­­­­­­­Eastern Washington University "Eagles" Men's Basketball (13-13/8-5 Big Sky) Feb. 17 – Montana ­State – Cheney, Wash. – 2:05 p.m. Feb. 22 – at Weber State ­– Ogden, Utah – 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:	The MSU game is televised internationally by Eleven Sports.
­­­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,.
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.

Toughness can take a team a long way.
 
The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team is hoping that will continue Saturday (Feb. 17) when the Eagles host Montana State at 2:05 p.m. Pacific time in a key Big Sky Conference game at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
 
The MSU game will be broadcast live internationally by Eleven Sports, with Larry Weir moving down a few positions to handle the play-by-play. 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 Sean Widmer calling the play-by-play for the MSU game in place of Weir. 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.
 
Eastern is clinging to fourth place in the league standings, a position which would give the Eagles the last of four first-round byes in the Big Sky Conference Tournament. Eastern is 13-13 overall and 8-5 in the conference, and has a significant tiebreaker advantage in the league by beating Montana 74-65 on Thursday (Feb. 15).
 
The Bobcats are not too far behind at 6-8 in the conference standings, and are 13-14 overall after Thursday's 88-78 loss at Idaho in which the Vandals out-scored MSU in the second half 50-38. This is the lone meeting between the two schools this season, which also gives Saturday's victor a significant advantage in a potential head-to-head tiebreaker.
 
"Any game can go either way, so it's important that our team comes out and plays tough," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "It takes toughness to win three or four games in the Big Sky Tournament to get to the NCAA Tournament. That's the goal everybody has in our league, and that's the goal we are sticking to."
 
Thursday's game is a battle featuring two of the elite players in the league in EWU's Bogdan Bliznyuk and MSU's Tyler Hall. Bliznyuk is averaging 19.8 points per game and 21.8 in league play, and has moved into fifth in Big Sky history with 1,944 points – 56 from the coveted 2,000-point milestone. Hall is averaging 18.2 points overall and 19.0 in league play.
 
"Every game is going to be different, and different players step up and make big plays," said Legans. "There is a player on every team – and some have two or three – who could be playing in an upper league. And they can take over a game."
 
Coached by Brian Fish, the Bobcats are 3-10 on the road this season and 8-4 at home (2-0 neutral). The Bobcats opened league play with four-straight victories, but are just 2-8 since.
 
"Coach Fish is a really good coach and does a great job with his players – he'll have them prepared," said Legans. "They play a lot of zone and they have one of the elite guards on the West Coast, and not just in our league. He's really good. He reminds me of (former Eagle) Tyler Harvey the way he can score and make tough shots. You just have to be prepared and force him into those tough shots, and then you have to stop the other players from having big games. If we do that we'll have a good outcome."
 
After improving to 8-1 at home after EWU's second-straight win over the Grizzlies, the Eagles are now 54-10 (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.
 
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

 
After Grizzly Win, Time to Start Looking at League Tournament Pairings
 
Eastern's 74-65 win over previously 13-0 Montana not only helps EWU maintain fourth place in the standings, but could also provide a significant tiebreaker advantage at the end of the year. If teams are tied in the league standings and have split their season series, the next tiebreaker would be against teams in descending order of finish in the league. Therefore, a win over the Griz in the only meeting between the two schools this season is as good as a two-game sweep for the Eagles.
 
Heading into Saturday's action in the Big Sky, Montana remains on top at 13-1, followed closely by Weber State at 11-2. Idaho (10-3) is two games ahead of Eastern and has a tiebreaker advantage with a season sweep. The Eagles are fourth in the league standings at 8-5, but own a tiebreaker advantage over 8-6 Northern Colorado. Eastern has already split with Northern Colorado, so a tie in the league standings would, at this point at least, favor the Eagles because the Bears were swept by UM.
 
Next is 7-6 Idaho State, which EWU plays on Feb. 24 in Pocatello after a Feb. 22 visit to Weber State. Montana State is currently 6-8, but would like to knock off the Eagles to secure that tiebreaker advantage in case of a head-to-head tie with the Eagles. The Big Sky Conference Tournament takes place March 6-10 in Reno, Nevada. The top four teams receive first-round byes and won't have to play until March 8 in the quarterfinals.
 
 
Now Fifth in League History, 6-foot-6 Point-Forward Bogdan Bliznyuk is Just 56 Points from 2K
 
As he continues to climb towards the top of the league's all-time scoring list – and the milestone of 2,000 points -- there are at least six more opportunities for Big Sky Conference Player of the Year candidate Bogdan Bliznyuk to leave his mark. Now No. 5 in league history and only 56 from joining four other league legends with 2,000, he has already broken EWU's career scoring record. He's also broken an EWU record held by a former 10-year NBA veteran, and another mark held for 45 years.
 
The Big Sky Conference Player of the Year candidate now has 1,944 career points in 129 career games to rank fifth in league history. In fact, it took him just 10 minutes against Montana on Feb. 15 to move from No. 9 to No. 6. He passed Steve Conner from Boise State with 1,927 from 1974-78, followed by No. 7 Steve Hayes from Idaho State with 1,933 from 1973-77, No. 6 Damian Lillard from Weber State with 1,934 from 2008-12 and eventually tied No. 5 Tanoka Beard with 1,944 from 1989-93. A distant fourth is Larry Krystokowiak from Montana with 2,017 points from 1982-85 and Bruce Collins from Weber State with 2,019 from 1976-80.
 
Krystokowiak, now head coach at Utah, is one of only four players in the 55-year history of the league have hit the 2,000-point mark. 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 Lillard. Senglin scored 2,078 points to rank only behind the record 2,102 Orlando Lightfoot from Idaho scored in three seasons from 1991-94.
 
If the Eagles play just the minimum of six games left this season and he maintains his average of 19.8 points per game, Bliznyuk would finish third in league history with 2,062 points. If Bliznyuk matches his 21.8 average in league games, he would finish with 2,074 to rank third and finish 28 behind the record of 2,102.
 
Earlier this season, Bliznyuk broke the previous school record of 1,803 set by Venky Jois (2013-16). Bliznyuk broke the school 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.
 
With 40 points against Sacramento State on Feb. 1, Bliznyuk moved up to ninth in league history as he passed Montana State's Nate Holmstadt with 1,864 points from 1995-99. Bliznyuk moved up four spots on the Big Sky list against North Dakota on Jan. 25 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.
 
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.
 
 
Bliznyuk Also Owns EWU Records for Free Throws and Games Played
 
With 429 free throws made in his career, Bogdan Bliznyuk has also broken the record of 386 held by Rodney 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 83.5 percent accuracy rate from the free throw line. He enters the Montana State game on Feb. 17 having made his last 54 in a row, dating back to the second half of the North Dakota game on Jan. 31.
 
Bliznyuk has a school-record 1,404 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, Bliznyuk has played in 129 games to surpass the previous record of 128 set by his former teammate Felix Von Hofe from 2014-17. 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 376 to rank fourth all-time at EWU).
 
This season, Bliznyuk has made 50.7 percent of his field goals (14th in the Big Sky and 90.0 percent of his free throws (first in the Big Sky, 19th in NCAA Division I) to average 19.8 points (third, 50th nationally) through 26 games. He is also averaging 6.7 rebounds (sixth) and 3.8 assists (third) to rank as the only player in the league to be in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and assists. He now has two performances in his 129-game career of at least 40 points, 10 with at least 30, 38 with at least 20 and 91 scoring in double figures, including the school record scoring total of 45 set as a junior. He's had 10 or more rebounds 19 times and double figures in assists twice. He also ranks tied for seventh in school history with 40 points at Sacramento State on Feb. 1 when he sank 15-of-18 shots. 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.
 
 
Bliznyuk Has Made 54 Free Throws in a Row
 
The Eagles have been a solid free throw shooting team this season and are currently second in the league and ranked 28th in NCAA Division I (76.4 percent, as well as tops in league games only at 81.2 percent). Senior Bogdan Bliznyuk is leading the league and 19th nationally at 90.1 percent, including 58-of-59 (98.3 percent) in league games only to lead the Big Sky.
 
Bliznyuk enters action this week having made 54 consecutive free throws dating back to EWU's game at North Dakota on Dec. 31. There is no known record for EWU and the Big Sky, but the NCAA single season record is 73 set by Gary Buchanan from Villanova over a 21-game stretch in the 2000-01 season. The career record of 85 came between Feb. 15, 2001, and Jan. 18, 2003, by Darnell Archey from Butler during a 57-game stretch.
 
 
Eagles No. 50 in Nation in Fewest Turnovers
 
After a seven-game stretch to start league play 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. The Eagles have allowed only 11.6 per game to rank 50th 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.
 
 
Benzel's 3-Point Percentage Ranks Third in the Big Sky
 
Junior Cody Benzel ranks third in the Big Sky Conference in 3-point shooting overall at 47.9 percent (56-of-117), including 41-of-83 (49.4 percent) in league games only to rank fourth. Benzel, whose career percentage of 44.4 percent is third best in school history, also ranks third in league games only with an average of 3.2 treys per game. Benzel has averaged 2.2 3-pointers per game to rank sixth overall in the league, and is the third-leading scorer on the team with a 7.4 average (10.2 in league games only to rank second). Benzel has had six games in double figures and a pair with at least 20.
 
Junior Ty Gibson has averaged 1.9 3-pointers per game to rank 13th in the league. One of the team's co-captains, Gibson is fifth on the team in scoring at 6.8 per game and has scored in double figures nine times this season to rank second on the team. As a team, Eastern is fourth in the league in 3-pointers per game (8.8) and fourth in percentage (.365). In league games only, Eastern is also averaging 8.8 treys per game to rank second.
 
In individual field goal shooting, Bogdan Bliznyuk is 14th in the league at 50.7 percent, and is also third in scoring (19.8), third in assists (3.8) and sixth in rebounding (6.7). 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 an average of 4.4 assists in Big Sky games only to rank second in the league. Mason Peatling is fifth with an average of 1.2 blocked shots per game, and he has averaged 1.7 in conference play to rank third. His average of 6.9 rebounds per game in league games is seventh and his average of 5.0 overall is just outside the top 20.
 
 
Eastern 7-0 When it Makes 50 Percent from the Field
 
Coming off a 56.3 percent performance against Montana on Feb. 15, the Eagles have made at least half of their shots in seven – all victories – of their last 15 games. Included was a season-best 57.1 percent performance against Sacramento State on Feb. 1 when Bogdan Bliznyuk made 15-of-18 shots on his way to a 40-point night. For the season, Eastern is now 12-2 when they out-shoot their opponents and 1-11 when they don't, and EWU is 7-0 when it hits the 50 percent mark.
 
Eastern made significant shooting improvement since late December after starting the year making only 39 percent through nine games. The Eagles have improved that to 45.4 percent for the season. Eastern has had its top 14 shooting performances of the year in the last 17 games, and the team's three-point shooting has also improved from 30.2 percent after nine games to a current mark of 36.5. In league play, the Eagles have sank 48.1 percent of their shots from the field overall and 39.1 percent from the 3-point arc, and are second in the Big Sky with an average of 8.8 treys per game during league play.
 
Defensively, Eastern had its best performance of the season in holding Sacramento State to 54 points on 41.1 percent shooting from the field on Feb. 1 in a 20-point Eagle win. The Hornets made only 2-of-15 3-pointers, EWU's second-best defensive effort of the season behind the 2-of-16 performance by Stanford in EWU's 67-61 victory there on Nov. 14. In 13 league games thus far, the Eagles are holding opponents to 33.3 percent from the 3-point line and 43.8 percent overall, ranking fifth and fourth in the league, respectively.
 
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 also out-shot Idaho 40.7 percent to 39.7 percent on Feb. 9 but suffered a 66-62 setback.
 
 
Punctuated by Performances Against Sac State, Balanced Minutes and Balanced Scoring are 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 24.8 points per game from its bench (645 total), compared to an average of 19.0 by its opponents (495 total). Ten Eagles are averaging between 13.4 and 34.2 minutes per game, and one other is averaging 8.7. For the season, Bogdan Bliznyuk is averaging a team-leading 19.8 points per game, but 10 others are averaging between 4.1 and 8.5.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Eastern had a season-high 40 bench points in a 21-point win versus Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 22, 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.
 
 
Graduate Transfer Griciunas Has Three-Straight Games in Double Figures
 
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's put together a string of three-straight double-figure performances, including a 14-point effort in EWU's 74-65 win over previous league unbeaten Montana on Feb. 15. He made all six of his shots in that game, and was 5-of-5 with 10 points against Portland State on Feb. 3. Including a 10-point effort at Idaho on Feb. 9, Griciunas has sank 16 of his last 22 shots for 72.7 percent, upping his season mark to 45.0 percent.
 
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. Head coach Shantay Legans also announced in February that point guard Luka Vulikic (planter fasciitis) will redshirt as an injury hardship after playing in Eastern's first eight games but none since Dec. 3.
 
 
Trio of Newcomers Contributing Significantly, Including Two as Starters
 
True freshman Jack Perry has started EWU's last 18 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 5.8 points and 2.7 assists per game while making 44.3 percent from the field and 31-of-79 3-pointers (39.2 percent. 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 his best scoring game in more than two months in finishing with 12 against Sacramento State on Feb. 1, then had another dozen (all in the second half) three games later against Montana on Feb. 15. He made 4-of-6 shots with a pair of 3-pointers against the Grizzlies to finish with his fifth double-figure scoring performance of the year and second in league play. He his 5-of-7 against the Hornets, also with a pair of treys. Those performances were his most since scoring 15 at Utah on Nov. 24 when he had 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 8.7 minutes and 4.1 points. He's scored in double figures three times this season and has made nearly half of his shots from the field (38-of-81 for 46.9 percent) and 72.0 percent of his free throws (18-of-25).
 
 
Senior Sir Washington Averaging 8.5 Points in Conference Play; Benzel at 10.2
 
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 8.5 points and 4.4 rebounds in conference play. He sank only 30.4 percent of his shots overall (17-of-56) in the preseason, but has made 40.4 percent (38-of-94) of his field goals and 27-of-38 free throws (71.1 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 five of EWU's league games, he had a 12-point effort at Portland State on Feb. 3 in which he also had four rebounds and three assists. Now with 20 double figure performances of his career, he had a season-high 15-point performance in an overtime loss at Southern Utah on Jan. 20. He ranks ninth in school history with 114 career games played (25 as a starter) while averaging 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
 
Junior Cody Benzel has also picked up his scoring pace, and is averaging 10.2 points in league play after owning a 4.5 average during non-conference play. He's made 41-of-83 3-point attempts (49.4 percent) in Big Sky games, compared to 16-of-42 (38.1 percent) prior to that. Benzel has scored at least 15 points in five of his last 10 outings, including a career-high 25 against Sacramento State on Jan. 6 and 21 against Portland State on Feb. 3.
 
 
With Three Double-Doubles, Peatling Back to Pre-Injury Form
 
Sophomore Mason Peatling has provided some big games since joining the starting lineup, and put together a stretch of three-straight double-doubles from Jan. 20 to Jan. 27. In a win over Northern Colorado on Jan. 27 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 6.9 points in 22 games (18 as a starter), and has averaged 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocked shots per game (fifth in the Big Sky). His averages are 7.9 points, 6.9 rebounds (seventh in the league) and 1.7 blocks (third) in conference play. In his 56-game career (35 as a starter), he's averaged 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds with a total of 34 assists, 40 blocks and 30 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.
 
 
Making His Return Versus Montana, Junior Jesse Hunt Has Made Most of Five Starts
 
Playing for the first time in more than a month, Jesse Hunt logged six minutes against Montana on Feb. 15 in his first action in 10 games. He was posting big scoring and rebounding numbers before injuring his foot in practice on Jan. 5. He missed nine games, but his anticipated return to full health could help provide spots of rest for Eastern starters Bogdan Bliznyuk and Mason Peatling.
 
Before his injury in January, he had started the last five games he played, helping lead the Eagles to four victories and averaging 14.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. He made 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) in those five games, and had registered his career high for scoring 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 20.4 minutes, 8.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and has nine blocked shots, while making 50.0 percent of his shots from the field and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. In his 80-game career (17 as a starter), Hunt has averaged 12.2 minutes, 3.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and has 29 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.
 
An Academic All-America candidate, 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 Feb. 15, his total is at 1,018.
 
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 Montana Win: "Our guys stepped up – it was a full team effort. They played with passion and energy, and it was fun watching them play. I told the team before the game that it's a player's game – there aren't too many X's and O's we were going to do. We were going to use the high ball screen and go make plays. That was what we did the last four minutes of the game and Jacob Davison made some huge plays down the stretch."
 
On Beating Grizzlies: "It was a great win playing against the best team in the league. They are well-coached and kept coming back play-after-play. But our players did a great job of making big plays and we did a good job on the glass. (We accomplished) everything we went over defensively and offensively. We tried our best to keep them off the boards but it's hard to do that."
 
On Jacob Davison: "He's a freshman and they go up and down, but he's been playing great in practice. His last four games he's been playing terrific for us. I have faith he's going to make plays – we ran an isolation for him at the end of the game, and he went one-on-one and made a floater. He was great on the glass too. He fought hard and he's learning – he's getting better and better each game."
 
On Beating Big Sky's Best: "It shows our guys that we can play with all of these teams if you play with confidence. We were at home tonight, but if we can take that on the road with us to a neutral site at the tournament we can have a good outcome. Our team played great defense today and we made 56 percent against the best defensive team we've played against all year. It's a tribute to our team for being patient and taking great shots."
 
On What Win Means: "It's a big one because they are in first place. You have to protect the home court and we have to try to sneak out a road win coming up. But we have to worry about Saturday first, and our team is excited about that and playing against probably one of the better guards in the league."
 
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: "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

 
* Eastern has now won eight of the last 11 meetings against MSU, but lost to the Bobcats 91-91 in overtime the last time the two teams played on Jan. 28, 2017, in Bozeman. Eastern has won 18 of the last 30, and is 11-3 at home in that span. Eastern, in fact, has not lost to the Bobcats at Reese Court since a 60-56 Bobcat win on Feb. 24, 2011. The Eagles are 39-45 all-time against MSU, including a 31-36 record as a member of NCAA Division I (21-12 in Cheney, 10-24 in Bozeman). The records include two MSU forfeits in the 1993-94 season.
* In the last EWU-MSU match-up in Cheney, Jacob Wiley scored what was then a career-high 25 points with a near triple-double, and two big scoring runs fueled by defense helped EWU to an 82-64 on Jan. 5, 2017, at Reese Court. Felix Von Hofe added 19 points with five three-pointers and Jesse Hunt came off the bench to score what was then a career-high 13 points in the 10th win of the season for the Eagles. Eastern made a season-best 60.4 percent from the field, but it was its defense that made the difference as MSU made only 38 percent in the game. Montana State missed 11-straight shots at one point and went 11:23 without a field goal as EWU used a 21-3 run to turn an 8-4 deficit into a 25-11 lead in the first half. Eastern held the Bobcats to 27 percent shooting and just 22 points in the first half for the second-best defensive half of the season for EWU. In the second half after Tyler Hall led MSU's rally, a 9-0 Eagle run and a four-minute stretch without a field goal for the Bobcats helped Eastern turn a one-point lead into a double-digit advantage. Eastern led by no less than eight the rest of the way, despite a game-high 33 points by Hall, who at one point scored 17-straight MSU points. Wiley sank 10-of-15 shots from the field and 5-of-7 free throws. He also had 10 rebounds, a career-high seven assists and three blocked shots. Von Hofe made 5-of-7 of his shots from the 3-point stripe and both of his two-point shots. Hunt entered the MSU game averaging just 2.2 points per game and had scored seven points in his previous five games, but he shattered his previous career high of eight points. He also had seven rebounds, one from his career high. Cody Benzel added nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from the 3-point stripe. Bogdan Bliznyuk played only 25 minutes because of foul trouble, and finished with eight points, three assists and a pair of steals.
* A year ago in Bozeman, Eastern was outscored 7-2 from the free throw line in overtime and Montana State survived for a 91-90 Big Sky Conference victory on Jan. 28, 2017. Jacob Wiley scored 34 points for the Eagles and Sir Washington had 13, including 3-pointers with 6.7 seconds left and at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Eastern led the entire first half, but after that it was a thriller, with the game featuring 13 ties and an additional three lead changes. Eastern's last lead in the game came with 9:14 to play, but EWU could never get over the hump despite a stretch of making 12-of-15 shots from the field until Felix Von Hofe and Ty Gibson both missed potential game-winning shots in the final seconds. Wiley made 15-of-18 shots from the field and 6-of-9 free throws, and had nine rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocked shots. Washington sank 4-of-7 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 3-pointers, in finishing with 13. Bogdan Bliznyuk added 13 points.
 
 
 

Recent Game Recap

 
Leading for Last 25 Minutes, Eastern Wins 74-65 to Hand Montana its First Big Sky Loss
 
Becoming the first Big Sky Conference team to knock off the unbeaten league leaders, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team made a three-point halftime lead hold up in the second half en route to an impressive 74-65 win over previously unbeaten Montana on Feb. 15 at Reese Court. Led by the 27 combined points by Bogdan Bliznyuk and Benas Griciunas in the first half, eight different Eagles scored in the second half. Redshirt freshman Jacob Davison scored all 12 of his points after halftime as EWU didn't trail for the last 35 minutes, and led for the final 25:42. The victory versus the league-leading Grizzlies ended Montana's 13-game winning streak, dating back to a loss at Washington on Dec. 22 in UM's final non-league tune-up. It was the worst loss for UM since falling 70-54 at Stanford on Nov. 29 – just 15 days after the Eagles handed the Cardinal a 67-61 defeat.  Eastern ended a mini two-game losing skid with its 10th win in the last 15 games, and improved to 13-13 on the season and 8-5 in the league. Eastern's all-time leading scorer, Bliznyuk finished with a team-high 19 for the Eagles, with 15 of those coming in the first half. That gave him 1,944 points in his illustrious career to move into the top five in Big Sky Conference history.  Eastern won the rebounding battle 30-27 – just the ninth time this season EWU has had an advantage on the boards (7-2 record). The Eagles shot at a 56.3 percent clip while holding Montana to 43.1 percent. Behind combined 13-of-14 shooting, Bliznyuk and Griciunas combined for 27 of EWU's first-half points in a first half that EWU led 35-32. Eastern made seven-straight shots at one point in the half and used an 8-0 run to take a 21-15 lead with 10:02 left. At one point EWU was 10-of-14 from the field. Eastern extended a three-point halftime lead to its biggest lead of the game at 44-36 by scoring 10 of the first 14 points of the second half. Eastern's lead fluctuated between two and seven points for the next 10 minutes until EWU opened up another eight-point lead with 3:22 to play on a 3-pointer by Davison. Montana went 4:31 without a basket during that stretch, as EWU extended the lead to 11 and led by no less than five in the final 3 1/2 minutes. Griciunas had his third-straight double figure game and sixth of the season with 14 points. He made a pair of free throws in the second half after sinking all six of his field goal attempts in the first half. Davison scored all 12 of his points in the second half, finishing the game 4-of-6 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers. He also had four rebounds, and Bliznyuk chipped in six rebounds and five assists as he finished 8-of-13 from the field. Sophomore Mason Peatling had nine points, four rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot in just 24 minutes of action.