The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team rallied time after time after time but came up short and lost 82-78 in overtime against Green Bay on Friday (Nov. 16) as part of a sub-regional of the 2K Empire Classic benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
 
The Eagles (0-3) will play UMKC Saturday (Nov. 17) at approximately 3:15 p.m. in the consolation game, while Green Bay (2-2) will take on Morehead State in the championship contest at 1:05 p.m. The Kangaroos (0-4) lost to the MSU Eagles (2-2) 99-89 in Friday's other semifinal game.
 
Eastern fell behind by deficits of eight points in the first half, and 11 and eight in the second half only to rally and take a 66-62 lead with inside a minute left. But the Phoenix put together a rally of its own to send the game into overtime, then went on an 8-0 run the Eagles couldn't overcome.
 
"It's all a part of the process," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans after a game that included 10 lead changes and eight ties. "We hate losing at home, but it was a learning experience. Some of our younger players took advantage of the opportunity."
 
Five Eagles scored in double figures, led by the double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds by senior Jesse Hunt. True freshman Austin Fadal came off the bench to provide a spark with 12 points, while sophomore Jacob Davison scored 11 in his season debut. Seniors Ty Gibson (12) and Cody Benzel (11) also hit double figures.
 
The game was tied at 34 when the Phoenix used a 9-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 43-34 with 14:12 remaining. Green Bay made 4-of-5 shots during the run, while the Eagles went through a 1-of-6 stretch and soon thereafter fell behind by 11.
 
Eastern then got hot, hitting 6-of-8 shots to tie the game at 53. But after falling behind by eight, the Eagles rallied once again by hitting four-straight shots to take a 61-58 advantage – its first lead since the first half when they rallied from an early eight-point hole.
 
A basket by JayQuan McCloud helped send the game into overtime, where the Phoenix scored eight-straight points during an 0-of-4 shooting stretch for EWU.
 
The Eagles trailed at halftime 28-26, with the lead changing hands six times with a pair of ties. Eastern held the Phoenix to 35 percent shooting in the first half, with EWU overcoming an early eight-point Phoenix lead to lead by as many as four just before halftime.
 
Eastern once again played without a trio players out with injuries – Mason Peatling, Jacob Davison and Steven Beo – but welcomed Jacob Davison back to the lineup.
 
 
Records . . .
 
* Eastern is now 0-3 and was coming off a pair of season-opening losses to nationally-ranked opponents last week in the first of two preliminary games of the 2K Empire Classic. Eastern fell 66-34 to Syracuse on Nov. 6 before falling to Oregon 81-47 three nights later. The Ducks, the favorite to win the Pac-12 Conference title, were ranked 14th in the Associated Press preseason poll and 16th in the USA Today Coaches rankings. The Orange, which advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament a year ago, entered the EWU game ranked 16th and 14th, respectively. Eastern closed the 2017-18 season with a 20-15 record in their 35th season as a member of NCAA Division I after finishing 13-5 in the league during their 31st season as a member of the Big Sky Conference. Eastern made its fourth-straight national postseason appearance when the team competed in the 2018 College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
 
* Green Bay is now 2-2, having opened the season with a 110-54 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran, then falling at home to Indiana State 78-74. The Phoenix then lost at Iowa 93-82 last Sunday (Nov. 11). Green Bay was 13-20 last season and finished 7-11 in the Horizon League. Morehead State is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference and finished 8-21 overall and 4-14 in league play, while UMKC finished 10-22 on the season and 5-9 in the Western Athletic Conference.
 

What's Next . . .
 
* Eastern will host UMKC in the consolation game Saturday at 3:15 p.m., which follows the championship between Green Bay and Morehead State at 1:05 p.m. The Eagles play their next five games on the road –- Washington, Seattle, North Dakota State, San Francisco and Stanford. Last season, in just the third game under Legans, Eastern upset Stanford 81-67 on Nov. 14, 2017. The Eagles will also host powerhouse South Dakota State on Dec. 18, and Corban University on Dec. 21.
 
 * The Kangaroos of UMKC (University of Missouri Kansas City) have dropped all four of its games to begin the season, including losses at Loyola Chicago (76-45), Iowa (77-63) and Connecticut (94-66). UMKC trailed by as many as 26 points in the first half and 62-39 at halftime versus Morehead State. But the Kangaroos out-scored the Eagles 50-37 in the second half.
 

Top Performers . . .
 
* Senior Cody Benzel had his second-straight game in double figures with 11, making 3-of-11 3-pointers and also adding six rebounds and three assists. He made his 29th start of his career and had his 16th performance of scoring in double figures.
 
* Senior Jesse Hunt had his fourth career double-double, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds, plus had three assists and a pair of blocked shots.
 
* Senior Ty Gibson made a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 12 points and three assists.
 
* True freshman Austin Fadal scored all 12 of his points after intermission, making 5-of-9 shots overall and a pair of 3-pointers.
 
* Sophomore Jacob Davison scored 11 points and had five rebounds, and sophomore Luka Vulikic chipped in nine points, six rebounds and three assists.
 
 
Key Stats . . .

* Both teams made 43 percent of their shots from the game, and Green Bay won the battle on the boards by just one. But Eastern had 18 turnovers, leading to a 20-7 advantage off turnovers by the Phoenix. At one point EWU made just 36 percent from the field (14-of-39), but sank 15 of its last 28 shots (54 percent).
 
  
Notables . . .
 
* When Eastern played Green Bay, it was facing the Phoenix for the third time but for the first time in nearly 25 years. Eastern is now 1-3 versus Green Bay, with the last meeting coming on Dec. 30, 1993, when the Eagles lost 58-44 in the first round of the Great Northern Classic hosted by UWGB. Eastern also lost on the road 67-45 on Jan. 12, 1987 and won at home Nov. 23, 1985, by a 60-45 score.
 
* Saturday, Eastern will play either Morehead State for the second time or UMKC (Missouri-Kansas City) for the third time. Eastern beat Morehead State at home 88-86 in overtime on Dec. 13, 2016, and won on the road over UMKC by a 65-54 score on Dec. 3, 2007. Eastern also lost to the Kangaroos in Cheney by a 68-61 score on Dec. 18, 2008.
 
 
Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
 
On Bright Spots in Loss: "We wanted to come out with a win, but there were some bright spots when you look at it. We had five players in double figures which we haven't had all year long. We did a good job moving the ball once we started getting things going. Jesse had a double-double, so that was good for us. We had other guys step up like Austin Fadal. But we put them at the line 31 times and we can't do that. We have to do a better job in transition and the turnovers really hurt us."
 
On Process: "We're just trying to get better every game, and it's going to be a long process. We are playing a lot of good teams with a lot of size. That was pretty much a Big Sky team we lost to here at home. We have some key injuries right now to some important players on our team, so we're looking to see what freshmen can play well. Other players have to step up and we had a couple of players do that tonight."