When the Eagles got hot, they looked unbeatable on their way to a season-best offensive performance versus a NCAA Division I opponent.
 
With five players scoring in double figures led by the 39 of junior Jacob Davison, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team beat the North Dakota Fighting Hawks from the Summit League 98-82 Sunday (Dec. 8) at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
 
Eastern had a 13-0 run in the first half and 12-0 in the second half to overcome deficits, and led by as many as 19 down the stretch. The Eagles forced 15 turnovers and had just six themselves, leading to a 25-6 advantage in points off turnovers. Eastern also had a 20-2 lead in fastbreak points, and a 40-38 rebounding advantage.
 
Davison's performance was two shy of his career high of 41, and ranks as the 10th-best in school history. Sophomore Kim Aiken Jr. had his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 15 rebounds, true freshman Ellis Magnuson had 14 points and six assists, senior Mason Peatling tallied 12 and sophomore Tanner Groves came off the bench to score 11.
 
"We saw that the floor was spread, and Jacob did a great job of getting to the rim," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "Tanner came in and did a really good job offensively and defensively, and that really changed the flow of the game. And his brother, Jacob, made some key baskets down on the block when we needed them. Our bigs did a great job of keeping the pressure off our shooters."
 
The game began a three-game homestand for EWU, which also hosts Multnomah (Dec. 13) and Nebraska Omaha (Dec. 17) prior to the team's non-conference finale at No. 9 Gonzaga on Dec. 21. League play begins at Weber State on Dec. 28.
 
Davison scored 19 of his points in the first half when he hit 8-of-14 shots, while Aiken had 10 of his rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Eastern made just five of its first 18 shots, but points off turnovers sparked a 13-of-22 finish to the half. Eastern had a 13-2 advantage in points off turnovers in the half, forcing nine while having just two of its own.
 
A 13-0 run in the first half turned a five-point deficit into an eight-point advantage, as five different Eagles scored with Aiken netting the final five with a dunk and 3-pointer. Eastern led 42-39 at halftime, holding UND to three makes in its last 10 shots after a 12-of-22 start by the Fighting Hawks.
 
North Dakota used an 8-0 run to regain a six-point lead early in the second half, but the Eagles came alive with a 12-0 run to take the lead for good. Groves made a pair of baskets to start the hot stretch, followed by 3-pointers by Aiken and Davison. Magnuson capped the run with a layin with 7:51 left to give EWU a 73-62 advantage.
 
 
Records . . .
 
* Eastern is now 5-3 on the season. Eastern's 4-2 start was its best since beginning the 2015-16 season with an 8-2 mark. A year ago during an injury-plagued season, the Eagles began the year 1-9. The Eagles are now 3-0 at home, having registered one of its biggest victories in school history, an 87-82 home win on Nov. 26 over mid-major power Belmont in the final game for both schools in the Gotham Classic. Eastern followed that with a 90-80 loss at No. 22/23 Washington, a game in which Eastern led 10-1 early and was within striking distance for much of the game despite a 20-point deficit in the second half.
 
* North Dakota is 4-7 on the season, having lost it previous game two days earlier at Montana by a 77-70 score. The Fighting Hawks fell 97-66 on Nov. 13 at Gonzaga – a team EWU plays on Dec. 21. Otherwise, EWU and UND have no common opponents thus far, with North Dakota's last win 80-68 over Georgia Southern on Nov. 30.
 
 
What's Next . . .
 
* Eastern plays two more games on its three-game homestand, starting with a game on Friday, Nov. 13 versus Multnomah University from Portland, Ore. The Lions are 6-5 on the season following a 110-89 loss against College of Idaho on Dec. 7. However, the Eastern game will count as an exhibition game for Multnomah, a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Cascade Collegiate Conference. A year ago, the Lions were 15-15 overall and 6-12 to tied for eighth in the CCC. Following that game, Eastern closes the homestand by hosting the University of Nebraska Omaha on Tuesday, Dec. 17. The Mavericks are currently 5-5 and play three more games prior to playing the Eagles.
 
 
Top Performers . . .
 
* Davison finished 17-of-27 from the field, including a 3-of-5 performance from the 3-point stripe. He also had a career-high five steals with six rebounds and five assists. Tanner Groves had three blocks and five rebounds to go along with his 11 points, and his younger brother, Jacob Groves, hit both field goals he attempted and had two boards. Aiken had the ninth double-double of his career and made 4-of-8 shots from the field. Peatling hit 5-of-11 shots and added four rebounds, and Magnuson finished with a season-high 14 points and six assists on 6-of-13 shooting.
 
 
More Notes . . .
 
* Sunday's game was part of the second round of games in the Big Sky Conference versus Summit League challenge series. The four-year series involving four teams from each league began during the 2018-19 season. Each school will play one home game and road contest against separate schools from the other league during each of the four seasons. Big Sky schools participating are Eastern, Montana State, Montana and Idaho. The Summit is represented by North Dakota State, North Dakota, Omaha and South Dakota State.
 
* So far, EWU is 1-2 in the series, losing on the road at North Dakota State (74-67) and at home versus South Dakota State (74-64) a year ago. The Big Sky was 4-4 in the eight games played in the challenge series last season and 3-1 this year thus far, with South Dakota State losing at Montana State (Dec. 5) and North Dakota falling at Montana (Dec. 6) – both by 77-70 scores -- prior to EWU's game Sunday.
 
* North Dakota is a former Big Sky Conference member, and EWU is 6-7 all-time against the Fighting Hawks (5-6 as DI member). Eastern has won the last four meetings in Cheney, and five of the last seven meetings overall. The Eagles are 1-5 in Grand Forks. Eastern hasn't played North Dakota since Jan. 25, 2018, when the two teams last met in a Big Sky Conference game. The previous 10 games had been league counters.
 
* The two schools first met on Dec. 4, 1981, and EWU won 81-72 during Eastern's rise from NAIA to NCAA Division I. The following season, the year before EWU moved to DI, North Dakota won 75-71 on its home court. Eastern is 11-16 all-time versus the Summit League, with all but the first two meetings against UND coming with EWU as a member of NCAA Division I.
 
* Two games in a current stretch of five games are expected to be versus ranked opponents. Eastern fell 90-80 at Washington on Dec. 4, with the Huskies ranked 22nd in the Associated Press poll and 23rd in the Coaches Poll (both released on Dec. 2). Gonzaga, EWU's opponent Dec. 21 in Spokane, is currently ranked in the two polls, respectively. Games in the 2018-19 season versus Oregon and Syracuse were Eastern's 27th and 26th games versus ranked opponents, and EWU is now 1-27.
 
 
More Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
 
On Rebounding Advantage: "It was huge, and that's something we challenged our team with. They were one of the best rebounding teams in the country, and we beat them by two. Kim did a great job with 13 defensive rebounds, which is huge for us. He does such a good job of being tough and physical, and helps us become a really good team."
 
On Davison: "He did a great job, but it was all in the flow of the offense. We weren't doing anything different for him. The way they were defending is what got him those baskets. A lot of times teams have to pick their poison with us. He's such a talented scorer and does so many things on offense which makes him hard to guard. He can drive, he can hit the mid-range jump shot and he shoots the three well."
 
On Adjustments: "As you go you have to make adjustments to the ebbs and flows of the game. North Dakota did a great job coming in here and executing their game plan. We thought we would be able to get a lot of touches inside and get to the rim on them. They do a great job of trying not to give up the 3-point shot, and shooting well from the perimeter is one of our strengths. They held us to only eight 3-pointers. And we put Kim on (Marion) Stewart and I think that really helped to slow them down."
 
On Early Deficit: "I was a little upset early in the game in our defense. We usually do a good job of not letting opponents get to their strengths, but we were allowing them to do that at times. That was disappointing early in the game."