The rubber match of anything can be so much fun, especially when considering the intrigue of the numbers.
 
But the Eagle defense was the big winner this time, 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 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 the win.
 
"We were solid and we were smart, and our team did a good job," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "I was excited about the way they played. Our guys made some plays at the end that separated it a little bit. But a lot of credit goes to Portland State – they did a great job."
 
Now with a seven-game winning streak, 19-13 Eastern advances to play in the semifinals Friday at 8:05 p.m. versus No. 10 seed Southern Utah which upset second-seeded Idaho 92-78 in the quarterfinals.
 
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.
 
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.
 
The winner of the EWU-SUU game advances to Saturday's championship game at 5 p.m., with the winner receiving a berth into the NCAA Tournament. 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.
 
 
 
Records . . .
 
* The Eagles are 19-13 on the season and finished 13-5 in the Big Sky, and have won 16 of their last 21 games after a 3-8 start. The Eagles are 11-1 at home, 6-11 on opponent home courts and 2-1 at neutral sites this season, finishing 5-4 on the road in the league season and 8-1 at home.
 
* Eastern beat Portland State at home 81-74 on Jan. 4, then suffered a 94-81 loss in Portland to the Vikings on Feb. 3. The 94 points were the most the Eagles have surrendered this season.
 
* The Vikings are 20-13 overall after finishing the conference season 9-9. Portland State led by as many as 18 against Sacramento State in the first round before winning 71-67. Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year Holland Woods was held to 10 points by the Eagles after leading the way with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals versus Sac State. Bryce Canda had only five versus EWU after finishing with 16 points and nine boards against the Hornets.
 

What's Next in Reno . . .
 
* The Eagles advance to play 10th-seeded Southern Utah in the semifinals of the tournament on Friday (March 9) at 8 p.m. Second-seeded Idaho was upset by the Thunderbirds in the other quarterfinal in EWU's side of the bracket to advance to the semis. In the other quarterfinal games, No. 1 Montana edged No. 8 North Dakota 84-76, and No. 4 Weber State was blasted 80-55 by No. 5 Northern Colorado, meaning the Grizzlies and Bears will play in the first semifinal Friday at 2:30 p.m.
 
* Big Sky Conference Tournament games up to the championship game will be televised by Eleven Sports and are available at 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 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.
 
* The championship game is at 5 p.m. on Saturday and will be televised by ESPNU and via watchespn.com. The winner of the game receives a berth into the NCAA Tournament. 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.

 
EWU's Tournament History . . .
 
* 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 now have a record of 14-13 in its 27 games -- 1-0 in the first round, 5-5 in the quarterfinals, 6-4 in the semifinals and 2-4 in the championship. Before winning the 2015 title, Eastern hadn't appeared since the 2011-12 and 2010-11 seasons, which were EWU's first since 2006. The Eagles qualified for each tournament from 1998-2006.
  
 
Keys to Game . . .
 
* Eastern held the Vikings to 72 points, well below the 94 PSU scored in in a 13-point Portland State win on Feb. 3 when EWU allowed more than it has the entire season. Portland State entered the game with an average of 86.3 points per game (third in NCAA Division I).
 
 
Turning Point . . .
 
* Eastern used an early 10-0 rot take an early 18-8 lead on 4-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line and 6-of-9 overall. Eastern led by eight when PSU hit a field goal with 13:14 left, but then didn't hit another until 2:23 remained in the half. During that stretch, PSU missed eight shots and had seven turnovers, and went scoreless for a total of 6:31 without scoring. The resulting 12-0 run gave EWU a 35-15 lead with 5:45 left, and eventually led 43-27 at intermission. Senior Bogdan Bliznyuk hit two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws to start the run, then senior Sir Washington hit the next two baskets to complete it.
 
 
Top Performers . . .
 
* Eastern all-time leading scorer Bogdan Bliznyuk finished with 35 points on 11-of-14 shooting overall and 4-of-5 from the 3-point stripe, and had seven rebounds and a pair of assists. It was his fifth 30-point performance of the season and 12th of his career. He now has 16th performance this season of at least 20 points and 42 in his career, and has had 29 double-figure scoring performances this season and 97 in his career. He made 9-of-11 shots from the free throw line, but had his NCAA Division I single season record for consecutive free throws made snapped at 77. He hadn't missed since Dec. 31.
* 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. That gives him eight double-figure performances this season, including four in his last six games.
* Sophomore Mason Peatling had 12 rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals, and came four points from his sixth career double-double – all this season. He has scored in double figures 10 times this season and 14 times in his career, and has had at least 10 boards on six occasions both this season and in his career.
 
 
Key Stats . . .

* Eastern had just seven turnovers against the Vikings in the first half and 18 in the game, with PSU finishing with 13 steals and 14 offensive rebounds. The Vikings entered the game ranked third NCAA Division I in turnover margin (+5.4), third in turnovers forced (18.1), second in steals (9.8) and second in offensive rebounds (14.6). Eastern, meanwhile, ranked 41st in fewest turnovers allowed (11.4), 23rd in free throw percentage and 57th in 3-pointers per game (9.1). Bogdan Bliznyuk entered ranked 39th in scoring (20.4) and fifth in free throw percentage (91.4 percent).

 
Series History/Tournament History Versus PSU . . .

* Since Eastern became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, the Eagles are now 23-23 versus the Vikings. All of the meetings have come since the 1996-97 school year when PSU joined the Big Sky Conference, and Eastern is 15-8 in Cheney and 7-14 against PSU in Portland (1-1 on neutral courts) since then. The Vikings have a 26-24 edge in the overall series. Eastern is 2-1 against PSU in the Big Sky Tournament, winning 81-75 in the 2006 quarterfinals in Cheney and losing 80-74 in the 1999 quarterfinals in Ogden, Utah.
 
 
Other Team Highlights . . .
 
* Big Sky Conference Player of the Year candidate Bogdan Bliznyuk now has 2,095 career points in 135 career games, ranking him second in league history as just the fifth player in the 55-year history of the league to hit the 2,000-point mark. He passed Weber State's Jeremy Senglin with 2,078 from 2013-17 and is just seven from the record of 2,102 set by Orlando Lightfoot from Idaho in three seasons from 1991-94. 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).
 
* A record more than two months in the making, Bogdan Bliznyuk finished with 77 consecutive free throws made, breaking 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's record came in a 17-game stretch from dating back to EWU's game at North Dakota on Dec. 31, and ended on March 8 versus Portland State in the quarterfinals of the league tournament. The Big Sky Conference MVP came just eight free throws from 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 (currently a school record). He was 78-of-81 (98.7 percent) in league games only to lead the Big Sky.
 
* First-year head coach Shantay Legans is the 18th coach in Eastern history, and has made history of his own. His 19 wins is 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 a 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 18 games. The two 20-victory seasons are the top two win totals in EWU's 34-year history in NCAA Division I. The combined 100 wins in five seasons, 84 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 later March 29.
 
* 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. Entering the Big Sky Tournament, Eastern has won 85 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 19 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.
 
 
 
Notables . . .
 
* 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. Included in this year's league triumphs was the school's first road sweep in two years in late February, including a win over Weber State to give EWU a tiebreaker advantage in the league. Eastern snapped the nine-game winning streak of the Wildcats, and one game earlier handed regular season champion Montana its first league loss after 13 victories. 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.
 
* Fourth-year seniors Bogdan Bliznyuk and Sir Washington, who both played in EWU's 2015 NCAA Tournament game versus Georgetown, have had significant experience in the Big Sky Tournament. Bliznyuk entered the tournament with seven games, with EWU going 5-2 in the last three seasons. Washington has played in four games, but was injured and didn't play in 2015. Entering the PSU game, Blinzyuk had averaged 15.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in the league tournament. 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 5.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists in the four games he's played, including an 11-point effort last year versus the Hornets. Head coach Shantay Legans has coached in 10 Big Sky Conference Tournament games as an assistant, 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.
 
 
Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
 
On Defense: "Defense was our gameplan and we hang our hat on that, then we do a good job everywhere else. We did a good job and I was proud of how our team played and responded playing in the quarterfinals. We didn't have a great free throw shooting game, so I wasn't excited about that. If we make some more free throws the game would have been over quicker."
 
On Portland State: "I give credit to Portland State. Their players were playing their butts off the whole game. I told the guys throughout the game it wasn't over, and that Portland State would fight. They have some great seniors over there and did a great job of getting back in the game. I give them 100 percent credit."
 
On Semifinals: "A team from Tuesday can win it – I'm a firm believer in that, especially the way the tournament is set-up. You play Tuesday and get the day off. You get in the gym more and get acclimated, and it gives you an advantage. But now we've been in the gym and we feel good about it. I was hoping to play Idaho again, but Southern Utah is a great opponent. We have to be ready for them. They are playing with all the confidence in the world – they can make threes and their inside game is good. We have to be prepared and we have to be ready to play defense and do well on the glass."
 
On SUU: "They are physically talented. When you compare player-for-player with any team in the league, they are right up there with the top teams. We have to be ready and prepared, and I always think we do that. Our players are smart and intelligent and they play the right way."
 
Bogdan Bliznyuk on PSU Victory: "I just want to get back to the big dance. 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 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."
 
 
 
Series History/Tournament History Versus Southern Utah  . . .
 
The Eagles are 10-5 all-time against Southern Utah (6-1 in Cheney, 4-4 in Cedar City), but had its eight-game winning streak snapped with a 66-62 overtime loss on Jan. 20, 2018. The Eagles have triumphed in the six five home meetings since losing the first game in Cheney in the series by a 70-68 score on Dec. 21, 1993. The Thunderbirds joined the Big Sky in the 2012-13 season and EWU is 9-2 versus them since then.
 
Previous Game Recaps Versus SUU . . .
 
With Bogdan Bliznyuk coming up just short in his quest for the school's career scoring record, Eastern came up just short of a road sweep when the Eagles lost 66-62 to Southern Utah on Jan. 20 in Cedar City, Utah. Bliznyuk finished with a team-leading 18 after entering the game needing 19 to tie and 20 to break EWU's all-time scoring record. He played just 27 minutes because of foul trouble, but fellow senior Sir Washington stepped up to finish with a season-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Sophomore Mason Peatling had his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Neither team scored in the final 2:22 of regulation as the game was knotted at 54 heading into overtime. The Thunderbirds hit their first two shots of overtime and was 4-of-6 in the extra period, while EWU was 3-of-7 in OT. The Eagles struggled at the 3-point line at 19 percent (4-of-21), but was efficient inside the arc and finished at 40.0 percent overall. Eastern's defense held SUU to 35.6 percent shooting, but the Thunderbirds were able to make 11-of-28 3-point shots for 39.3 percent. Coupled with EWU's win at Northern Arizona, the Eagles have now split on the road six-straight times, dating back to the 2015-16 season when the Eagles swept the same Southern Utah and Northern Arizona road trip. One trip earlier that season, Eastern was swept by the Montana schools.
 
En route to moving to No. 3 on the Big Sky Conference's all-time scoring list, Bogdan Bliznyuk had another near triple-double as the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team rolled to a 74-51 victory over Southern Utah March 1 at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. The victory helped clinch a first-round bye in the Big Sky Conference Tournament for the Eagles. Eastern had season-best performances defensively for points and shooting percentage allowed as it extended EWU's winning streak to a league-best five games. Eastern opened up a 41-12 lead in the first 17 1/2 minutes and went on to out-shoot SUU 49 percent to 32 percent. The Eagles led by as many as 30 in the second half and no less than 16. Bliznyuk, who increased his career scoring total to 2,045, had 32 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and five assists. Junior Ty Gibson had 13 points for his best scoring performance in 2 1/2 months. Washington, who played in his 118th game as an Eagle to move into seventh in school history, chipped in 10 points. Eastern's staggeringly fast start resulted in some eye-popping numbers. Eastern held Southern Utah to 29.0 percent shooting from the field in the first half while the Eagles shot at a 53.3 percent clip themselves. At one point in the first half, Bliznyuk single-handedly outscored the Thunderbirds 24-12, with EWU taking a 39-12 lead with 3:57 to play on his three-point play. At halftime, Bogdan had 24 points to SUU's 22.