8-0 when they out-shoot their opponents and 1-10 when they don't.
 
Eastern has made gradual shooting improvement this season, after starting the year making only 39 percent through nine games. The Eagles have improved that to 44.3 percent for the season, and they have made at least 50 percent of their shots in four of the last eight games, winning in each of those four contests.
 
Eastern has had its top nine shooting performances of the year in the last 10 games, and the team's three-point shooting has also improved from 30.2 percent after nine games to a current mark of 36.7. In league play, the Eagles have sank 48.0 percent of their shots from the field overall and 42.9 percent from the 3-point arc.
 
Although EWU struggled offensively with 36.4 percent shooting overall and 32.1 percent from the arc, the Eagles held Idaho to 58 points on Jan. 12 to equal the fewest EWU has allowed to an opponent this season. Idaho sank just 40.8 percent of its shots, including only 2-of-9 3-pointers in the second half (22.2 percent). In six league games thus far, the Eagles are holding opponents to 30.8 percent from the 3-point line, tops in the Big Sky.
 
 
Punctuated by Performances Against Sac State, Balanced Minutes and Balanced Scoring is Key for Eagles
 
Eastern head coach Shantay Legans has gone to his bench often, continuing in league play what the Eagles started in the preseason while utilizing eight different starting lineups along the way. With eight different players scoring in double figures in two home games in early January, the Sac State game on Jan. 6 was the punctuation mark on EWU's balance this season.
 
For the season, Eastern is averaging 25.7 points per game from its bench (489 total), compared to an average of 20.2 by its opponents (384 total). Ten Eagles are averaging between 14.8 and 33.5 minutes per game, and one other is averaging 9.5. For the season, Bogdan Bliznyuk is averaging a team-leading 18.7 points per game, but 10 others are averaging between 4.8 and 9.1.
 
Versus Sac State, 80 of Eastern's 82 points were scored by players not named Bliznyuk, Gibson and Hunt. Bliznyuk and third-leading scorer Ty Gibson combined for only two points in the first half and were scoreless in the second half. In addition, second-leading scorer Jesse Hunt didn't play because of a foot injury suffered the day before in practice and has been out ever since. However, five other Eagles did score in double figures, with all five of them entering with season scoring averages of between 4.5 and 5.4 points per game. Those five had entered the game with just a collective total of nine double-figure scoring performances in EWU's first 16 games of the season. Eastern had career-high performances from starter Cody Benzel (25 on 7-of-10 shooting from the 3-point stripe) and substitute Benas Gricinunas (16), as well as 14 points from true freshman Jack Perry, 12 by sophomore Mason Peatling and 10 by senior Sir Washington.
 
Eastern had 26 bench points in its league opener at Northern Colorado, then 19 at North Dakota and 22 versus Portland State. The Eagles played those games without injured starter Luka Vulikic (planter fasciitis), and the first two without starter Mason Peatling (hand). Peatling missed a total of four games, and Vulikic has missed EWU's last 11.
 
All 11 players who were available against Providence on Dec. 20 scored to contribute toward EWU's season-best output of 94 points, and each had at least one rebound. Against Cal State Northridge on Dec. 17, five players scored in double figures as the Eagles at the time had their best shooting percentages (.516 overall and .500 from the 3-point stripe), as well as a season-high 22 assists. Five different Eagles had at least three assists, and three Eagles had at least six rebounds. Defensively, Eastern had a season best by allowing just 58 points, surpassing the previous low of 61 on two other occasions – both wins.
 
The Eagles had a season-low 18 bench points at South Dakota on Dec. 10, but had a season-high 40 versus Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 22. Eastern routed Eastern Kentucky by 21, jumping out to a 19-point lead in the first half and leading 39-16 at intermission. Eastern led by as many as 28 in the second half and no less than 19 in the final minutes in the 83-62 win. That helped give EWU a 39-point turnaround in two games, having lost to Georgia State by 18 points two days earlier on Nov. 20 in its MGM Resorts Main Event opener.
 
 
6-foot-6 Point-Forward Bogdan Bliznyuk Now 19 Points from School Record
 
Big Sky Conference Player of the Year candidate Bogdan Bliznyuk moved into the No. 2 position on EWU's career scoring list versus Sacramento State on Jan. 6 and is now just 19 points from ending what will be a short-lived record. And he's already broken a record held by a former 10-year NBA veteran.
 
In 122 career games (third in school history), Bliznyuk has a current total of 1,784 points – 43 points better than long-time record-holder Ron Cox (1,741 from 1974-77) and 19 from Bliznyuk's former teammate, Venky Jois (school-record 1,803 points from 2013-16). Against San Francisco on Dec. 7, Bliznyuk passed Irv Leifer (1,550 from 1942-47), who held the record for 30 years after playing for EWU from 1942-47. He then passed the 1,564 points of his former teammate Tyler Harvey (2013-15). Previously, Bliznyuk passed 10-year NBA veteran Rodney Stuckey (1,438 points from 2006-07) in EWU's first game of the season, and then Dave Hayden (1,461 points from 1970-73) against Washington.
 
With 409 free throws made in his career, Bliznyuk has also broken the record of 386 held by Stuckey, who played a total of 10 years with the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers in the NBA. Bliznyuk broke the record when he was 13-of-13 from the line against Portland State on Jan. 4. Bliznyuk has a school-record 1,291 field goal attempts, breaking the 45-year record on Jan. 18 against NAU when he moved past the 1,286 Hayden had from 1970-73.
 
In addition, if Bliznyuk plays six more games he will equal the record of 128 set by his former teammate Felix Von Hofe from 2014-17. Bliznyuk is ranked in the top 10 in school history in several other categories, and against Providence on Dec. 20 moved passed Eagle legend and former Big Sky MVP Alvin Snow (2015-17) into seventh in assists (Snow had 318 and Bliznyuk has a current total of 348 to rank fifth all-time at EWU). Bliznyuk has equaled the 122 games that Jois played to rank third in school history. Parker Kelly, another former teammate, is second with 126.
 
This season, Bliznyuk has made 47.5 percent of his field goals and 88.5 percent of his free throws (second in the Big Sky) to average 18.7 points (sixth) through 19 games. He is also averaging 6.2 rebounds (eighth) and 3.7 assists (fourth) to rank as the only player in the league to be in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and assists. He now has nine performances in his 122-game career of at least 30 points, 35 with at least 20 and 84 scoring in double figures, including the school record of 45 set as a junior. Plus, he had the lone triple-double in school history as a sophomore.
 
On Jan. 1, Bliznyuk was one of five players in the league named by HoopsHD.com to its mid-season All-Big Sky team. He was selected on Dec. 19 as the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after a 30-point effort in one game and a near triple-double in another. In two games – including an overtime loss at Wyoming and a 28-point NCAA Division I home win, the Big Sky Player of the Year candidate averaged 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He made 50 percent of his shots overall (15-of-30) and from the 3-point arc (4-of-8), and also made 12-of-15 free throws for 80 percent. On Nov. 8, Bliznyuk was selected to the Lou Henson Award preseason Watch List by Colllegeinsider.com. The award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major player, and the initial watch list featured 51 players from across the country.
 
Bliznyuk concluded his junior season with 701 points, becoming just the fourth player in school history to hit that mark (Jake Wiley, a senior on the 2017-18 squad, ranks fifth in school history with 694). 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. He also earned second team All-District 6 honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He is formerly from Lutsk, Ukraine, and graduated from Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, Wash., in 2014.
 
 The Eagles finished the season with five Big Sky Conference records and 14 EWU marks, most broken as the result of EWU's 130-124 triple-overtime victory over Portland State on Feb. 4. Wiley and Bliznyuk set the most intriguing record when both scored a school-record 45 points in that game versus the Vikings.
 
Bliznyuk has played in seven Big Sky Tournament games (5-2 record), with Bliznyuk averaging 15.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He scored 32 points with eight rebounds in the 2017 semifinals, and had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the quarterfinals.
 
Led by Bliznyuk, the Eagles in 2017-18 feature a team with size throughout their lineup. They were bolstered by the addition of 7-footer Benas Griciunas, a senior graduate transfer from UNC Charlotte. 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.
 
 
Trio of Other Newcomers Contributing Significantly, Including Two as Starters
 
True freshman Jack Perry has started EWU's last 11 games, and is coming off his fourth double-figure performance of the season with 11 against Northern Arizona on Jan. 18. He had a 14-point, six-assist effort in EWU's 82-67 win over Sacramento State on Jan. 6, and had his first two first double-figure scoring performances of the season with 13 at South Dakota on Nov. 10 and 17 two nights later at Wyoming when he also had a season-high seven assists. On the season he's averaging 6.3 points and 2.7 assists per game while making 47.7 percent from the field and 26-of-60 3-pointers (43.3 percent to rank 10th in the Big Sky). His clutch 3-pointer with 15 seconds left helped clinch EWU's 81-74 win over Portland State on Jan. 4, then he hit another clutch trey with 1:06 left in EWU's 81-76 victory against Northern Arizona on Jan. 18.
 
Redshirt freshman Jacob Davison made the first start of his career at Seattle on Dec. 3 and started seven-straight games. He is now coming off the bench and has averaged 5.6 points on the season. He had a 13-point performance against Utah on Nov. 24 for his third double-figure scoring performance in a four-game span. He came off the bench to score 20 against Georgia State on Nov 20, and had 11 one game earlier versus UNLV. He has made 29-of-37 free throws (78.4 percent).
 
And true freshman forward Richard Polanco has provided an offensive boost, averaging 9.5 minutes and 4.8 points. He's scored in double figures three times this season and has made nearly half of his shots from the field (34-of-70) and 71.4 percent of his free throws (15-of-21).
 
 
Senior Sir Washington Averaging 8.0 Points in Conference Play
 
Eastern's other four-year letterwinner, Sir Washington, has picked up his scoring pace in the Big Sky Conference season. After averaging only 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in the 12 preseason games he played, the senior has averaged 8.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in conference play. He sank only 30.4 percent of his shots overall (17-of-56) in the preseason, but has made 47.4 percent (18-of-38) of his field goals in conference play thus far.
 
Scoring at least 10 in two of EWU's last four games, he finished with his second double figure scoring performance of the season and 17th of his career with 10 points versus Sacramento State on Jan. 6. He ranks 16th in school history with 107 career games played (25 as a starter) while averaging 5.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
 
 
Peatling Back to Pre-Injury Form
 
Making his first start since Dec. 12 after missing four games because of a hand injury, sophomore Mason Peatling embraced his return to the starting lineup on Jan. 6 against Sacramento State. It took barely over seven minutes for him to hit the double-figure mark, as he finished with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in 13 minutes of action. That gave him a total of four double figure performances this season and eight in his career (now 49 games), but it was his first in nearly a month. Prior to being sidelined with his injury, he scored a career-high 19 at South Dakota on Dec. 10 and had 11 points and six rebounds one game earlier at San Francisco.
 
For the season, Peatling has averaged 5.7 points in 15 games (11 as a starter), and has averaged 3.6 rebounds and nearly a blocked shot per game (13 total). In his 49-game career (28 as a starter), he's averaged 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds with a total of 28 assists, 26 blocks and 23 steals.
 
 
Junior Jesse Hunt Has Made Most of Five Starts
 
Sidelined against Sacramento State on Jan. 6 with a foot injury suffered the day prior in practice, junior Jesse Hunt has started EWU's the last five games he has played. In those five outings (including four Eagle victories), he's averaged 14.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, while making 25-of-43 shots overall (58.1 percent), 7-of-11 from the 3-point stripe (63.6 percent) and 16-of-20 from the free throw line (80.0 percent). He registered his career high in the first four games.
 
Hunt scored a career-high 14 points and had eight rebounds in his first start of the season against CSUN on Dec. 17, then had his second double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds against Providence three days later. He equaled his career high with 16 points at Northern Colorado on Dec. 29 when he also had a career-high four blocked shots and eight rebounds in a career-high 29 minutes of action. He played 29 minutes at North Dakota and finished with 16 points and eight boards, then had 11 points and four rebounds in just 16 minutes because of foul trouble against Portland State.
 
For the season, Hunt is averaging 21.3 minutes, 9.1 points, 6.6 rebounds (eighth in the Big Sky) and has eight blocked shots, while making 50.5 percent of his shots from the field (14th in the league) and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. In his 79-game career (17 as a starter), Hunt has averaged 12.3 minutes, 3.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and has 28 blocks.
 
 
Graduate Transfer Griciunas Equals Collegiate Best With 16 Versus Hornets
 
Eastern's eight newcomers this season include Lithuanian seven-footer Benas Griciunas, a graduate transfer who came to EWU with 59 games of NCAA Division I experience. He had his first double-figure scoring performance as an Eagle with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field in EWU's 83-62 win over Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 22, and matched it with 16 against Sacramento State on Jan. 6 when he was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field with five rebounds and three blocked shots.
 
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. He unofficially opened his Eastern career by scoring 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field in EWU's exhibition victory over Portland on Oct. 29. He had a trio of 3-pointers and also had nine rebounds. He followed that with four points, five rebounds and two blocked shots in his Eagle official Eagle debut on Nov. 10 against Walla Walla.
 
A total of 13 Eagles played in EWU's opener versus Walla Walla, and Griciunas was one of four newcomers to see action. The others were redshirt freshman Jacob Davison and true freshmen Richard Polanco and Jack Perry. Brendan Howard, Kim Aiken Jr., and Tanner Groves are redshirting the season, as well as BYU transfer Steven Beo and walk-on Tyler Kidd.
 
 
Honored Academically Within Past Year, Eagles Post 3.43 GPA in Fall Quarter
 
Despite a road-heavy second half of the quarter for the Eagles, EWU basketball players posted a collective 3.43 grade point average in the fall.  "This is very impressive, especially considering the amount of days we were on the road this quarter," praised Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "Our guys work hard, and our coaches and administration do a great job of making sure they have all the support they need."
 
In the offseason, the Eastern men's basketball team was honored with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award announced last summer. It was the fourth consecutive year EWU has won that award. In addition, a trio of players – including returning senior forward Bogdan Bliznyuk – were honored on the NABC Honors Court.
 
The team award was won by 209 colleges and universities for having a team cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and above for the 2016-17 season. Teams in NCAA Division I, II, II and NAIA Division I and II were eligible. Eastern and Gonzaga were the only NCAA Division I schools in the state of Washington to be honored, and were joined by Central Washington from NCAA Division II and Northwest College from the NAIA. Eastern, Idaho State and Montana were the only Big Sky Conference schools to be recognized.
 
Players on EWU's 2016-17 team included Academic All-America nominees Ty Gibson and Jesse Hunt, as well as their fellow Big Sky Conference All-Academic selections Jacob Wiley (Big Sky MVP), Bogdan Bliznyuk (second team All-Big Sky), Mason Peatling, Mario Soto and Luka Vulikic. Other members of the squad included Julian Harrell, Felix Von Hofe, Sir Washington, Cody Benzel, Michael Wearne, Grant Gibb and Geremy McKay, with Jacob Davison and Joshua Thomas redshirting.
 
Besides Bliznyuk, former Eagles Julian Harrell and Mario Soto were selected on the Honors Court. Recipients of the award must be a varsity player, and academically a junior or senior while earning a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher.
 
Bliznyuk is from Lutsk, Ukraine, and graduated in 2014 from Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, Wash. He is a marketing major at Eastern, and currently has a 3.31 grade point average at EWU. A three-time member of the Big Sky All-Academic team, Bliznyuk is one of five returning players who earned that honor in the 2016-17 season. The others are Gibson, who has a near-perfect 3.99 GPA, Hunt (3.62 GPA), Peatling (3.94 GPA) and Vulikic (3.41 GPA).
 
 
Home Games Cherished in Second-Toughest Preseason in 31 Years
 
With just three home games in the preseason, the first season at the helm has been road-heavy and a challenging one for Shantay Legans and his first team, with 10 of 13 preseason games away from home. In fact, the only time in 31 seasons as a member of the Big Sky Eastern has had a more road-heavy preseason schedule was in the 1988-89 season when EWU played 11 of 14 games away from home. That team was 1-10 away from home and 3-11 overall heading into conference play (EWU finished 8-22 overall and 5-11 in the league).
 
Seven of EWU preseason losses were on the home court of its opponents, which finished their pre-conference schedules 69-27 (72 percent) on the season and 50-6 (89 percent) at home. The Eagles recorded a huge win at Stanford (67-61 on Nov. 14) and barely lost at Wyoming (93-88 in overtime on Dec. 17). After 36-straight days without a home game, Eastern returned to Reese Court where the Eagles had won 84 percent of their games (46-9) in the previous four years since the 2013-14 season.
 
This season is also just the second time in school history EWU has played three Pac-12 Conference opponents in the same year, with 2011-12 the other season and included losses to Oregon, Washington State and UCLA. In the 2017-18 season, Eastern will play eight opponents who played in national postseason tournaments last season, including five in the non-conference portion of EWU's schedule.
 
Three Pac-12 Conference opponents and a stretch of 36-straight days without a game at home were the task EWU took on. Three other teams in NCAA Division I also have such a streak:
39 – Penn (Nov. 18 vs. PSU-Brandywine; Dec. 27 vs. Delaware State)
39 – Harvard (Nov. 12 vs. UMass; Dec. 21 vs. Boston University)
37 – New Mexico State (Dec. 12 vs. vs. Eastern New Mexico, Jan. 18 vs. Seattle U.)
36 – Eastern Washington (Nov. 10 vs. Walla Walla; Dec. 17 vs. CSU-Northridge)
 
In all, Eastern has played teams from 10 different conferences this season, with all but two of its games versus NCAA Division I opposition. Seven opponents won at least 20 games a year ago – Georgia State, Utah, San Francisco, South Dakota, Wyoming, North Dakota and Weber State. Utah and South Dakota advanced to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), Georgia State advanced to the College Insider Tournament (CIT) and San Francisco and Wyoming joined EWU in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). The other three postseason opponents came from the Big Sky Conference – North Dakota in the NCAA Tournament and Idaho and Weber State in the CIT.
 
Eastern's long road stretch was rare, but not unprecedented in 110 years of basketball at Eastern. The 10 games (2-8 record) without a home game is the second-longest stretch, ranking only behind the 1988-89 team which played 11-straight away from home (1-10) while going from Dec. 3 to Jan. 12 without a home game. That team went 39 days without playing at home and the 1981-82 squad had a stretch of 37 days (5-4 in nine games away from home). This year's team went 36 days – Nov. 10 to Dec. 17 – without playing at home at Reese Court, where the Eagles are 46-9 (84 percent) in the last four-plus years (since the 2013-14 season). Since joining NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, Eastern has had eight month-long stretches without a home game, and prior to that had seven known such streaks.
 
The Eagles began their road trip against the University of Washington in Seattle on Nov. 12 – two days after playing at home on Nov. 10 versus Walla Walla. The first leg of EWU's road stretch included 4,432 airline miles, while the other trips in the road stretch included 3,449 air miles. That's a total of 7,881 air miles, not including ground travel and a bus trip to and from Seattle for the game versus the Redhawks.
 
 
1,000 Broadcast Milestone Reached Dec. 3 by Broadcaster Larry Weir
 
Long-time Eastern Washington University radio announcer Larry Weir called his 1,000th Eagle men's basketball or football game on Dec. 3 in EWU's game at Seattle. He was the 2015 and 2016 State of Washington Sportscaster of the Year, and was honored at Eastern's home game versus Providence on Dec. 20.
 
Weir recently concluded his 27th season as the football voice of the Eagles and is in his 25th calling men's basketball for EWU, whose games are broadcast on 700-AM ESPN. Through the Dec. 3 game, Weir had missed just 27 out of 706 men's basketball games, calling a total of 679 to go along with 321 out of a possible 322 football games. Through Jan. 18, his total is at 1,011.
 
Weir first began calling games in the 1991-92 season, and the only football game he missed in that span was a 2005 playoff game at Northern Iowa when he was broadcasting Eastern's basketball games in Alaska. Weir is in his 25th season calling men's basketball action for the Eagles (from 1991-2009 and again from 2012-present). Weir's tenure has included calling games coached by seven men's basketball coaches and five in football. The 2017-18 season marks his first year working with EWU coaches Aaron Best in football and Shantay Legans in basketball.
 
 
Now in Cheney, Basketball Coaches Show Are Mondays
 
Featuring a new location, the next Eastern Washington University basketball coaches show take place Mondays throughout the season at 6 p.m. Pacific time and will be broadcast live on 700-AM ESPN.
 
The public is invited to attend the live shows, which are now taking place at Barrelhouse Pub and Pizza in Cheney, Wash., just a few blocks from the EWU campus. They begin at 6 p.m., and feature head men's basketball coach Shantay Legans, host Larry Weir and other special guests, including women's head coach Wendy Schuller.
 
Barrelhouse is located at 122 College Ave. in downtown Cheney, and is owned by Mike Lyons. The restaurant features specialty pizzas, calzones and other appetizers, as well as a large variety of draft beer and a full bar. It also has a large assortment of televisions tuned to each day's top sporting events.
 
 
 

Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .

 
On NAU Victory: "Our team was playing with a lot of confidence. Even when the game got close I had confidence in them. Northern Arizona made their run early in the half and I thought about taking a timeout, but I knew our players would fight through it. Using our timeouts late was huge – we needed them."
 
On First Half Versus Lumberjacks: "We were great on both ends of the floor. Our guys got hot and they couldn't slow us down. We had so many guys getting open looks and knocking them down. Our first half effort was spectacular. I couldn't be happier as a head coach."
 
On Winning Nailbiter: "We just wanted to make sure nobody tuned out. Our team played a great first half, but Northern Arizona stepped up defensively and they went bananas on us and hit shots from all over the place. Luckily we got up early and did a great job. Our guys were focused, and they made the right plays at the right time. I'm proud of the effort, even though our performance in the second half needs to be much better. But to come out with a win on the road -- no matter how you get it -- is sweet. We're going for a road sweep on Saturday, and that's huge."
 
On EWU's 15-of-23 3-Point Shooting: "That was the ballgame. Our guys knocked down shot after shot after shot. We have a confident group of shooters. We didn't shoot the ball well our last time out at home, but we came out on the road in a big huge dome and made shots. It's hard to make shots in this type of arena, and our guys were banging in shots."
 
 On Cody Benzel: "He's been playing great. The thing that got him into the starting lineup and his minutes up is his defense. He's been doing a great job defending the other team's best shooters. He came out and took defense to heart, and wanted to show us he could defend. Since then he's been playing great basketball and has helped us out tremendously both offense and defense. He's been on fire since then."
 
On Jack Perry: "I'm on him the whole game to talk more and to lead more, but he's a freshman and he's learning. But when he gets these open looks, he's a great shooter and a smart player. He gets guys involved and he's a great defender. He's more of a pass-first guy, but I don't mind if he shoots 10-15 shots because he's that good of a shooter. We're lucky to have him. He does a lot of things right and his father is a good coach back in Australia. Jack comes battle-tested and it's great having him. He is confident every time he's on the court and he understands exactly what is going on. It's like having another coach out there, and he's doing everything the right way. We have a lot of different options we can go with."
 
On Richard Polanco Getting Extra Minutes in the Absence of Benas Griciunas: "Richard played a great first half and stepped in for Benas, who didn't play tonight. He played a terrific 13 minutes for a freshman and he told me he was the most tired he's ever been in his life. He did great."
 
On Having Players Like Bliznyuk: "It's good, and it's always great to have players like Bogdan. He can do everything for us. I've said it all the time that when we have guys like this on the team it's easy to coach – they are smart, they play hard, they are getting better every day and they come in with great attitudes. It makes life easy."
 
On Strength of League: "There are lot of good coaches, and recruiting is starting to pick up and they are getting good players from all over the world. It's a tough league because every team has three or four really tough players and are well-coached. There are a lot of skilled players and the depth of the league is wild."
 
On Contributions of Senior Sir Washington: "Since we've been in league play Sir has stepped up and played huge. He's playing like a senior. He's had some ups and downs, but since we've started league play he's played his butt off. He's defending and he's getting big rebounds, and he's taken some pressure off Jack (Perry) at the point. He's playing undersized but he's tough. When you have a senior who is a great leader, we count on him."
 
On Captains: "Bogdan and Ty are our captains and they keep our team level-headed – not too high and not too low. They keep us steady, and it makes it easy to coach with them on our team."
 
On Bliznyuk's Abilities: "Bogdan has been the personification of what we want our EWU program to look like. He is the perfect student-athlete and deserves all the accolades he receives. He shows that hard work and determination pays off. We talked about it before the season started that he was going to be double-teamed and he has to make sure he's making the pass. He's making the pass and that's exactly what we're looking for. He's doing a great job of leading our players, getting them in the huddle and talking to make sure we are doing everything the right way. He's a great captain."
 
On Academic Honors: "This is just a testament that we are more than just a talented basketball team. It also shows that academics are the highest priority for our student-athletes at Eastern Washington. I am proud of our players for finishing the year strong in the classroom, and setting an example for the incoming student-athletes."
 
 
 

Series Notes

 
* The Eagles are 9-4 all-time against Southern Utah (5-1 in Cheney, 4-3 in Cedar City) with an eight-game winning streak. Eastern has won the last four meetings in Cedar City since a 69-55 loss on Jan. 26, 2013. The Eagles have triumphed in the last five home meetings since losing the first game in Cheney in the series by a 70-68 score on Dec. 21, 1993. The Thunderbirds joined the Big Sky in the 2012-13 season and EWU is 8-1 versus them since then.
* Last year in Cedar City, Eastern used runs of 11-0 and 7-0 in the second half to pull away from Southern Utah for a 91-75 victory March 2, but the even better news that night came from Grand Forks, N.D., where league-leading North Dakota was upset by Sacramento State 57-53. As a result, the Eagles and Fighting Hawks sat atop the Big Sky standings at 13-4 apiece with one game to play in the regular season (EWU lost and UND won their finales). Felix Von Hofe scored 20 points with six 3-pointers to become the 21st player in school history go over the 1,000-point mark in his career. His scoring performance was his best since getting 22 in a league-opening win at Idaho. He, Jacob Wiley and Bogdan Bliznyuk combined for 70 of EWU's 91 points. Wiley had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds and Bliznyuk had 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Wiley and Bliznyuk combined for all of EWU's points in a 7-0 run to give EWU a comfortable 73-61 lead with 3:56 to play, about six minutes after EWU used an 11-0 run to take the lead for good. Trailing 54-50 in the second half, EWU outscored the Thunderbirds 41-21 the rest of the way. Eastern made all 23 of its free throws in the second half and made 12 3-pointers, helping the Eagles to a 57 percent shooting night. Bliznyuk made his last 15 free throws after missing the lone EWU free throw attempt in the first half.
* The last time the teams played in Cheney, Bogdan Bliznyuk and Jacob Wiley scored 21 points each as Eastern beat Southern Utah 83-68 Jan. 21, 2017, at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. Eight Eagles scored and four had 3-pointers as the Eagles were dominating in the first 20 minutes of the game and opened a 47-22 lead at halftime. Eastern led by as many as 30 points in the second half before settling for the 15-point victory. Eastern had a 52 percent shooting night and held Southern Utah to 36 percent while blocking 10 Thunderbird shots. In the first half alone, Eastern's defense held the Thunderbirds to 24 percent shooting and a 6:35 stretch without a field goal. At the time, the 22 points SUU scored equaled the second-fewest EWU has allowed in a half this season. Bliznyuk and Wiley stuffed the stat sheet, with Bliznyuk finishing with 21 points, nine rebounds and equaling a career high with five steals. Wiley also had nine rebounds to go along with five assists, four blocks and a steal. Felix Von Hofe hit 4-of-8 3-point attempts to finish with 12 points. Luka Vulikic had six points and five rebounds, and equaled his career high with three assists. Mason Peatling chipped in seven points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Cody Benzel and Ty Gibson both hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored six points.
 
 
 

Recent Game Recaps

 
Eagles Have Another Fast Start Before Winning 81-76 Nailbiter
 
An 18-0 first half run helped open an early 28-point lead, but the Eagles needed every little bit of that advantage to lead from start-to-finish and edge Northern Arizona 81-76 Jan. 18 in Flagstaff, Ariz. Senior Bogdan Bliznyuk made all 16 of his free throws and scored 28 points, while true freshman Jack Perry and junior Ty Gibson hit big baskets in the last 1:06 to help EWU win for the sixth time in its last eight games. The Eagles, who didn't practice the day prior because of travel delays leaving Spokane, were fresh in the first half, but had to hold on for dear life after that. The Eagles used an 18-0 run – all on 3-pointers by five different players – to jump out to an early 29-7 lead. The Eagles led by as many as 28 in the first half and 21 at halftime, but Northern Arizona roared back. The lead was down to 12 less than four minutes into the half and by single digits just a few minutes after that. But the Eagles never gave up their lead, as Bliznyuk made 10-of-10 free throws in a 6 1/2-minute stretch. Perry hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:06 left to put the Eagles up by four, then Gibson sank a reverse layup – only EWU's second 2-point field goal of the half -- with 28 ticks left. Bliznyuk closed out the win with four free throws in the final six seconds. Junior Cody Benzel made five 3-pointers to finish with 16 points, and Eastern sank 15-of-23 3-pointers in the game for a season-high 65.2 percent. Eastern had 10 in the first half alone as EWU came just five from the school record of 20. Perry added 11 points with a trio of 3-pointers and also had three steals, three rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
 
Fast Start and Defense Doesn't Hold Up For Eagles
 
Despite a 20-6 start and a defensive effort that equaled its season best, Eastern fell 58-51 to the Idaho on Jan. 12 at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash., to end EWU's 12-game home court winning streak. The Eagles held Idaho to 58 points, equaling the fewest EWU has allowed to an opponent this season. Idaho sank just 40.8 percent of its shots, including only 2-of-9 3-pointers in the second half (22.2 percent). However, after sinking eight of its first 13 shots from the field to jump out to the early 14-point lead, Eastern finished at just 36.4 percent from the field for its lowest percentage since Dec. 7. Eastern's 51 points were its fewest since scoring 50 in a loss to Georgia State in November, and Eastern hadn't scored fewer than 65 in the 12 games since – and no fewer than 77 in the last seven. Most notably, Idaho held Bogdan Bliznyuk scoreless for 32:12 of the game after he scored nine of EWU's first 20 points. He also contributed six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Mason Peatling chipped in eight points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots, and Jack Perry also scored eight with two assists and three rebounds. Juniors Ty Gibson and Cody Benzel each scored six points, but combined to go just 4-of-14 from the field overall, including 4-of-13 from the 3-point stripe. Gibson also had five rebounds and four assists. The Eagles got off to a hot start, opening leads of 10-1 and 20-6, but they couldn't sustain it. The Eagles made eight of their first 13 shots, but then just 12-of-42 after that for 29 percent. Eastern led 34-33 with 15:27 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Gibson, but the Vandals followed with a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 43-36 advantage. A 7-0 Vandal run and a five-minute scoreless stretch for the Eagles helped Idaho open an 11-point bulge at the 2:21 mark, and EWU could get no closer than seven the rest of the way.