­­­­­­­Eastern Washington University "Eagles" Men's Basketball (11-11/6-3 Big Sky) Feb. 1 – at Sacramento State ­– Sacramento, Calif. – 7:05 p.m. Feb. 3 – at Portland State ­– Portland, Ore. – 1:05 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 Sac State and Portland State road games
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 Eagles continue to climb the mountain, but the terrain is getting steep as the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team heads back on the road this week.
 
With splits in its last six two-game Big Sky Conference road trips and currently third in the league with a 6-3 record, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team plays at Sacramento State on Thursday (Feb. 1) in a game that starts at 7:05 p.m. Pacific time. The Eagles then play Saturday (Feb. 3) at Portland State at 1 p.m.
 
Neither game will be televised, but 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.
 
Road sweeps are ideal, but road splits have been commonplace for Eastern lately. That's nothing to complain about, but the Eagles actually had higher expectations for the halfway point of the conference season. Outside of a season-opening loss at Northern Colorado, the Eagles felt they gave away a home game to Idaho and a game at Southern Utah on Jan. 20 that would have given the Eagles a weekend road sweep.
 
Now 7-1 at home, the Eagles are 11-11 on the season and 6-3 in the Big Sky, and have won eight of their last 11 games. The Eagles are now 53-10 (84 percent) at Reese Court in the past five seasons since 2013-14. However, the Eagles saw their 12-game home court winning streak snapped against Idaho on Jan. 12, having not lost at home since falling to Montana on Jan. 7, 2017.
 
 "To be honest, I thought we would have a better record than we have now," said head coach Shantay Legans. "We've lost some games I thought we've given away. We had leads and we didn't secure it the right way. We're learning as we go and I think our team is really good. Even with the injuries we've had, we could have a better record. As I go back and watch our games we are in those we've lost. We just have to finish games off. Northern Colorado did a number on us in our first league game, but we've played with passion since then."
 
The Eagles are coming off a home sweep over North Dakota (95-71) and Northern Colorado (67-65) in which senior Bogdan Bliznyuk became the school's career scoring leader and climbed into the top 10 on the Big Sky Conference scoring chart. He was selected as the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after averaging 27.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists while upping his career point total to 1,856.
 
Eastern is tied with Idaho in third in the league standings, with Montana leading the way at 9-0 and Weber State second at 6-2. Montana State and Northern Colorado are at 5-4, with Idaho State now 4-4. Eastern finds itself at the .500 mark for the first time since starting the season 3-3, and the Eagles still have some lofty goals on their minds.
 
"It's human nature – we want to win the conference championship," said Legans. "But we know we can't have a lot of mistakes with the way Montana is playing and Weber State ahead of us with two losses. We have to play and compete in every game we play. If we can run the table to the end, that's great, but we have to take each one game-by-game. Our team had a goal and that's to win the league championship, win the league tournament and get to the NCAA Tournament. I believe in that goal. That's the goal they set for themselves and I'm right there with them."
 
Sacramento State won at Portland State 71-61 on Saturday in the most recent action for both schools. The Hornets are now 3-5 in the Big Sky and 6-15 overall, while PSU will enter its game Thursday versus Idaho with a 3-5 league mark and 13-8 record on the season.
 
Eastern swept those two schools at home earlier this season, beating Portland State 81-74 on Jan. 4 and then knocking off Sacramento State 82-67. Bogdan Bliznyuk had his third double-double of the season and 18th in his career with 28 points and 12 rebounds against PSU, sinking 13-of-13 free throws. Interestingly, Bliznyuk was one of three Eagles to score in double figures versus the Vikings, but in the next game versus the Hornets five entirely different players scored at least 10 points.
Eastern fell 66-62 in overtime at Southern Utah in its last road outing, but picked up an 81-76 win at Northern Arizona before that. The Eagles have now split on the road six-straight times, dating back to the 2015-16 season when the Eagles swept Southern Utah and Northern Arizona road trip. One trip earlier that season, Eastern was swept by the Montana schools.
 
Thus, Eastern enters action this week with a pair of Big Sky road breakthroughs on their resume, and overall 3-9 mark on opponent home courts (total of 4-10 away from home). Eastern's next home game is a showdown on Feb. 15 versus league leader Montana, followed by a Feb. 17 game versus Montana State.
 
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

 
6-foot-6 Point-Forward Bogdan Bliznyuk Sets EWU Scoring Record;  8 Points From No. 9 in Big Sky
 
As he continues to climb in top 10 of the league's all-time scoring list, there are still plenty more points to be scored for Big Sky Conference Player of the Year candidate Bogdan Bliznyuk. He's already broken EWU's career scoring record, but he's just eight points from ranking ninth in league history. And he's already broken an EWU record held by a former 10-year NBA veteran, and another mark held for 45 years.
 
Bliznyuk now has 1,856 career points in 125 career games, breaking the previous school record of 1,803 set by Venky Jois (2013-16). He broke the record on Jan. 25 in a 95-71 victory at home versus North Dakota with a 3-pointer barely a minute into the game to give EWU a 7-2 lead. Eastern head coach Shantay Legans called a timeout so his accomplishment could be acknowledged, then the Eagles used the energy to open a 30-8 lead while making 12 of their first 15 shots.
 
Bliznyuk moved up four spots against UND to 11th in the 55-year history of the Big Sky, then moved into 10th one game later. Besides passing Jois, Bliznyuk passed the 1,810 points by Jim Potter from Idaho State from 1992-95, the 1,819 by Donn Holston from Idaho State from 1984-87, the 1,827 by Michael Ray Richardson from Montana from 1984-87 and the 1,841 by Tom Domako from Montana State from 1985-88.
 
Bliznyuk is now just eight points from the No. 9 position currently held by Montana State's Nate Holmstadt with 1,864 points from 1995-99. Ranking No. 8 is Steve Conner from Boise State with 1,927 from 1974-78. If the Eagles play just the minimum of 10 games left this season and he maintains his average of 19.5 points per game, Bliznyuk would finish third in league history with 2,051 points.
 
Bliznyuk is just the third player since 2000 to crack the Big Sky's top 10, joining Weber State's Jeremy Senglin (2013-17) and Damian Lillard (2008-12). Senglin scored 2,078 points to rank only behind the record 2,102 Orlando Lightfoot from Idaho scored in three seasons from 1991-94. Lillard is No. 6 with 1,934 points.
 

 
On EWU's all-time listings, Ron Cox had 1,741 points from 1974-77 and held the school record for 39 years – about 14,300 days – until broken by Jois on March 3, 2016 in an Eagle loss. Thus, Jois owned the record for just 693 days. Against San Francisco on Dec. 7, Bliznyuk passed Irv Leifer (1,550 from 1942-47), who held the Eastern 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 415 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, and also made 16-of-16 versus Northern Arizona on Jan. 18 (Harvey holds the school and Big Sky records with a 20-for-20 performance). Bliznyuk currently ranks fourth in school history with 83.0 percent accuracy rate from the free throw line. He enters the Sacramento State game on Feb. 1 having made his last 40 in a row, dating back to the second half of the North Dakota game on Jan. 31.
 
Bliznyuk has a school-record 1,344 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 three more games he will equal the record of 128 set by his former teammate Felix Von Hofe from 2014-17. Parker Kelly, another former teammate, is second with 126. Von Hofe, now living back in Melbourne, Australia, was at EWU games on Jan. 25 and 27. 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 357 to rank fourth all-time at EWU).
 
This season, Bliznyuk has made 49.5 percent of his field goals (14th in the Big Sky and 89.1 percent of his free throws (second in the Big Sky, 28th in NCAA Division I) to average 19.5 points (fifth) through 22 games. He is also averaging 6.3 rebounds (eighth) and 3.6 assists (fifth) to rank as the only player in the league to be in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and assists. He now has 10 performances in his 125-game career of at least 30 points, 36 with at least 20 and 87 scoring in double figures, including the school record scoring total of 45 set as a junior. Plus, he had the lone triple-double in school history as a sophomore.
 
He earned his second Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honor of the season and fourth of his career on Jan. 29. On a record-setting week when he became the school's men's basketball career scoring leader while also climbing five spots into the top 10 on the Big Sky Conference scoring chart, he led the Eagles to a weekend sweep over North Dakota (95-71) and Northern Colorado (67-65). He averaged 27.0 points on a sizzling 65.7 shooting percentage (23-of-35) from the floor, and also averaged 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per outing.
 
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 also selected on Dec. 19 as the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week after a 30-point effort in an overtime loss at Wyoming and a near triple-double in a 28-point victory over CSUN. In two games he averaged 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. 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.
 
 
Eagles No. 39 in Nation in Fewest Turnovers
 
After a seven-game stretch in which EWU had between 11 and 20 turnovers in each game, the Eagles have returned to lead the league in fewest turnovers per game. With just six versus both North Dakota on Jan. 25 and Northern Colorado on Jan. 27, the Eagles have allowed only 11.5 per game to rank 39th in NCAA Division I. Prior to the start of league play, the Eagles were averaging just 11.0 per game to lead the league, but had performances of 16, 20 and 17 in their first seven league games.
 
 
EWU Free Throw Shooting Tops in the League; Benzel's 3-Point Percentage Ranks Second
 
The Eagles have been a solid free throw shooting team this season and are currently leading the league and ranked 28th in NCAA Division I (76.4 percent, as well as tops in league games only at 82.8 percent). Senior Bogdan Bliznyuk is second in the league and 28th nationally at 89.1 percent, including 44-of-45 (97.8 percent) in league games only to lead the Big Sky. He's made his last 40 free throws in a row.
 
Junior Cody Benzel is third in 3-point shooting overall at 48.2 percent (41-of-85), including 26-of-51 (51.0 percent) in league games only to rank fifth. True freshman Jack Perry is 13th on the season at 41.2 percent (28-of-68). Both Benzel and junior Ty Gibson have averaged 2.0 3-pointers per game to rank 13th in the league, and Gibson is currently third on the team in scoring at 7.3 per game. One of the team's co-captains, Gibson has scored in double figures eight times this season to rank second on the team.
 
In individual field goal shooting, Bogdan Bliznyuk is 14th in the league at 49.5 percent, and is also fifth in scoring (19.5), fifth in assists (3.6) and eighth in rebounding (6.3). 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 an average of 4.2 assists in Big Sky games only to rank third in the league. Perry has averaged 2.8 assists overall this season to rank 13th in the league, and Mason Peatling is seventh with an average of 1.1 blocked shots per game. Peatling has averaged 1.6 in conference play to rank fourth, and his average of 7.9 rebounds per game in league games also ranks fourth.
 
 
Eastern 5-0 When it Makes 50 Percent from the Field
 
Eastern has made at least half of its shots in five of its last 11 games, and is 5-0 this season when it hits that mark. The Eagles had a 52.8 performance against North Dakota on Jan. 25 when Bogdan Bliznyuk made 12-of-15 shots on his way to a 28-point night. For the season, Eastern is now 10-1 when they out-shoot their opponents and 1-10 when they don't.
 
What Eastern accomplished in the first three months of the season, the reverse happened Jan. 18 and 20. For the first time this season, Eastern was out-shot at Northern Arizona on Jan. 18 and won a game. In the next game in an overtime setback to Southern Utah, the Eagles suffered their first loss when they've had a better shooting percentage. Eastern made 48.9 percent compared to 50.9 percent to the Lumberjacks, then made 40.0 percent against the Thunderbirds while holding them to 35.6 percent.
 
Eastern made significant shooting improvement in late December and January after starting the year making only 39 percent through nine games. The Eagles have improved that to 44.6 percent for the season. Eastern has had its top 11 shooting performances of the year in the last 13 games, and the team's three-point shooting has also improved from 30.2 percent after nine games to a current mark of 36.2. In league play, the Eagles have sank 47.3 percent of their shots from the field overall and 39.4 percent from the 3-point arc.  In nine league games thus far, the Eagles are holding opponents to 34.4 percent from the 3-point line and 42.9 percent overall.
 
 
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 24.7 points per game from its bench (544 total), compared to an average of 19.7 by its opponents (433 total). Ten Eagles are averaging between 13.5 and 33.6 minutes per game, and one other is averaging 9.0. For the season, Bogdan Bliznyuk is averaging a team-leading 19.5 points per game, but 10 others are averaging between 4.4 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 14. Peatling returned on Jan. 4, but that was the last game Hunt (foot) played before he was sidelined.
 
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.
 
 
Trio of Newcomers Contributing Significantly, Including Two as Starters
 
True freshman Jack Perry has started EWU's last 14 games, and had 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 2.8 assists per game (13th in the Big Sky) while making 47.2 percent from the field and 28-of-68 3-pointers (41.2 percent to rank 13th 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 5.2 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.
 
And true freshman forward Richard Polanco has provided an offensive boost, averaging 9.0 minutes and 4.4 points. He's scored in double figures three times this season and has made nearly half of his shots from the field (35-of-73) and 73.9 percent of his free throws (17-of-23).
 
 
Senior Sir Washington Averaging 9.2 Points in Conference Play; Benzel 9.4
 
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 9.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in conference play. He sank only 30.4 percent of his shots overall (17-of-56) in the preseason, but has made 4.5 percent (30-of-66) of his field goals and 18-of-25 free throws (72.0 percent) in conference play thus far. His pair of free throws with eight seconds left gave EWU a 67-65 win over Northern Colorado on Jan. 27, in a game in which is also had a key tip-in and defensive rebound in the final three minutes.
 
Scoring at least 10 in four of EWU's last seven games, he had an 11-point effort at home against North Dakota on Jan. 25 in which he also had five rebounds and three assists. Now with 19 double figure performances of his career, he had a 15-point performance in an overtime loss at Southern Utah on Jan. 20. He finished with his second double figure scoring performance of the season with 10 points versus Sacramento State on Jan. 6. He ranks 13th in school history with 110 career games played (25 as a starter) while averaging 5.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
 
Junior Cody Benzel has also picked up his scoring pace, and is averaging 9.4 points in league play after owning a 4.5 average during non-conference play. He's made 26-of-51 3-point attempts (51.0 percent) in Big Sky games, compared to 16-of-42 (38.1 percent) prior to that. Benzel has scored at least 15 points in three of his last six outings.
 
 
With Three-Straight Double-Doubles, Peatling Back to Pre-Injury Form
 
Sophomore Mason Peatling has provided some big games since joining the starting lineup, and has put together a stretch of three-straight double-doubles. He is coming off a performance in a win over Northern Colorado on Jan. 27 in which he had 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. He had his seventh double figure scoring performance of the season as he made 6-of-11 shots from the field and had two blocked shots.
 
Peatling had the first double-double of his career with 10 points and 10 rebounds in EWU's overtime loss at Southern Utah on Jan. 20, then had 11-11 versus North Dakota on Jan. 25. For the season, Peatling has averaged 6.8 points in 18 games (14 as a starter), and has averaged 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game (seventh in the Big Sky). His averages are 8.3 points, 7.9 rebounds (fourth in the league) and 1.6 blocks (fourth). In his 52-game career (31 as a starter), he's averaged 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds with a total of 29 assists, 32 blocks and 26 steals.
 
Making his first start since Dec. 12 after missing four games because of a hand injury, 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. 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.
 
 
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 and has eight blocked shots, while making 50.5 percent of his shots from the field 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.
 
 
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. 25, his total is at 1,013.
 
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 UNC Win: "We missed some of the shots we usually make, but we were right there the whole game. I've been harping on our guys that defense is going to win games at the end, and to hold that team to 65 points is really good. It was a great game and fun game to be involved in. We had a great crowd – it was exciting to have everybody at the game. Our crowds are getting better and better, and I think a lot of that has to do with how we are playing. Our guys fed off that tonight. It was a really exciting game."
 
On Mason Peatling Versus UNC: "Mason had a monster game. He's the reason we won – he kicked everybody's butt on the boards. He tried to outrebound them by himself.  He was a beast out there and he went and got all those rebounds – they weren't just falling in his lap. He's worked on his game a lot. He has some offensive game that will be coming out more and more as he becomes comfortable with the offense."
 
On Battle Every Game in Big Sky: "Every game is important, and every single game we play is going to be like this. It comes down to certain possessions, offensive rebounds and blocking out. Every game we'll feel that way the rest of the way."
 
On Bliznyuk's Scoring Record: "His historic accomplishment is a true testament to his character, drive and work ethic. And that's not to mention he is also a great student, with a 3.31 GPA. As our team's captain, he is a great role model and ambassador for the EWU men's basketball program and our University. I couldn't be more proud."
 
On Development of Players in His Program: "Development is important, and it's important for our recruits to see that. A lot of players have talent. The way we play we give players freedom for creativity on the offensive end. When you get a player as creative as Bogdan or Jake Wiley, they are talented but sometimes you just need to give them the confidence. We want to make sure we are a place where we are always providing encouragement. When Bogdan came here he wasn't a great 3-point shooter, but he is now – guys can't leave him early. Tyler Harvey came as just a catch-and-shoot guy, but he left being able to put the ball on the floor. We have a lot of young coaches and we like to get in the gym with them as much as our 20-hour limit allows us. We have built a culture of guys working on their game together, and working in the gym is important. They go really hard and focus, and that's what we've been building for the last four or five years."
 
On Bliznyuk: "I think he's the best player in the league, so he means a lot to us. Tonight he came out and had a big game scoring, rebounding and passing, and he played great defense on their best player. He comes out and works hard every day, is the last guy in the gym and always encourages his teammates. I haven't ever heard him say anything negative toward another player – he's always uplifting. We have freshmen and sophomores who have seen how he's done it. He's had some great mentors along the way and he's taken things from everybody, and now he's given back to all his teammates."
 
On Bliznyuk Being a Coach on the Floor: "It makes it easy, especially for my first year. I told him, 'Thank you for getting us this job, because if you weren't so good for four years I wouldn't have it.' There is a lot of trust here in him – he has the rights to call plays. He's a captain and a leader, and for me it means a lot to have so much trust in him. He helps everything – defensively, offensively and options for us to run on offense. He's huge for us – he's like another coach on the floor."
 
On Sir Washington: "Sir is stepping up as a senior. He is playing with a lot of composure and freedom and has confidence. That is what we need. He has been playing super hard."
 
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 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 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

 
* Since Eastern became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, the Eagles are now 34-14 versus Sacramento State, and the two schools did not play against each other prior to that. The Eagles have won 27 of their last 37 games against the Hornets, and have a 21-3 record versus Sacramento State in Cheney, are 11-11 in Sacramento and 2-0 on a neutral court. Last year, Eastern played the Hornets just once in the regular season and beat the Hornets 77-72 in Cheney before winning its sixth-straight game in the series by knocking off Sac State 89-70 in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Reno. In the 2015-16 season, Eastern swept the Hornets with a 74-67 win in Cheney and a 93-88 victory in Sacramento. The other neutral site game came in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament in 2015 in Missoula, when the Eagles won 91-83 on their way to the school's second-ever league tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance. Felix Von Hofe came off the bench to score 23 points with seven 3-pointers made, helping EWU lead by as many as 26 in the second half. At one point, the Eagles made 16-of-17 shots from the field, including seven of its last eight in the first half and their first nine of the second half.
* Earlier this season in Cheney, Cody Benzel led five Eagles in double figures with career highs of 25 points and seven 3-pointers as the Eagles remained unbeaten at home with an 82-67 victory against Sacramento State on Jan. 6 at Reese Court. Besides Benzel, Benas Griciunas had a career-high 16 points, Jack Perry had 14, Mason Peatling contributed 12 and Sir Washington chipped in 10. Those five players had entered with scoring averages of between 4.5 and 5.3 per game, and had just a collective nine double-figure scoring performances in EWU's first 16 games. Eastern's top three scorers – including injured forward Jesse Hunt – combined for just two points in the game, as Big Sky Player of the Year candidate Bogdan Bliznyuk was double and triple teamed by the Hornets. He finished with just two points, but he contributed nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals. The senior was able to move into second in school history in career scoring with 1,742 points, one better than Ron Cox with 1,741 from 1974-77 and 61 away from the all-time record. For the third-straight game, Eastern had a double-digit advantage in field goal percentage. Eastern sank 55 percent – including a blistering 62 percent in the second half when the Eagles made 8-of-14 3-pointers – while Sac State finished at 44 percent. Benzel got hot in the second half and netted 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers in runs of 8-0 and 6-0 to give EWU a 21-point lead. The Eagles had used runs of 10-0 and 9-0 in the first half to help open a 12-point lead at halftime. The Hornets led just three times in the first half for a total of 57 seconds.
* Last year in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament, six Eagles scored at least eight points and Eastern rolled to an 89-70 victory over Sacramento State March 9 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev. The Eagles held the Hornets without a field goal for a stretch of 7:45 in the first half and 10:08 in the second half, on their way to a 55 percent to 42 percent advantage in shooting from the field. Runs of 12-1 and 9-0 were the catalyst in helping EWU improve its season record to 22-10 with 11 victories in their last 14 games. Jacob Wiley scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds, with Bogdan Bliznyuk adding 18 points, nine rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals. Four other players also scored at least eight, including 11 by Sir Washington, nine each by Cody Benzel and Felix Von Hofe, and eight by Mason Peatling. Matching Sac State's physicality, Eastern was whistled for 30 fouls and sent Sac State to the line 36 times, but no Eagle fouled out. After the Hornets cut Eastern's 13-point halftime lead to six on a pair of occasions early in the second half, Eastern used a 9-0 run to regain command. Washington had a driving layin and a 3-pointer to start the run, then baskets by Benzel and Peatling gave EWU a 55-40 advantage. Later, 3-pointers by Benzel and Bliznyuk opened a 64-45 Eagle lead during a stretch in which Sac State missed eight-straight shots and went without a field goal for 10:08.
 
* Since Eastern became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, the Eagles are now 22-22 versus the Vikings. All of the meetings have come since the 1996-97 school year when PSU joined the Big Sky Conference, and Eastern is 15-8 in Cheney and 7-13 against PSU in Portland (0-1 on neutral courts) since then. The Vikings have a 25-23 edge in the overall series. There was just one game played between the two teams last year, but there were enough points for two game's worth as EWU won in triple-overtime 130-124. Eastern split its meetings against PSU in 2015-16, winning in Cheney (112-83) and losing in Portland (107-91).
* It was another record-breaking night earlier this season for senior Bogdan Bliznyuk, but it was toughness that saved the day at Reese Court as Eastern edged Portland State 81-74 on Jan. 4. Eastern used a 16-0 run to build a double-digit cushion midway through the second half versus a team with 10 victories during the preseason. But 40 minutes of full-court pressure by the Vikings caught up with the Eagles, who needed a 3-pointer by true freshman Jack Perry with 15 ticks of the clock left to seal it for the Eagles. Eastern won the game with a dominating 49 percent to 37 percent advantage in field goal percentage, and out-shot the Vikings 8-3 from the 3-point line. Until Eastern took a 13-point lead with 9:20 to play following a 16-0 run, the game featured 10 ties and 14 lead changes – both season highs for the Eagles. Bliznyuk broke the school record for career free throws, ending the night with 391 to surpass the 386 of 10-year NBA veteran Rodney Stuckey from 2006-07. Bliznyuk was 13-of-13 at the line and finished with a double-double of 28 points and 12 rebounds. Jesse Hunt scored in double figures for the fifth-straight game, finishing with 11 on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He had four rebounds but played only 16 minutes before fouling out. Sir Washington came off the bench to contribute seven points and three rebounds in 29 minutes, and Ty Gibson hit three of EWU's eight 3-pointers in the game to finish with 10 points. Richard Polanco scored nine points in just 11 minutes off the bench, and Perry contributed seven points, four rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes as a starter.
 
 
 

 
Recent Game Recaps

 
Big Plays Down the Stretch Guide Eastern Past Northern Colorado 67-65
 
A trio of Eagles combined for 52 points and came up with key plays down the stretch as the Eagles beat Northern Colorado 67-65 on Jan. 27 at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. Senior Sir Washington sank a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to break a 65-all tie, as UNC missed six of its last eight shots. Washington, who finished with nine points, also came up with the key rebound with 13 seconds remaining on a potential go-ahead attempt by UNC's Andre Spight, who also missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that could have won it. All-time EWU leading scorer Bogdan Bliznyuk led the way with 26 points as he moved into the top 10 in Big Sky Conference history. He scored seven points in a 10-0 run midway through the second half that turned a deficit – EWU's last of the game – into a seven-point advantage with 8:11 to play. Sophomore Mason Peatling had this third-straight double-double, finishing with 17 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and two blocked shots. He also took a key charge with 1:10 with the game knotted at 65. Featuring 11 ties and six lead changes, the game was a battle for third place in the conference standings. The Eagles sank just 4-of-13 shots from the 3-point stripe, but scored 42 points in the paint – its second-best performance of the season and best against a NCAA Division I foe. Bliznyuk and Peatling combined for 15-of-29 shooting from inside the 3-point stripe. The Eagles made only 34.5 percent of their shots in the second half and 43.9 percent in the game, but held UNC to 31 percent after intermission and 37 percent for the game.
 
 
Scoring Record Belongs to Bliznyuk After EWU's 95-71 Romp Past North Dakota
 
Senior Bogdan Bliznyuk broke the career scoring record and finished a near triple-double of 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, as EWU used big runs in each half to beat North Dakota 95-71 on Jan. 25 at Reese Court. Bliznyuk needed just two points to break EWU's all-time scoring record, and achieved it with a 3-pointer barely a minute into the game to give EWU a 7-2 lead. Eastern head coach Shantay Legans called a timeout so his accomplishment could be acknowledged, then the Eagles used the energy to open a 30-8 lead while making 12 of their first 15 shots. North Dakota pulled within eight early in the second half, but EWU used a 14-0 run to pull away. Bliznyuk didn't score in the run, as four Eagles scored in double figures and nine different players scored. Besides taking over the EWU scoring lead, Bliznyuk moved up four spots into 11th on the Big Sky all-time list after making 12-of-15 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 3-point field goals. Junior Cody Benzel made 5-of-9 3-pointers to finish with 15 points, his third performance in five games with at least 15. Senior Sir Washington had 11 points, making a pair of 3-pointers and adding five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Mason Peatling had his second-straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and also had a pair of blocked shots. True freshman Jack Perry chipped in nine points and six assists, junior Ty Gibson scored nine and Jacob Davison had seven tallies and five rebounds. Eastern made 15-of-36 3-pointers for 42 percent against UND. The Eagles sank 52.8 percent overall, compared to 45.1 percent for the Fighting Hawks. Eastern out-rebounded North Dakota 37-26 and had just six turnovers.