Despite another big night by senior Jesse Hunt, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team fell to Seattle 88-68 Saturday (Dec. 1) in an annual clash of NCAA Division I rivals from within the state of Washington.
 
In the team's second game in Seattle in five days, Hunt scored 26 points and had 10 rebounds as Eastern returned to face the Jim Hayford-coached Redhawks. Hunt had his fifth double-double of his career – third this season – in finishing 9-of-16 from the floor, 3-of-7 from the 3-point stripe and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
 
Eastern sank 57 percent of its shots in the second half, but couldn't rally from a 14-point halftime deficit. The Redhawks actually used a 59 percent shooting half of their own to lead by as many as 20 with 11:07 in the second half.
 
Sophomore Luka Vulikic had a career-high 18 points for EWU to go along with three rebounds and a team-high three assists.
 
"We have a great group of players and it is going to be a lot of fun throughout the season," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "There are some ups and downs, and I promise there will be more ups than downs. I like our chances as we move forward and into the Big Sky."
 
The Eagles have played Seattle at least once every season since 2009, and are 15-11 all-time versus the Redhawks. In the first game versus his former team last year, Hayford's Redhawks won 84-64. Hayford spent six seasons as EWU's head coach, with Legans serving on his coaching staff all six seasons.
 
 
Records . . .
 
* The Eagles are 1-5, and were coming off an 83-59 loss at Washington on Tuesday (Dec. 27). Eastern split a pair of overtime games in the Cheney sub-regional of the 2K Empire Classic Benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project. Eastern lost 82-78 to Green Bay on Nov. 16, then knocked off UMKC (Missouri-Kansas City) 87-80 in the consolation game. Senior Jesse Hunt had double-doubles in both games to earn all-tournament honors.
 
* Seattle is 8-2, including a 78-69 win over Washington State on Nov. 14 in Kent, Wash. Playing this year's games at its campus venue, the Redhawk Center, Seattle is 8-1 at home, including a 107-72 win on Wednesday (Nov. 28) against Northwest University.
 

What's Next . . .
 
* The two games in Seattle began a stretch of five-straight games on the road –- Washington, Seattle, North Dakota State, San Francisco and Stanford. The North Dakota State will be a milestone for Legans as he coaches in his 300th game as an Eastern assistant or head coach. Last season, in just the third game under Legans of his head coaching career, 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.
 

Top Performers . . .
 
* Senior Jesse Hunt.scored 26 points, just six from his career high of 32 he had on Nov. 17 versus UMKC.
* Sophomore Luka Vulikic had his first game in double figures this season with 18, sinking 7-of-12 shots from the floor and 4-ot-6 from the free throw line. He also had three assists and three rebounds. His previous career high was 12 set twice, including Nov. 22, 2016 versus Seattle when he also had 11 rebounds.
 
 
Key Stats . . .

* Eastern was out-shot 52 percent to 45 percent for the game, with the main difference coming in the first half. Eastern sank only 34 percent, including just 2-of-17 from the 3-point stripe. Seattle was at 46 percent in the first half, making 5-of-11 3-pointers. In the second half, Eastern was 3-of-11 from the 3-point stripe and 12-of-15 inside of it to finish at 58 percent. For the game, Eastern was 21-of-30 inside the 3-point arc for 70 percent, but was just 5-of-28 from long range for 18 percent.
 
  
Notables . . .
 
* Eastern is now 15-11 all-time against Seattle in a series that has included at least one game annually since 2009. In the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, the Eagles and Redhawks played each other twice both seasons. In 2016-17, a pair of tightly-contested games both went to double overtime, with Eastern winning in Seattle 93-88 after being victorious in Cheney 80-76. In the 2015-16 season, Eastern won at home 76-70 and then five days later fell in Seattle by a 58-56 score. Eastern won in the 2014-15 season in Seattle 87-75, and the year before triumphed in Cheney 82-75.
 
* Jim Hayford, who was assisted by his associate head coach Shantay Legans for six seasons, was head coach of Eastern teams from the 2013-14 through 2016-17 seasons which had win totals of 15, 26, 18 and 22. Eastern has had its first back-to-back national tournament postseason appearances at the Division I level (with a current active stretch of four-straight), including its first-ever win (79-72 over Pepperdine in the College Basketball Invitational in 2016). Hayford and Legans directed Eastern to a 26-9 record overall, Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament titles and a NCAA Tournament appearance in the 2014-15 season. Hayford left the Inland Northwest on March 29, 2017, after 16 years – 10 at Whitworth and six at Eastern. He was 106-91 overall in Cheney to establish a new high-water mark for victories for EWU's eight head coaches who led the Eagles exclusively at the NCAA Division I level. Hayford and Legans coached together in 10 Big Sky Conference Tournament games, with a record of 6-4 in four appearances. Eastern's 2014-15 squad won the title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a trio of victories in Missoula, Montana. Included was a come-from-behind 69-65 over the host Grizzlies in the championship game.
 
* Seniors Cody Benzel and Ty Gibson have both played in more than 100 games for the Eagles, with current totals of 107 and 102 games of experience, respectively. Benzel has started 31 games in his career and Gibson has started 43. Both players are three-point threats with Benzel ranking eighth in school history with 156 3-pointers, while Gibson has made 126 3-pointers to rank just out of the top 11.
 
 
Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
 
On Shooting: "Shooting is a huge part of the game. They are going to start to get it. We have great shooters and have great determination and character. We just have to start knocking down some shots and I have no doubt in my mind we are going to get there. We have a great bunch of players and the assistant coaches are working hard making sure they are working on their games. I have nothing but confidence that they'll get there."
 
On Inside Game: "We have to continue to get downhill and get to the basket. We have some young freshmen who do a great job of getting to the rim. We have to mix our 3-point game mixed in with some easy shots. We missed some easy threes tonight, so if we can get a balance of both we are going to be a pretty good team. Our record doesn't indicate that right now, but we've had some tough games. Playing Seattle at their place is like playing one of the top four teams in the Big Sky. We came out and lost, and these preseason games are preparing us for those league games."