Nationally-ranked Syracuse turned 19 Eastern Washington University turnovers into 33 points and went on to open the 2018-19 college basketball season with a 66-34 victory over the Eagles Tuesday (Nov. 6) in the famed Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
 
Eastern led early 3-2 and trailed by just three 6:11 into the game, but couldn't overcome a nearly 10 minute scoreless stretch and trailed 28-10 at halftime. The Orange, ranked 16th in the Associated Press preseason poll and 14th in the USA Today Coaches rankings, put the game away by scoring 20 of the first 23 points of the second half to open a 48-13 advantage.
 
The silver lining was that Eastern held Syracuse to 3-of-17 shooting from the 3-point stripe for 17.6 percent, and 38.7 percent overall.
 
"I have to give it to Syracuse – they played well," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "Defensively we did do a good job of holding a team like that under 40 percent and holding them under 20 percent from three. We gave up a great opportunity to come in here and try to get a win with numbers like that."
 
The game was the first of two preliminary games of the 2K Empire Classic Benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project. The Eagles next play Oregon, ranked 14th by AP and 16th by the coaches, on Friday (Nov. 9) at 6 p.m. in a game televised by the Pac-12 Networks.
 
Eastern was led in scoring by junior Tyler Kidd with nine points, but no other Eagle scored more than five. Senior Jesse Hunt finished with seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots for the Eagles, and sophomore Luka Vulikic had four assists and six boards.
 
Eastern played without three players – Mason Peatling, Jacob Davison and Steven Beo – plus senior Ty Gibson played just eight minutes after suffering an injury in the first half.
 
"We just needed some better performances from some guys and I have to put them in positions to be successful," Legans added. "Eag Nation stay with us – this is a tough one tonight, but we'll be back and we'll play really good and tough in the next game we play at Oregon."
 
 
Records . . .
 
* It was EWU's season opener, and the Eagles 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).
 
* Syracuse was also playing its opener, and was coming off a 23-14 record and appearance in the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament. Under veteran head coach Jim Boeheim, the Orange beat Arizona State (60-56), TCU (57-52) and Michigan State (55-53) before bowing to Duke (69-65). Syracuse finished 8-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference a year ago.
 

What's Next . . .
 
* Eastern play at Pac-12 Conference preseason favorite Oregon on Friday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks. That game is also a part of the 2K Empire Classic. Oregon's rankings are exactly opposite that of Syracuse – the Ducks are ranked 14th by the coaches and 16th by AP following last year's 23-13 finish (10-8 Pac-12).
 
* Eastern will host Green Bay on Nov. 16 and either UMKC or Morehead State on Nov. 17, respectively, as part of a sub-regional of the 2K Empire Classic benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project. The Eagles will also host powerhouse South Dakota State on Dec. 18, and Corban University on Dec. 21.
 
* After the 2K Classic sub-regional at Reese Court, the Eagles play their next five games on the road –- Washington, Seattle, North Dakota State and Stanford. Last season, in just the third game under Legans, Eastern upset Stanford 81-67 on Nov. 14, 2017.

 
Top Performers . . .
 
* Junior Tyler Kidd, a redshirt last season after transferring from Skagit Valley Community College, made 3-of-8 shots from the field – including 3-of-5 3-pointers – to finish with a team-high nine points. He also had a pair of rebounds, an assist and a steal.
 
* Senior Jesse Hunt had just three points on 1-of-5 shooting, but finished with a team-high seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
 
* Redshirt freshman Kim Aiken Jr. made the first start of his career in his Eagle debut, finishing with five points.
 
* Sophomore Luka Vulikic, who redshirted because of an injury last year, finished with a team-high four assists and also had six rebounds.
 
 
Key Stats . . .

* The Eagles sank just 22 percent of their shots in the game, compared to 39 percent for the Orange. Eastern made only 17.4 percent (4-of-23) in the first half, making one of 11 3-point attempts. For the game, Eastern was only 6-of-38 from the 3-point stripe for 17.1 percent. Syracuse had a 33-8 advantage in points off turnovers, and were led by 6-foot-8 Oshae Brissett with 20 points. The biggest lead for the Orange was 37 points with 6:27 left in the game.
 
  
Notables . . .
 
* The game versus Syracuse was Eastern's 26th game versus a ranked opponent, and EWU is now 1-25. The last time EWU faced a ranked opponent came against No. 17 Xavier on Dec. 20, 2017, and earlier in the 2017-18 season lost 85-52 to No. 21 Texas. Eastern head coach Shantay Legans remembers well the only time the Eagles defeated a ranked opponent back in 2001. The Eagles are now 1-24 versus nationally-ranked teams, and he was in the gym that night on Nov. 15, 2001, when Eastern beat 10th-ranked St. Joseph's 68-67 at the BCA Classic in Berkeley, Calif. The next night, Eastern lost to 56-27 to host Cal, whose starting point guard was Legans. He had five points, an assist and a rebound in 20 minutes of action versus EWU.
 
* Eastern had never played Syracuse before, and is now 0-3 against the current 15 members of the ACC. Eastern lost 69-52 to Virginia Tech on Nov. 12, 2017, in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska, and to Pitt by an 84-51 score on Dec. 11, 2015.
 
* Eastern and Oregon have met twice before, including on Dec. 15, 2006, when the 22nd-ranked Ducks beat EWU 100-74. They met again on Nov. 17, 2011, and Oregon prevailed 73-65. Both meetings were on the road. In the meeting in 2011, Eastern led 39-34 at halftime and by as many as nine in the second half and seven with 11:33 left. But the Ducks went on a 7-0 run to knot the game, then took the lead for good with 5:37 to play and led by as many as eight in the final 1:34.
 
* Since Eastern moved to NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, EWU is now 3-42 against the Pac-12 Conference, having gone 1-2 versus the league in the 2017-18 season. Eastern snapped its 21-game losing streak versus the Pac-12 with a 67-61 victory at Stanford on Nov. 14, 2017. Entering this year, the only current member of the Pac-12 Eastern has never played is Arizona State. A year ago, Eastern fell to Washington 79-69 on Nov. 12, 2017 and Utah 85-69 on Nov. 24, 2017. Coupled with an 11-55 record versus Washington State, 1-14 mark versus Washington and a 1-15 record against other current members of the Pac-12, the Eagles have a 13-84 record all-time against that league.
 
 
Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
 
On Loss: "You see turnover after turnover, and I look at what I can do more. Our team played hard and I put them in bad situation. I thought the Syracuse press would be okay, but we didn't do the best job of handling it. I have to do a better job of getting them prepared, and next game we'll play much better. I feel positive about what we did. We had 14 offensive rebounds, but only 11 assists and 19 turnovers, and 33 points off those turnovers, isn't very good."
 
On Playing Without Three Players: "It's tough, but at the same time there are other players on scholarship and I have to make sure they are ready to go in situations like this. We have to have the attitude of next man up. Tonight it got away from us early and we couldn't fight back to get back into the game. Once we missed some shots and turned the ball over it just started going down the other way. We have to do a better job in timeouts of getting guys ready to play and break that press."
 
On Tyler Kidd: "He played well – he even went against their 7-foot-2 guy one time. He shot well and was our energy guy. We needed a couple of those players in this game. I thought Elijah Jackson came in and played pretty well in his first game as a freshman."