­­­­­­­Eastern Washington University "Eagles" Men's Basketball (20-13/13-5 Big Sky) March 10 – vs. Montana in Big Sky Conference Tournament Championship Game – Reno, Nevada – 5:01 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:	ESPNU will broadcast the championship game.
­­­Webcast:	The BSC title game is available on http://watchespn.com
Live Stats:	http://bigskystats.com
Weekly Coaches Show:	Shows hosted by Larry Weir and featuring head coach Shantay Legans take place Mondays at 6 p.m. and are aired live on 700-AM ESPN. The show on 3/12 will take place, but location is to be determined, possibly at Barrelhouse Pub and Pizza in Cheney.

In the words of head coach Shantay Legans, he "cannot wait."
 
The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team will play in its seventh Big Sky Conference Tournament championship game in school history Saturday (March 10) at 5 p.m. Pacific time when it plays regular season champion Montana at the Reno (Nevada) Events Center.
 
The winner receives a berth into the NCAA Tournament, and Saturday's game will be a rematch of a come-from-behind 69-65 victory for EWU over UM in Missoula for the 2015 tourney crown. The Eagles have advanced to the Big Dance in 2004 and 2015, were in the NIT in 2003 and have played in the last two College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournaments.
 
The title game will be televised by ESPNU and available via http://watchespn.com. 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.
 
"We're looking forward to playing the Griz – it's a great match-up and they have great players," said Legans, who is in his first year at the helm after eight previous seasons as an assistant. "We have one of the best players to ever play in the Big Sky, and they have one of the best defenses in the Big Sky in the past couple of years with their athleticism and how physical they play."
 
The Eagles won the lone meeting against the Grizzlies by a 74-65 score on EWU's home court on Feb. 15, in a game in which Big Sky MVP Bogdan Bliznyuk scored a pedestrian 19 points with six rebounds and five assists. But with four other players scoring at least eight points and the Eagles making 56 percent of their shots, EWU led for the final 25 minutes and handed the Grizzlies their first league loss after a 13-0 start.
 
"It's going to be a lot of fun and I cannot wait," Legans added of the rematch. "We are excited about anybody we play. We wanted to play Idaho in the semifinals so we could say we beat every team in the league this year."
 
With an 82-70 victory over Southern Utah in the semifinals, Eastern extended its winning streak to eight games – its longest in 14 years. The Eagles have now won 17 of their last 22 games after a 3-8 start. Now 20-13, they have 20 victories for the second-straight season and the third time in the last four, with EWU achieving that mark just one other time in the school's 35 seasons as a member of NCAA Division I.
 
The Grizzlies, now 25-7 with its best season in school history, beat fifth-seeded Northern Colorado 91-89 in Friday's other semifinal game to advance to the winner-take-all game to be broadcast on ESPNU and via watchespn.com.
 
EWU is 1-4 versus the Griz in the Big Sky Tournament and 1-1 in the title game, but the 2015 game was one for the ages. The Eagles trailed by 11 with six minutes left, but out-scored the Grizzlies 21-6 the rest of the way. In that run, EWU forced four Montana turnovers and Tyler Harvey scored eight points as EWU took the lead for good with 1:33 left. The Eagles lost 74-66 in the 2012 semifinals in Missoula; 73-71 in overtime in the 2006 semifinals in Flagstaff, Ariz.; 58-48 in the 2005 quarterfinals and 70-66 in the 2002 championship in Bozeman.
 
Bliznyuk has scored 67 points in two 2018 tournament games thus far, making 24-of-31 shots overall (77.4 percent), 5-of-6 from the 3-point stripe and 14-of-18 free throws. As a team, Eastern has made a combined 57-of-98 shots overall (58.2 percent) and 14-of-25 (56.0 percent) from the 3-point stripe.
 
Versus the Thunderbirds, Bliznyuk broke the 24-year old league all-time career scoring record of 2,102 points set by Orlando Lightfoot from Idaho in three seasons from 1991-94. Just five players in the 55-year history of the league have hit the 2,000-point mark, and he stands above them all with 2,127 points in 136 career games
 
He also holds Big Sky Tournament records for games played (9, 7-2 record), points (178) and field goals (65). Bliznyuk made 77 consecutive free throws in an 18-game stretch from Dec. 31 to March 8 to set a new NCAA Division I single season record.
 
Interestingly, Eastern women's player Delaney Hodgins became just the fourth player in the 29-year history of women's basketball in the Big Sky to hit 2,000 points when she scored 30 versus Weber State on Feb. 22. She had 37 on Feb. 28 versus Southern Utah and a Big Sky and EWU record 46 two days later at Northern Arizona, and now has 2,120 in her career to also rank third all-time in the league (29 years).
 
The Eagles beat every Big Sky team other than second-seeded Idaho this season, and finished third after being predicted to finish sixth by the media and seventh by the coaches in the league's preseason polls. The Eagles have won 17 of their last 22 games after a 3-8 start. The Eagles finished 11-1 at home and were 6-11 on opponent home courts this season, and are now 3-1 at neutral sites.
 
The Eagles are coming off a third-straight appearance in a national postseason tournament, and were 22-12 overall a year ago. The Eagles were 26-9 in the 2014-15 season when Bliznyuk was the league's Freshman of the Year and EWU advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
 
 "I just want to get back to the big dance," said Bliznyuk. "I played on a great Eastern team when I was a freshman that went dancing, and we just want to go back. This is my last go-around and I want to experience that same feeling and play in the NCAA Tournament. I want to do everything I can to get our team there."
 
 

Game Notes

 
Eagles Achieve Second Consecutive 20-Win Season, With Four-Straight Years of 18+
 
At 20-13 on the season, the Eastern basketball program has hit a threshold that has occurred just four times now in Eastern's 35-year history in NCAA Division I. Since 1983-84, the only other times EWU has won 20 games came in 1985-86 (20-8), 2014-15 (26-9) and last year in 2016-17 (22-12). This year's team is just one of six in the school's 35-year NCAA Division I history to have at least 18, including the last four seasons in a row.
 
Eastern has been in the Big Sky Conference for 31 seasons now, with a high of 14 league wins in 2014-15. Finishing 13-5 in league play in both 2017-18 and 2016-17, only one other time has EWU exceeded 11 league wins, that coming in 1999-00 when EWU had 12 to share the regular season league title with Montana.
 
From 2013-14 through 2017-18, Eastern has had win totals of 15, 26, 18, 22 and 20 games. The two 20-victory seasons are the top two win totals in EWU's 35-year history in NCAA Division I. The combined 101 wins in five seasons, 86 victories in four seasons, 66 in three and 44 in two are also the most since EWU became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season. The same can be said of EWU's stretch of league victories -- 10, 14, 10, 13, 13 -- in that five-year span.
 
 
Eight-Game Winning Streak Features 53.0 Percent Shooting
 
This is EWU's first eight-game winning streak since winning 11 in a row in the 2003-04 NCAA Tournament season. Not surprisingly, Bogdan Bliznyuk has led Eastern in that stretch by averaging 25.3 points on 60.3 percent shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. But it's the play of a trio of underclassmen making the biggest difference for EWU during the streak. Redshirt freshman Jacob Davison has averaged 11.3 points, true freshman Jack Perry has averaged 9.9 points, and sophomore Mason Peatling has averages of 9.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots.
 
All four of those players have made at least 51.0 percent of their shots from the field, and the trio of Bliznyuk, Davison and Perry have combined to go 47-of-92 (51.1 percent) from the 3-point arc. As a team, Eastern has out-scored opponents by an average of 10.3 points per game (78.2 to 68.0), and has made 53.0 percent from the field compared to 43.8 percent for opponents. From 3-point range, Eastern has a 44.4 percent to 35.7 percent advantage. Rebounding has also been a key, with EWU having a +1.9 margin and advantages in five of the eight games. In EWU's first 25 games of the season, the Eagles had a rebounding advantage in just eight of them.
 
 
Fast Starts Commonplace for Eagles
 
Eastern's early leads of 18-8 and 35-15 versus Portland State on Thursday and 32-18 against Southern Utah on Friday were the norm during league play. The Eagles have led at halftime in 14 of its last 20 games, including double-digit leads in 10 of them. In the last five games alone, Eastern has led by 13, 22, 13, 16 and 12 at intermission (average of 15.2 per game), including a 44-22 lead versus Southern Utah on March 1.
 
Eastern has held opponents to 28 points or less in the first half of 10 of its last 20 games, with a pair in which they scored at least 48. In fact, of the 17 total games Eastern has had this season in which they've held opponents to 29 points or less, 14 of them have come in the first half. The Eagles are 17-3 in the 20 total games when they've led at intermission.
 
 
Legans, Bliznyuk & Washington Are Tourney Tested
 
Now in its 31st year as a member of the league, Eastern is making its 16th appearance in the Big Sky Conference Tournament. The Eagles have a record of 15-13 in its 28 games -- 1-0 in the first round, 5-5 in the quarterfinals, 7-4 in the semifinals and 2-4 in the championship. The Eagles advanced to the title game in 1990, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2015, and won the title in 2004 and 2015. Before winning the 2015 title, Eastern hadn't appeared in the tournament at all since the 2011-12 and 2010-11 seasons, which were EWU's first since 2006. The Eagles qualified for each tournament from 1998-2006.

Fourth-year seniors Bogdan Bliznyuk and Sir Washington both played in EWU's 2015 NCAA Tournament game versus Georgetown. Bliznyuk has nine games of Big Sky Tournament experience to equal the tournament career record of nine. Eastern has gone 7-2 thus far in his four seasons as an Eagle, and he has also set tourney records for points (178), field goals (65), fouls (23) and turnovers (24). Washington has played in six tourney games, but was injured and didn't play in 2015.
 
Bliznyuk has averaged 19.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in the league tournament. Besides his 32 points against Southern Utah and 35 points against Portland State in 2018, he scored 32 points with eight rebounds in the 2017 semifinals versus Weber State, and had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the quarterfinals against Sac State. Washington has averaged 5.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in the six games he's played, including an 11-point effort last year versus the Hornets and seven this year versus PSU.
 
Head coach Shantay Legans has coached in two Big Sky Conference Tournament games as a head coach and 10 as an assistant, with a record of 8-4 in five 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.
 
Eastern went on to lose to Georgetown 84-74 in the NCAA Tournament, with Bliznyuk finishing with 11 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists after earning Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors. Washington missed the Big Sky Tournament with an injury, but was 2-of-2 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free line to finish with six points and a pair of rebounds in five minutes against the Hoyas.
 
 
Bliznyuk & Washington Winningest Players in EWU's Division I History
 
Seniors Bogdan Bliznyuk and Sir Washington will end their careers as EWU's winningest players in EWU's 35-year history as a member of NCAA Division I. After the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament, Eastern has won 86 games overall and 50 in the Big Sky Conference. Washington redshirted in the 2013-14 season, then they both played as freshmen in 2014-15. Eastern has won 26, 18, 22 and 20 games since then for the best four-year stretch in EWU's Division I history, and most since winning 106 from 1942-43 to 1945-46. The Eagles have had Big Sky Conference win totals of 14, 10, 13 and 13 since Washington and Bliznyuk were freshman – again, the best four-game stretch in 31 seasons as a member of the Big Sky. Former Eagle Felix Von Hofe was formerly the winningest Eagle with 81 overall wins and 47 league wins from 2013-14 through 2016-17.
 
 
Legans Has Most Coaching Wins for a Rookie in 75 Years
 
First-year head coach Shantay Legans is the 18th coach in Eastern history, and has made history of his own. His 20 wins are the most by a first-year Eastern coach in EWU's NCAA Division I era, besting Ray Giacoletti with 17 in the 2000-01 season. Joe Folda also won 17 games in 1982-83 as an interim head coach during Eastern's rise from NAIA to NCAA Division I. Thus, you have to go back to the 1942-43 season when Bob Brumblay won 27 games in his debut season to find a rookie Eastern coach with more than 18 victories, which is also the only time it's happened.
 
Legans was an Eastern assistant for eight years before becoming EWU's 10th coach at the NCAA Division I level this season. Legans spent six years on the staff of Jim Hayford (now head coach at Seattle), and two previous seasons under former head coach Kirk Earlywine (now an assistant at Idaho). Legans was associate head coach under Hayford for the final three of those eight seasons.
 
He has been a part of Eastern teams from the 2013-14 through 2017-18 seasons which have win totals of 15, 26, 18, 22 and 20 games. The three 20-victory seasons are among the top four win totals in EWU's 35-year history in NCAA Division I. The combined 101 wins in five seasons, 86 victories in four seasons, 66 in three and 44 in two are also the most since EWU became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season. The same can be said of EWU's stretch of league victories -- 10, 14, 10, 13, 13 -- in that five-year span.
 
A former player at Cal and Fresno State, Legans is married to former Eastern women's basketball player Tatjana Sparavalo. Their daughter, Zola Lee, was born June 16, 2016, and they have a son due to be born March 29.
 
 
Eastern 12-0 When it Makes 50 Percent from the Field
 
The Eagles have had 50-percent shooting performances in six of their last eight games to improve to 12-0 this season when they hit that mark. Most recently, EWU sank a season-best 64.6 percent against Southern Utah in the semifinals and 52.0 percent in the quarterfinals against Portland State. For the season, Eastern is now 18-2 when they out-shoot their opponents and 2-11 when they don't.
 
Eastern closed the regular season with a 55.8 percent night against Northern Arizona, and made 65 percent in the second half versus Weber State on Feb. 22 to finish at 50.9 percent for the game. The Eagles made 56.3 percent against Montana on Feb. 15 and exactly 50 percent one game later versus Montana State. Eastern has had all 12 of its 50-percent shooting nights in the last 21 games. The previous 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.
 
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 46.8 percent for the season. Eastern has had its top 20 shooting performances of the year in the last 24 games, and the team's three-point shooting has also improved from 30.2 percent after nine games to a current mark of 38.1. In league play, the Eagles sank 48.9 percent of their shots from the field overall (second in the league) and 40.0 percent from the 3-point arc (third), and led the Big Sky with an average of 9.4 treys per game during league play.
 
Defensively, Eastern had its best performance of the season against Southern Utah on March 1 for points allowed (51) and field goal percentage (32.3 percent). Eastern also held 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 18 league games, the Eagles held opponents to 34.9 percent from the 3-point line and 43.8 percent overall, ranking fifth and fourth, respectively, in the league.
 
 
Bliznyuk Breaks NCAA Record for Consecutive Free Throws
 
A record more than two months in the making, Bogdan Bliznyuk set a new NCAA Division I single season record for consecutive free throws made on March 3 in EWU's regular season finale against Northern Arizona at Reese Court.
 
Bliznyuk made all six of his free throws, including a pressure-packed, record-breaking pair with 3:46 left in the Senior Day game to give him 74 and break the NCAA Division I single season record of 73 set by Gary Buchanan from Villanova over a 21-game stretch in the 2000-01 season. Bliznyuk sank his first three versus Portland State on March 8 before missing, ending the record at 77 in a span of 18 games dating back to EWU's game at North Dakota on Dec. 31,
 
The Big Sky Conference MVP finished 78-of-79 during conference play (98.7 percent), but came up short of the career record of 85-straight free throws between Feb. 15, 2001, and Jan. 18, 2003, by Darnell Archey from Butler during a 57-game stretch. Bliznyuk entered the Big Sky Tournament leading the league and ranked sixth nationally at 91.4 percent, and is now at 90.0 percent (currently a school record).
 
 
Bliznyuk is Honored as Big Sky Conference MVP; Peatling Honorable Mention All-BSC
 
Bogdan Bliznyuk has joined the short list -- with the likes of Alvin Snow, Rodney Stuckey and Jacob Wiley. The Eagle senior was honored March 5 as the Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player, and was also one of three unanimous first-team all-league selections in the voting by the league's head coaches. In addition, Eagle sophomore Mason Peatling earned honorable mention All-BSC accolades.
 
Bliznyuk is the second-straight Eastern player to win the honor, with Wiley earning it a year ago after a record-breaking senior season. Previously, Stuckey won in 2006 and Alvin Snow was the initial Eagle honored in 2004. Eastern has been a member of the league for 31 years now.
 
 

 
Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .

 
On Montana Game: "We want win 21, but I'm rooting for 22 and 23 also. We have to come out and play against Montana with everything we have. It's a great for the program and university – we work with great people and they give us so much love and encouragement. It's so much fun to work at Eastern. Our 20 wins are for everybody – the program and the fans who enjoyed watching this team play. Our players put in all the work and they deserve the credit. They play through injuries and my craziness sometimes, and have done everything we've asked of them. I love these guys to the fullest and our coaching staff has done an amazing job. I couldn't be happier."
 
On SUU Win: "Our players played with a lot of poise. Southern Utah is a good team and has a good coach, and they have some good players. For us to play with poise at the end and make the big plays when we needed to was huge for us. It helps to have Bogdan – he makes it real easy on me."
 
On 20 Victories: "It's a big thing for our program to get to 20 wins. The guys deserve it and they did everything we asked them to do all season long. To be able to play for a championship is what you are trying to do when the season starts."
 
On Game Plan Versus SUU: "Our coaching staff did a great job – the assistants were up all night and all morning long doing a terrific job getting everybody ready and prepared. They came up with a great game plan and we executed it. I give a lot of credit to them, and then our players came out and did exactly what we needed them to do. They played with a lot of confidence and swagger. I was really excited about how they handled themselves and how they played."
 
On 35 Bench Points Against SUU: "Our bench played great. We are always looking for Benas to do what he did against Southern Utah – I feel like he can do that all the time. He's a very skilled and talented player and we need that same kind of performance out of him against Montana. Jacob has been coming on each and every game. I'm excited about how good he is going to be in the future, and Eagle fans are finding out what a great player he is. All of our freshmen are good, but Benas came out and stepped up as a senior. He was huge."
 
On Only Six 3-Point Attempts: "Southern Utah did a great job of extending out and not giving us 3-point shots. But you have to pick what you want to do – Southern Utah decided to make Bogdan beat them. It helped that we had made so many threes the night before. We did a good job of getting downhill."
 
Bogdan Bliznyuk on All-Time Big Sky Record: "It's definitely an honor and there have been a lot of great players in this conference. I'm just really happy that our team was composed and we are playing for a trip to the NCAA Tournament."

 

Series Notes

Eastern is 1-4 versus the Griz in the Big Sky Tournament. Besides beating UM 69-65 in the championship game in Missoula in 2015, EWU lost 74-66 in the 2012 semifinals in Missoula; 73-71 in overtime in the 2006 semifinals in Flagstaff, Ariz.; 58-48 in the 2005 quarterfinals in Missoula; and 70-66 in the 2002 championship in Bozeman. Eastern is 22-50 against the Grizzlies since becoming a member of NCAA Division I in 1983-84, including a 10-27 record in Missoula, 12-21 in Cheney and 0-2 on neutral courts. Montana leads the overall series 67-43. The Eagles triumphed the last time they played the Griz in Cheney, and have won three of the last four meetings in Missoula. Until winning 75-69 on Feb. 4, 2015, the Eagles had lost their last 12 meetings in Missoula, dating back to a 71-52 Eagle win on Feb. 7, 2004. The Eagles would also beat the Grizzlies on their home floor in the 2015 Big Sky Conference Championship game, giving the Eagles a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Including EWU's three-game sweep there to capture the 2015 Big Sky Conference Tournament title, EWU has won five of its last six games at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula (including three of four versus UM). Overall, Eastern has lost 22 of the last 29 meetings against the Griz.
 
 
Previous Game Recap Versus Montana . . .
 
Becoming the first Big Sky Conference team to knock off the unbeaten league leaders, Eastern 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. 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.

 
Recent Game Recaps
 
Bliznyuk Takes Over Again to Become All-Time Leading Scorer in Big Sky in 82-70 Win
 
The glass was once again full – overflowing in fact -- Friday (March 9) for the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team. On a night Big Sky Conference MVP Bogdan Bliznyuk became the all-time leading scorer in the 55-year history of the league and set a trio of tournament records, the third-seeded Eagles beat No. 10 Southern Utah 82-70 in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament at the Reno (Nevada) Events Center. With the league MVP pouring in 32 points, Eastern extended its winning streak to eight games – its longest in 14 years – to advance to its seventh Big Sky championship game in school history. For the fifth-straight game, Eastern led at halftime by at least 12 points, taking a 43-31 lead at half. With Bliznyuk scoring 17 points in the first half, Eastern had its best shooting half of the season both overall (70.8 percent) and from 3-point range (80 percent, 4-of-5). The Eagles used a 10-run in the second half to lead by as many as 17 and no fewer than six in the second half. Eastern made a season-best 64.6 percent of its shots to offset the 50.0 percent shooting for SUU, as Bliznyuk sank 13-of-17 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line. Redshirt freshman Jacob Davison added 16 points and five rebounds while making all nine of his free throw attempts, and senior Benas Griciunas came off the bench to make all seven of his field goals and score 14 points. Bliznyuk secured the record less than five minutes into the game. With a 3-pointer 2:45 into the game, he tied the 24-year old league record of 2,102 points set by Orlando Lightfoot from Idaho in three seasons from 1991-94. Bliznyuk then hit a free throw 30 seconds later to own sole possession of the record, and went on to increase his total to 2,127 points in 136 career games. Just five players in the 55-year history of the league have hit the 2,000-point mark, and he stands above them all. The Big Sky MVP also tied the league record by playing in his ninth Big Sky Tournament game (record of 7-2), and went on to break the scoring record as well in the second half. He finished the game 178 points to break the record of 165 set by current Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak from Montana from 1983-86. His 65 career field goals are also a record.
 
 
 Big Defensive Stretch in First Half Sends Eagles Into Semifinals
 
The Eagle defense was the big winner in the rubber match of the season series, holding Portland State without a field goal for a 9:51 stretch in the first half as the third-seeded Eagles beat the No. 6 Vikings 78-72 in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament on March 8 at the Reno (Nevada) Events Center. In a battle of one team outstanding at taking the ball and another outstanding at taken care of it, Eastern used a 12-0 run to take a 20-point lead in the first half, helped by a 6:31 scoreless stretch by the Vikings. They missed eight-straight shots and had seven turnovers during their nearly 10 minutes without a field goal, and EWU led by 16 at halftime. Eastern led by as many as 21 in the second half and 19 with inside of seven minutes left before PSU rallied with a 16-2 run to cut the lead to five with 1:12 to play. But on his way to 35 points, Big Sky MVP Bodgan Bliznyuk had a three-point play with 46 seconds to left and three more free throws in the last 37 seconds to clinch EWU's seventh-straight win. Portland State entered the game ranked in the top three in NCAA Division I in turnover margin, turnovers forced, steals and offensive rebounds, leading to the third-best scoring average at 86.3 per game. Eastern, meanwhile, entered ranked 41st in fewest turnovers allowed and 23rd in free throw percentage. It was EWU's defense that stole the show, forcing 10 turnovers and committing just seven itself in the first half. Eastern also out-shot the Vikings 52 percent to 36 percent in the first half, and 52 percent to 38 percent in the game. Bliznyuk hit his first four shots – all 3-pointers – and had 17 of his 35 points in the first half. He finished the game 11-of-14 from the field with 4-of-5 3-pointers, and made 9-of-11 free throws. His NCAA single season record for consecutive free throws ended at 77, but he moved into second on the Big Sky's all-time scoring list with 2,095 and is just seven from the record of 2,102. True freshman Jack Perry finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field overall and 4-of-7 from the 3-point stripe. Sophomore Mason Peatling had 12 rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals, and came four points from his sixth career double-double. Eastern and PSU entered the game with a collective season total of 38 victories, and had split its two regular season meetings. Eastern beat Portland State at home 81-74 on Jan. 4, then surrendered its most points this season in a 94-81 loss in Portland to the Vikings on Feb. 3. The Vikings had won five of their last six games.