­­­­­­­Eastern Washington University "Eagles" Men's Basketball (7-13/5-4 Big Sky) Monday, Feb. 4 – Northern Arizona ­– 6:05 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 – at Montana State – 6:05 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9 – at Montana – 6:05 p.m. all times Pacific
Radio:	Eastern games are on 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:	https://tunein.com/radio/Eastern-Washington-Eagles-Sports-Network-s273711/
Radio  Mobile Phone App:	Via tunein radio
TV:	None
­­­Webcast:	http://watchbigsky.com or Pluto Channel 234 for EWU home games; 238 for game at at Montana State and 237 for game at Montana.
Live Stats:	http://ewustats.com
Weekly Coaches Show:	The next scheduled show hosted by Larry Weir and featuring head coach Shantay Legans is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. and is aired live on 700-AM ESPN. The show will take place live at Barrelhouse Pub and Pizza in Cheney.

The oddities of a 20-game league schedule result in a Monday rarity for the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team.
 
Now in sole possession of fourth place in the Big Sky Conference standings and seeking to stay there, the Eagles continue a stretch of four games in eight days when EWU hosts Northern Arizona at 6:05 p.m. on Monday (Feb. 4) at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
 
All Eastern games are carried live via radio 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.  Fans can also watch the webcast of all league games via PlutoTV and at http://watchbigsky.com.
 
The Lumberjacks won at Idaho 86-73 on Saturday (Feb. 2) to improve to 5-5 in the league and 7-13 on the season. Northern Arizona has two other road wins, having upset 8-3 Weber State 90-82 in overtime on Jan. 5 in Ogden, Utah. The Lumberjacks knocked off Southern Utah 80-77 in overtime on Jan. 28 prior to making the trip north.
 
The Eagles are also 7-13, and 5-4 in the Big Sky, a half-game ahead of NAU and Montana State at 5-5. Staying at the top of the league standings is important because the top five teams in the league gain a first-round bye in the Big Sky Conference Tournament March 13-16 in Boise, Idaho.
 
The Eagles knocked off Southern Utah 82-79 on Saturday (Feb. 2) to surpass the .500 mark for the first time in league play. And the Eagles did it without Mason Peatling, who missed 10 games earlier this season when EWU was 1-9 without him.
 
"I've told the guys that everything is happening for a reason," said EWU head coach Shantay Legans of his team's turnaround. "It's going to end up the way it's supposed to at the end if our guys put themselves in a position by playing good basketball. Now we're above .500 and we can complete a good homestand going into our Montana trip."
 
Following Monday's game, the Eagles will travel to Montana State (Feb. 7) and Montana (Feb. 9) as the second half of the league schedule begins. Earlier this season, Eastern hosted Montana and Montana State in back-to-back games, but those came nine days apart.
 
Last week, because Southern Utah played at Northern Arizona on a Monday (Jan. 28), EWU's games versus Southern Utah and NAU were pushed back two days. The result was a week of practice time and rest for EWU, but now the rigors of the schedule will sink in.
 
Northern Arizona has three players averaging in double figures, led by 6-foot-7 forward Bernie Andre with averages of 13.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. But guards Carlos Hines and Ted McCree are also averaging in double figures, with guard Luke Avdalovic and 6-9 Brooks DeBisschop also contributing heavily. McCree scored 24 against the Vandals and Andre had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
 
"They are really good – they have some great guards and DeBisschop has gotten a lot better inside," said Legans. "They are a lot like Southern Utah where they get downhill with their guards who come right at you. They have great 3-pointer shooters and Jack Murphy is a good coach. He has a lot of guys he has confidence in and our team has to be prepared and ready to play great against them."
 
Eastern is 6-3 at home this season with a four-game winning streak at Reese Court, including impressive victories over Montana (78-71 on Jan. 10) and Montana State (85-81 on Jan. 19). Eastern is now 7-0 this season when it makes at least 45 percent of its shots from the field (1-0 at 50 percent or better) and 0-13 when it doesn't. Eastern has also out-rebounded its last four opponents after having advantages in just two of its first 16 games.
 
Peatling has been EWU's leading scorer in five of nine games he's played (record of 5-4), and has also led in rebounds four times. An honorable mention All-Big Sky selection a year ago, Peatling is averaging 15.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks overall. He's shooting at a 58.6 percent clip, making 7-of-13 3-point attempts (53.8 percent) and 20-of-30 free throws (66.7 percent).
 
 Eastern senior Jesse Hunt has six double-doubles this season and averages 14.4 points, a team-leading 8.4 rebounds to rank second in the league and 3.1 assists per game. Sophomore Jacob Davison has had a trio of 20-point outings in his last four games and is averaging 13.0 points on the season.
 
Junior Tyler Kidd took over a starting guard position against Montana on Jan. 10 and has averaged 12.1 points and 3.6 assists in league play (8.4 and 2.4 overall), while scoring in double figures in eight of the last 10 games. Redshirt freshman Kim Aiken Jr. helped make up for the absence of Peatling by having a monster game with 24 points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots and a pair of steals in the win over Southern Utah.
 
Eastern returns seven total letterwinners from the 2017-18 team, including four starters. However, the Eagles lost the Big Sky and EWU all-time leading scorer in Bogdan Bliznyuk, who was the league MVP and an honorable All-America selection last year after finishing with 2,169 points in his career.
 
The Eagles closed the 2017-18 season with a 20-15 record in their 35th season as a member of NCAA Division I after finishing 13-5 in the league during their 31st season as a member of the Big Sky. Eastern made its fourth-straight national postseason appearance when the team competed in the 2018 College Basketball Invitational (CBI).
 
 
 

Game/Season Notes

 
 
Shooting Percentages Skyrocket in Wins over Montana Schools
 
Look no further than shooting to understand the reversal of fortunes for the Eastern Washington men's basketball team. Eastern is 7-0 when making at least 45.0 percent of its shots from the field and 0-13 when it doesn't, and EWU was victorious in its lone two games in which it has sank at least 48 percent of its shots. Below is a breakdown of EWU's shooting and won-lost records as the season has progressed.
 
Through Non-Conference Play (2-9) . . . 38.1 percent (30.5 percent from the 3-point line) / opponents 46.5 (38.5)
Through First 15 Games (3-12) . . . 38.9 percent (30.9) / opponents 47.2 (39.5)
Last Five Games (4-1) . . . 48.8 (44.7, 51-of-114) / 47.7 (35.2, 37-of-105)
For the Season (7-13) . . . 41.2 percent (33.8) / opponents 47.3 (38.5)
 
 
Eagles Have Used 11 Different Starting Lineups, But Same in Last Four Games
 
Now that Mason Peatling is back and Tyler Kidd has solidified his starting role, the Eagles are no longer tinkering with their starting lineup. Eastern used its fifth starting lineup in seven games when the Eagles beat Montana 78-71 on Jan. 10, and EWU has used a total of 11 different lineups this season. Kidd made his first start of his EWU career and was joined in the starting lineup by Peatling, Jesse Hunt, Jacob Davison and Cody Benzel. That unit has essentially been used ever since and is now 3-1 this season. However, on Feb. 2 versus Southern Utah, redshirt freshman Tanner Groves made the first start of his career as an injury replacement for Peatling. Hunt has started a team-high 20 games this season, Davison has started 15 of 18, Peatling has started all nine he has played and Benzel has started 12 games and come off the bench in eight others.
 
 
Peatling is Back and Averaging 17.4 points in League Play Thus Far
 
After missing EWU's first 10 games with an injury, Mason Peatling but has been EWU's leading scorer in five of the nine games he has played since (5-4 record), and has also led in rebounds four times. An honorable mention All-Big Sky selection a year ago, Peatling is averaging 17.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks in eight league games thus far, and 15.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks overall. He's shooting at a 58.6 percent clip, making 7-of-13 3-point attempts (53.8 percent) and 20-of-30 free throws (66.7 percent). In league games only, he's sixth in the league in scoring, third in shooting (60.2 percent) and fifth in rebounding, but won't rank among the overall league leaders until later this season (a player must play in 75 percent of a team's games to be ranked).
 
Peatling is coming off his first double-double of the season versus Sacramento State when he had 17 points and 13 rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting before fouling out after playing just 25 minutes. One game earlier he had a 15-point performance at Portland State in which he sank 7-of-10 shots from the field and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out. He had one of six double-figure performances for the Eagles on Jan. 10 when the Eagles beat preseason favorite Montana 78-71 at Reese Court in Cheney. He sank 6-of-8 shots from the field and 5-of-6 free throws in just 20 minutes because of foul trouble to finish with a team-high 17 points.
 
Versus Northern Colorado on Jan. 7 he finished with 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field, plus had nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and two assists. He made his season debut as a starter versus Corban in a 92-73 Eagle win on Dec. 21. He played 18 minutes and finished with four points on 2-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists. He followed that with a career-high 25 against Weber State in an 84-72 loss, making 9-of-17 shots from the field with a trio of 3-pointers made in four attempts. He also had six rebounds – five on the offensive end – and a pair of assists. He eclipsed his previous high of 19 versus South Dakota and Montana State in the 2017-18 season.
 
Peatling then scored 16 in a 65-55 win over Idaho State. He was 7-of-9 from the field and also had eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots against ISU. He had a key three-point play with 2:53 left to give EWU its biggest lead of the game at the time.
 
In his 74-game career (52 as a starter), he's averaged 7.0 points and 4.6 rebounds with a total of 61 assists, 56 blocks and 50 steals. He hit double figures in scoring 12 times in 2017-18 and 23 in his career thus far, and has had at least 10 rebounds seven times in his career, all during his sophomore season. He now has six double-doubles in his career after having five in the 2017-18 season.
 
Peatling put together a stretch of three-straight double-doubles in January of 2018 after re-joining the starting lineup mid-way through the season. He had the fourth double-double of the season and of his career with 19 points and 13 rebounds in an 84-79 win over Montana State on Feb. 17, 2018, then had his fifth with 11 points and 10 boards in Eastern's regular season finale versus Northern Arizona. His point total against the Bobcats was his career high at the time, and Eastern was 4-1 when he had a double-double.
 
He closed his sophomore campaign with five points, five rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal against Utah Valley in College Basketball Invitational. In three games in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, he scored 30 points and had 17 rebounds and four blocked shots. In a win over Northern Colorado on Jan. 27, 2018, he had 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, making 6-of-11 shots from the field and finishing with 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, 2018, then had 11-11 versus North Dakota on Jan. 25, 2018.
 
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, 2018, 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, 2017, and had 11 points and six rebounds one game earlier at San Francisco.
 
For the season, Peatling averaged 7.7 points in 31 games (26 as a starter), and averaged 5.6 rebounds (17th in the Big Sky) and 1.2 blocked shots per game (fifth). His averages were 8.7 points, 7.4 rebounds (seventh) and 1.5 blocks (fourth) in conference play.
 
 
Named to HoopsHD.Com Mid-Season All-Big Sky Team, Jesse Hunt Averaging 14.4 Points and 8.4 Rebounds With Six Double-Doubles
 
Senior Jesse Hunt has had had four 20-point outings this season, with six double-doubles to give him eight in his career. Recently he was selected to the HoopsHD.com mid-season All-Big Sky team after leading the Eagles in scoring and rebounding during the preseason.
 
He is currently averaging 14.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists on the season. He is second in the Big Sky in rebounding, ninth in scoring and eighth in assists. Hunt has shooting percentages of 47.8 percent overall and 46.4 percent from 3-point range (second in the Big Sky; 32-of-69).
 
He has opened league play with averages of 12.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists in nine games. In league games only, he is second in the Big Sky in 3-point accuracy (52.0 percent; 13-of-25). He has had 22 career double-figure scoring performances in his career to go along with 10 performances with 10 or more rebounds.
 
Hunt led the Eagles with 22 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in EWU's 94-92 overtime win at Sacramento State on Jan. 26, making 8-of-12 shots overall and 4-of-6 from the 3-point stripe. His rebounding total equaled the eighth-most in school history and exceeded by two his previous high. He also led the team in assists with six, blocks with one and steals with one.
 
He had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in an 85-81 win against Montana State, and 15 rebounds and eight points in a 78-71 victory over Montana on Jan. 10. He finished with eight points and career highs of 12 rebounds and eight assists while going against South Dakota State All-American Mike Daum on Dec. 18. In addition, Hunt scored 27 points in a December outing versus Stanford, making 9-of-15 shots from the floor and finishing with four rebounds.
 
Hunt had back-to-back double-doubles – including a 32-point outing in an EWU victory -- to earn All-Tournament honors at the Cheney Sub-Regional of the 2K Empire Classic Benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project. He then followed that performance by leading the Eagles with 15 points at Washington on Nov. 27, and had a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds at Seattle on Dec. 1.
 
He scored 15 of EWU's 22 points down the stretch en route to his second-straight double-double and give the Eagles an 87-80 victory over the University of Missouri Kansas City on Nov. 17 at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. In finishing with 32 points, he doubled his previous career high of 16 and achieved a new career high with 12 rebounds. Hunt hit a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime and his efforts also included two other baskets in the final 2:02 of regulation to provide most of EWU's offense down the stretch. He then scored eight of EWU's 18 points in overtime. He sank 12-of-16 shots from the field with a trio of 3-pointers, and also had four assists.
 
"Jesse was there and knocked down the shot," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans on his team getting to overtime. "Our guys spaced the floor and Jesse came up big. Jesse had a great game. For he and Ty (Gibson) to get 20 rebounds between them was huge."
 
One game earlier in a semifinal loss to Green Bay, Hunt finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, plus had three assists and a pair of blocked shots. In the two games, he averaged 23.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 blocked shots per game, while making 65.5 percent of his shots overall (19-of-29), 4-of-6 from the 3-point stripe and 5-of-9 free throws.
 
Hunt has played in 103 career games with 37 starts, and has averages of 5.7 points and 3.9 rebounds.
 
 
League Schedule Features 20 Games for the Third Time in League History
 
As expected, the 2018-19 schedule of games in the Big Sky Conference for the Eagles will have a few twists and turns. It includes 20 league games for the first time since the 2013-14 and 2012-13 seasons. Those were the only years in the league's 55-year history the schedule has included 20 conference games.
 
The departure of North Dakota left the league with 11 members, making for a challenge in scheduling 20 games for each team in a span of 11 weekends. Travel partners – such as Idaho paired with EWU – were retained as much as possible, but the "lone wolf" is always prevalent when scheduling an odd amount of teams.
 
Most notably, Eastern will play four games on Monday, including three at home at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.  The Eagles will also host Montana and Montana State in back-to-back games, but those will come nine days apart. However, the good news for the Eagles is that their road travel schedule is as good as could be expected. The lone Monday road game is at Northern Colorado -- four days after the Eagles play at nearby local rival Idaho.
 
"Scheduling 11 teams in a 20-game schedule is definitely a difficult task," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "But we are pleased with how it came out for us. It's definitely different playing on Mondays, but we'll embrace the challenges and fight to win the league title."
 
The Big Sky Conference Championship, which will take place in Boise, Idaho, for the next three years, is scheduled for March 13-16, 2019 at CenturyLink Arena.
 
 
Brackets Set for Big Sky Tourney in Boise
 
The move from Reno to Boise has also resulted in a change in the brackets for the 2019 Big Sky Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships presented by My Place Hotels. Tickets and lodging for the event are available now at: http://BigSkyinBoise.com.
 
The tournaments are set to take place March 11-16 at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho. Eastern's women's team could start as early as Monday, March 11, while the men wouldn't begin play until Wednesday, March 13, at the earliest. The women's tournament will be held March 11-15, while the men's championship will take place March 13-16. The tournament champions will receive automatic berths to the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.
 
For the fourth-straight season, all Big Sky members will compete in the conference tournament with the field featuring 11 teams for both the men and women in 2019. The top five teams in the final regular season standings will earn a bye to the quarterfinal round of the Big Sky Championship. The six-day event will be held in the state of Idaho for the first time since 1994 when former Big Sky member Boise State served as the championship host.
 
The three first round games of the Big Sky women's championship will start Monday afternoon before four quarterfinal matchups follow on Tuesday for the women. A five-game Wednesday slate features a trio of men's first round games, leading up to the women's semifinals in the evening. 
 
The men's tourney continues Thursday with the quarterfinals. Friday's action consists of the women's championship game, which will air on Eleven Sports, while the men's semifinals follow that night. The week-long event wraps up Saturday with the men's championship game on ESPNU at 5 p.m. Pacific time.
 
CenturyLink Arena is a 5,300-seat facility located in downtown Boise that has been the home of the Idaho Steelheads hockey team since opening in 1997. The arena hosts an average of 100 events annually and has welcomed over 5.5 million attendees in 20 years. It also hosts numerous concerts, trade shows, and conventions each year. CenturyLink Arena is attached to the Grove Hotel, Boise's only four-diamond hotel.
 
The 2019 championship will be the fourth neutral site basketball championship in the Big Sky's history after holding the event in Reno, Nevada, the previous three seasons.
 
To stay up-to-date with the Big Sky Conference, follow us on Facebook at /BigSkyConf or on Instagram and Twitter @BigSkyConf. Fans can also follow Big Sky men's and women's basketball on Twitter, @BigSkyMBB and @BigSkyWBB.

 
Next Basketball Coaches on Jan. 28
 
Basketball Coaches Shows take place at Barrelhouse Pub and Pizza in downtown Cheney throughout the 2018-19 season. Barrelhouse Pub and Pizza is located at 122 College Ave. in Cheney, and the public is always invited to attend the shows live. Remaining shows are on 1/28, 2/11, 2/25, 3/4 and 3/11 (if travel to Big Sky Tournament permits). There are no shows on 2/4 and 2/18 because of EWU games those days.
 
The shows begin at 6 p.m. and will feature men's head coach Shantay Legans, with special guests including head women's coach Wendy Schuller. Players and assistant coaches from both the men's and women's programs will be featured on the shows.
 
Hosted by veteran Eagle radio play-by-play announcer Larry Weir, the shows may be heard on 700-AM ESPN, 105.3-FM, tunein.com and via Tunein's mobile phone app (search for Eastern Washington). EWU football and men's basketball games may also be heard via those methods.
 
 
 
 
 

Series Notes

 
* Eastern has won 10 of the last 13 versus Northern Arizona, but trails in the all-time series versus NAU 33-36 (10-23 in Flagstaff, 21-12 in Cheney, 2-1 neutral). Eastern has won the last seven meetings in Cheney dating back to a 73-69 loss on Jan. 15, 2010. The only meeting before Eastern became a member of NCAA Division I was an 84-80 NAU victory on Dec. 20, 1969, in Fresno, Calif. Eastern is 3-1 in the Big Sky Conference Tournament versus NAU, winning 74-52 in the 2016 first round; 71-59 in the 2004 championship game in Cheney; and 58-53 in the 2001 semifinals. Eastern also fell 82-65 in the 2000 semifinals in Missoula.
 
* Last season in Cheney, Bogdan Bliznyuk set a new NCAA Division I record for single season consecutive free throws made as the Eagles closed the regular season with an 85-68 victory over Northern Arizona on March 3, 2018, 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. That gave him 74 consecutive free throws made dating back to EWU's game at North Dakota on Dec. 31, breaking the NCAA Division I single season record of 73 (the career record is 85). Eastern used a 17-4 run in the first half to open a double-digit lead, and used a 9-0 advantage in 3-pointers to lead 38-25 at halftime. Eastern finished with a season-high 16 3-pointers as the Eagles led by as many as 23 in the second half. Bliznyuk finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists, and Mason Peatling also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jack Perry had a career-high 18 points, making 6-of-9 3-point attempts. Senior Sir Washington and Jacob Davison were also in double figures with 13 and 14, respectively.
 
* Last year in Flagstaff, an 18-0 first half run helped open an early 28-point lead, but the Eagles needed every little bit of that advantage to lead from start-to-finish and edge Northern Arizona 81-76 Jan. 18, 2018. Senior Bogdan Bliznyuk made all 16 of his free throws and scored 28 points, while Jack Perry and Ty Gibson hit big baskets in the last 1:06 to help EWU win for the sixth time in its last eight games. The Eagles, who didn't practice the day prior because of travel delays leaving Spokane, were fresh in the first half, but had to hold on for dear life after that. The Eagles used an 18-0 run – all on 3-pointers by five different players – to jump out to an early 29-7 lead. The Eagles led by as many as 28 in the first half and 21 at halftime, but Northern Arizona roared back. The lead was down to 12 less than four minutes into the half and by single digits just a few minutes after that. But the Eagles never gave up their lead, as Bliznyuk made 10-of-10 free throws in a 6 1/2-minute stretch. Perry hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:06 left to put the Eagles up by four, then Gibson sank a reverse layup – only EWU's second 2-point field goal of the half -- with 28 ticks left. Bliznyuk closed out the win with four free throws in the final six seconds. Cody Benzel made five 3-pointers to finish with 16 points, and Eastern sank 15-of-23 3-pointers in the game for a season-high 65.2 percent. Eastern had 10 in the first half alone as EWU came just five from the school record of 20. Perry added 11 points with a trio of 3-pointers and also had three steals, three rebounds and a pair of assists.
 
 
* Eastern has now won 10 of the last 13 meetings against MSU, including an 84-79 Eagle victory at home in 2018 and an 85-81 victory earlier this season in Cheney. Prior to that, EWU lost to the Bobcats 91-90 in overtime on Jan. 28, 2017, in Bozeman. Eastern has won 20 of the last 32, and is 12-3 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 41-45 all-time against MSU, including a 33-36 record as a member of NCAA Division I (23-12 in Cheney, 10-24 in Bozeman). The records include two MSU forfeits in the 1993-94 season.
 
 * Earlier this season in Cheney, a season-best 57.9 shooting percentage from the floor helped EWU hold off Montana State 85-81 on Jan. 19 in a Big Sky Conference showdown at Reese Court. The Eagles led for the final 24:47 of the game, and had its second-best point total of the season against a NCAA Division I opponent. After having a full eight days off between games, the Eagles sank half of its shots for the first time this season and finished with 12 3-pointers. The Eagles sank 52.9 percent of its 3-points shots and 48.0 percent overall to knock off preseason favorite Montana 78-71 on Jan. 10 in their last outing. Sophomore Jacob Davison led four Eagles in double figures with 23 points, and senior Jesse Hunt had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Tyler Kidd had a career-best 17 points – 15 of them in the first half – and junior Mason Peatling added 13. Montana State's Tyler Hall scored 26 against the Eagles to take over as the leader in the 56-year history of the league, passing the 2,169 Eastern's Bogdan Bliznyuk held for less than a year (316 total days). With Hall scoring 19 first-half points, the Bobcats led much of the first half before Eastern's defense forced MSU to miss seven of nine shots. That enabled the Eagles to take the lead for good at the 4:47 mark, then 43-37 with 1:19 left in the half on a 3-pointer by Davison. In the second half, Eastern used an 8-3 run with 3-pointers by Kim Aiken Jr. and Hunt to lead 63-53 with 14:06 to play. A 9-0 MSU run made it a nip-and-tuck affair the rest of the game, with MSU's Keljin Blevins missing a potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds. Despite the long layoff, Eastern made 17 of its first 27 shots for a blistering 63 percent, and went on to out-shoot MSU 57.9 percent to 46.0 percent. The Eagles finished 12-of-26 from the 3-point stripe for 46.2 percent, compared to 9-of-22 (40.9 percent) for the Bobcats. Eastern was out-scored in points off turnovers 18-5 and second-chance points 14-8, but still out-rebounded the Bobcats 34-31.
 
 
* Eastern is 23-51 against the Grizzlies since becoming a member of NCAA Division I in 1983-84, including a 10-27 record in Missoula, 13-21 in Cheney and 0-3 on neutral courts. Montana leads the overall series 68-44. The Eagles triumphed the last two times 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). However, Eastern has lost 23 of the last 31 meetings against the Griz. EWU is 1-5 versus the Griz in the Big Sky Tournament. Besides losing 82-65 in the 2018 title game and beating UM in 2015, EWU also 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.
 
Earlier this season in Cheney, six Eagles scored or rebounded in double figures to lift Eastern past preseason Big Sky Conference favorite Montana 78-71 on Jan. 10 as EWU returned home to Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.  A 20-3 run on perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the line spanning halftime helped the Eagles overcome an early 11-point deficit and take a 10-point. Eastern had a season-best shooting night by making 52.9 percent of its 3-pointers (9-of-17) and 48.0 percent overall. Junior Mason Peatling paced the Eagles with 17 points in just 20 minutes of action because of foul trouble, with junior Tyler Kidd making his first start as an Eagle and finishing with 13 points, five assists and four rebounds. Sophomore Jacob Davison had 11 points and senior Jesse Hunt had a career-high 15 rebounds to go along with eight points. Sophomore Jack Perry came off the bench to hit all four of his shots to finish with a season-high 12, and redshirt freshman Kim Aiken Jr. had a career-high 10, also off the bench. Eastern finished with a 26-9 advantage in points off the bench. Montana led for the first 15 1/2 minutes, and took a comfortable 28-17 advantage with 4:28 left in the half. But Eastern went on a monster 15-1 run to lead 32-29 at intermission. Five players scored in the run, including four by Peatling, three by Perry, four free throws by Kidd and a pair by Aiken, with Hunt closing the half with a bucket. The Eagles then scored five of the first seven points in the second half – coming on a three-point play by Peatling and a fastbreak layin by Davison -- to complete the 20-3 run, The Grizzlies had just one field goal in a 6:22 span, going 1-of-6 from the field while EWU made all six of its shots from the field and all six of its free throws. Eastern's lead ballooned to 10 on a 3-pointer by Aikin with 10:32 to play. Eastern then stayed steady by making 52 percent of its shots overall and 5-of-9 3-pointers in the second half, as well as 13-of-17 free throws for 76.5 percent.
 
 
* In the 2018 Big Sky Conference Tournament Championship Game, a turnaround in the second half helped Montana defeat Eastern 82-65 in EWU's seventh Big Sky Conference Tournament championship game in school history March 10, 2018, at the Reno (Nevada) Events Center.  The Eagles led 40-29 at halftime thanks to 53.3 percent shooting that included 8-of-13 from the 3-point line – a sizzling 61-5 percent. But Eastern sank only 37.5 percent in the second half – 1-of-11 from the arc – and was outscored 53-25. Montana made 59 percent its shots in the game and 65 percent in the second half, using a collective 28-4 run in a 10-minute span to not only overcome a seven-point EWU lead, but take a 17-point lead itself. Eastern's Bogdan Bliznyuk was held to 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, but he still earned All-Tournament honors for the Eagles after setting single tournament records for points (82), field goals (31) and field goal attempts (46). Jacob Davison scored 11 first-half points and finished with a team-high 16, and matched Bliznyuk with a team-high seven rebounds. Mason Peatling had 15 points and four rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting. Jack Perry chipped in nine points. Eastern finished the game at 45.8 percent overall and 39.1 percent from the 3-point stripe (9-of-23). In its first two games in the tourney, Eastern made a combined 57-of-98 shots overall (58.2 percent) and 14-of-25 (56.0 percent) from the 3-point stripe.
 

  

 

More Player Notes

 
Sharpshooting Duo Climbs EWU Three-Point Charts
 
Senior guards Cody Benzel and Ty Gibson have both played in more than 100 games for the Eagles, with current totals of 121 (sixth in school history) and 116 (10th) games of experience, respectively. Jesse Hunt is right behind with 103 games played.
 
Both Benzel and Gibson are three-point threats -- Benzel ranks fifth in school history with 183 3-pointers and Gibson is 11th with 135. Benzel is now just one 3-pointer away from moving into a tie with Marc Axton on EWU's all-time leaders list (184 from 2002-05). Benzel is shooting at a 40.3 percent clip from the 3-point arc to rank 12th all-time at EWU and Gibson is just out of the top 16 in school history with 38.7 percent accuracy. Sophomore Jack Perry is currently 13th on the percentage list at 40.1 percent.
 
Benzel has started 39 games in his career, averaging 14.6 minutes and 5.1 points (6.6 as a junior and 6.3 thus far as a senior) per game. He had his third performance in his career of 20 points or more when he finished with 23 in a 92-73 victory over Corban on Dec. 21. He sank 7-of-13 3-pointers to equal his career high, and came just two points from his best scoring output as an Eagle of 25 points. He also had a pair of steals.
 
Gibson has started 46 career games and has a 4.4 scoring average (6.3 as a junior and 3.7 this season) in an average of 17.3 minutes per game. After playing sparingly in EWU's first two games because of an injury, he scored 12 versus Green Bay and 16 against UMKC on back-to-back nights at home in December. He scored eight points in his next game, but had only seven points in the next seven games and was mired in a 1-of-14 slump shooting 3-pointers heading into EWU's second conference game of the season versus Idaho State on Dec. 31. But he responded with his first double-figure scoring performance since Nov. 17, finishing with 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the 3-point stripe and making both of his free throws. He followed that with another trio of 3-pointers to finish with 11 points at Idaho.
 
Add in BYU transfer Steven Beo, and the Eagles will have four proven top-notch shooters in the league. Beo played in 31 games as a freshman for BYU in 2016-17 after averaging 27.7 points as a junior and 26.7 as a senior at Richland (Wash.) High School. He made his Eagle debut at San Francisco on Dec. 13 and made 1-of-2 3-point attempts, and then started his first game as an Eagle on Dec. 18 versus South Dakota State. Sidelined much of this season with an injury, he has played in three games thus far, making 1-of-3 treys in an average of 6.7 minutes per game.
 
Benzel and Gibson, as well as forward Jesse Hunt, were named to the NABC Honors Court for the 2017-18 school year. Gibson is majoring in professional accounting, and has a 3.99 GPA at EWU after graduating from Issaquah (Wash.) HS in 2015. Benzel is a 2014 graduate of Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., and has a 3.19 GPA as a marketing major. Hunt has a 3.57 GPA as a management major, and is formerly from Australia and graduated from Sir Francis Drake HS in California in 2015. Gibson and Hunt have also all earned Big Sky All-Academic.
 
Eastern had a 3.54 grade point average as a team in fall quarter of 2018, with a current accumulative team GPA of 3.61.
 
 
Vulikic Back After Injury-Shortened 2017-18 Season
 
Sophomore Luka Vulikic started Eastern's first eight games at point guard in the 2017-18 season before a foot ailment resulted in him redshirting. He's back in the 2018-19 season and in 19 games played (14 as a starter) he has averaged 5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He scored 18 in his first five games (3.6 average), but has had four double figure scoring performances since then, and did not play versus Corban on Dec. 21.
 
He scored a career-high 18 points against Seattle on Dec. 1, sinking 7-of-12 shots from the floor and 4-of-6 free throws. His previous career high was 12 set twice, including Nov. 22, 2016, versus Seattle when he also had 11 rebounds. He had a career-high 10 assists at North Dakota State on Dec. 8. In his 58-game career (44 as a starter), Vulikic is averaging 4.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
 
In the eight games he played in 2017-18, he averaged 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in an average of 25.6 minutes per game. That came after a freshman season in which he started 22 of 32 games and averaged 2.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists.
 
A bout of planter fasciitis plagued the Serbian, and it was announced in February of 2018 that Vulikic would redshirt as an injury hardship. He scored in double figures three times in the eight games he played, scoring 10 points each versus Walla Walla (11/10/17) in the team's opener, at Washington (11/12/17) and then Utah (11/24/17). He had a career-high seven assists versus the Utes in a game he also had five rebounds.
 
 
Pair of Sophomores Contribute Significantly as Freshmen Last Season
 
Sophomore Jacob Davison missed EWU's first two games in 2018-19 because of an injury, but returned to play versus Green Bay and UMKC on Nov. 16 and Nov. 17, respectively. He had an 11-point performance in his season debut, then scored eight points and had two assists in the next game.
 
Through 18 games thus far he is averaging 13.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists while ranking fifth in the Big Sky in free throw percentage (83.9 percent; 47-of-56). In his 52-game career (22 as a starter), he's averaged 9.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists while sinking 83.7 percent of his free throws (108-of-129).
 
Five times this season he's scored at least 20 points, including three of his last four games and 19 in a 94-92 overtime win over Sacramento State. He had career-high 26 points at Portland State on Jan. 24, sinking 10-of-21 shots with three 3-pointers. He scored 23 with three assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots versus Montana State on Jan. 19. He scored what was then a career-high 25 points versus North Dakota State on Dec. 8, sinking 11-of-19 shots from the floor with a trio of 3-pointers. He had 20, with four 3-pointers, five rebounds and three assists, against South Dakota State on Dec. 18.
 
Davison played significantly as a redshirt freshman a year ago. He made the first start of his career at Seattle on Dec. 3 and started seven-straight games. He came off the bench in the last 21 and averaged 7.1 points on the season. His debut season ended with seven points, a career-high four steals and three rebounds in EWU's loss to Utah Valley in the College Basketball Invitational. He scored 41 points and had 14 rebounds in three Big Sky Tournament games, including 16 in both the semifinals and championship game. He scored in double figures seven times in his last 13 games, including 14 points in EWU's regular season finale versus Northern Arizona and 17 at Weber State on Feb. 22. He scored 15 at Utah on Nov. 24, 2017, 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, 2017, and had 11 one game earlier versus UNLV.
 
Sophomore Jack Perry started EWU's last 27 games as a true freshman in 2017-18, and scored in double figures in four of his last nine games. So far in 2018-19 he has started 11 of 18 games and has averaged 4.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. His 40.1 percent accuracy from 3-point range in his career currently ranks 13th on EWU's career leaders list. He's played 53 total games as an Eagle (39 as a starter) and has averaged 5.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Against Montana on Jan. 10 in a 78-71 Eagle win, Perry hit all four of his 3-point attempts to finish with 12 points.
 
As a freshman, he had a career-high 18-point performance against Northern Arizona on March 3, 2018, in which he made a career-high six 3-pointers in nine attempts, then followed that with 14 points in EWU's quarterfinal win in the Big Sky Tournament. He also had a 15-point performance against Idaho State on Feb. 24, 2018, with five 3-pointers, and a career-high eight rebounds at Weber State one game earlier on Feb. 22. On the season he averaged 6.8 points and 2.4 assists per game while making 45.1 percent from the field and 56-of-130 3-pointers (43.1 percent to rank sixth in the Big Sky). His clutch 3-pointer with 15 seconds left helped clinch EWU's 81-74 win over Portland State on Jan. 4, 2018, then he hit another clutch trey with 1:06 left in EWU's 81-76 victory against Northern Arizona on Jan. 18, 2018.
 
 
Five Eagles Made Eagle Debuts Versus Syracuse
 
Four Eagles, including redshirt freshman Kim Aiken Jr. as a starter, made their collegiate debuts when Eastern played at Syracuse on Nov. 6. For Aiken, it was the first start of his career in his Eagle debut, finishing with five points. Aiken, however, scored just 19 points in the next 10 games he played until coming off the bench to score a season-high 11 on 3-of-5 shooting from the field with a pair of 3-pointers in a 78-71 victory over Montana on Jan. 10, 2019. He scored eight more on 3-of-3 shooting from the field against Montana State on Jan. 19. Then, helping fill-in for injured starter Mason Peatling, Aiken made 8-of-10 shots from the field and 4-of-5 from the 3-point stripe to finish with 24 points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots and a pair of steals in an 82-79 win over Southern Utah on Feb. 2.
 
Coming off the bench in EWU's season opener were redshirt freshman Tanner Groves and true freshmen Elijah Jackson and Austin Fadal. All three scored their first points and had their first rebounds of their careers as Eagles, as did junior college transfer Tyler Kidd. A redshirt last season after transferring from Skagit Valley Community College, Kidd made 3-of-8 shots from the field – including 3-of-5 3-pointers – to finish with a team-high nine points. He also had a pair of rebounds, an assist and a steal. Against Oregon one game later, Groves and Jackson both made their first 3-pointers as Eagles.
 
Besides Aiken, the rest of EWU's starting lineup against Syracuse included seniors Ty Gibson and Jesse Hunt, as well as sophomores Luka Vulikic and Jack Perry. Eastern played without three players – Mason Peatling, Jacob Davison and Steven Beo – plus Gibson played just eight minutes after suffering an injury in the first half. Gibson did not play versus Oregon and was replaced in the lineup by Cody Benzel, who finished with a team-high 16 points.
 
Kidd has continued to provide a spark for the Eagles – first off the bench and now as a starter. He is averaging 12.1 points and 3.6 assists in league play (8.4 and 2.4 overall), while scoring in double figures in eight of the last 10 games.  Currently he leads the Big Sky in free throw shooting at 89.5 percent (34-of-38) and is ninth in 3-point shooting at 40.9 percent (18-of-44). In league games only, he is fourth in the league in free throw shooting (88.2 percent, 30-of-34) and seventh in assists (3.6). Kidd scored a career-high 20 points with four assists in EWU's 94-92 overtime win at Sacramento State on Jan. 26, and had 17 against Montana State on Jan. 19. He scored 12 in EWU's league opener against Weber State on Dec. 29 and had 10 versus Northern Colorado on Jan. 7. In his first start as an Eagle, he scored 13 points with five assists and four rebounds in a 78-71 win over Montana on Jan. 10, 2019.
 
Aiken averaged 25.3 points and 11.5 rebounds as a high school senior in the 2016-17 season, and scored 1,730 points (18.4 per game) and had 1,038 rebounds (11.0) in his career. Groves earned All-State honors while at nearby Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash., and averaged 18.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 blocked shots as a senior. Kidd earned all-defensive honors in the Northwest Athletic Conference and averaged 14.1 points as a sophomore at Skagit Valley Community College.
 
Jackson is out of Chief Sealth High School in Seattle, earning All-Metro League honors as a senior, then winning the long jump and triple jump at the 2018 State 3A Championships. He had high school bests of 23-6 in the long jump, 46-4 3/4 in the triple jump and 6-6 in the high jump. Those marks would have all placed in the top 12 at the Big Sky Conference Championships in 2018.
 
Fadal averaged over 18 points and six assists in his high school career, but a knee injury in December of his senior season ended his high school career. He then played one season at Hillcrest Prep in Arizona where he was one of the eight finalists nationwide for the National Prep Hoops Offensive Post-Graduate/Prep School Player of the Year.
 
 
Eagles Add Trio as Letter of Intent Signees
 
Eastern signed in November a trio of players – including the brother of a current member of the team – to letters of intent to attend EWU and play basketball for the Eagles next year. The players signed include 6-7 guard/forward Jacob Groves, whose brother Tanner Groves is a redshirt freshman for the Eagles. Jacob is currently a senior at Shadle Park High School in nearby Spokane, Wash., and Tanner graduated from the school in 2017. The other players signed are 6-6 guard/forward Tyler Robertson from Melbourne, Australia, a member of his country's Australian national youth teams, and Abdullahi Mohamed, a 6-foot-8 power forward from West Seattle High School.
 
Groves averaged over 16 points and seven rebounds per game as a junior at Shadle Park, making 60 percent from the field overall and 47 percent from the 3-point stripe. He scored a season-high 26 points and hit six 3-pointers in a 53-51 win over Kellogg (Idaho) High School.
 
 "Jacob has continued to improve his long-range shooting stroke, and he is growing into his 6-7 frame," said Legans. "He's a home-grown student-athlete, and it will be very exciting to see Tanner and Jacob play side-by-side for the Eagles over the next few years."
 
A 3.8 student in high school, he has volunteered at the Washington Family Ranch and participated in highway clean-ups. He intends on majoring in education at EWU and has an interest in becoming a physical education teacher. His parents are Randy and Tara Groves, and he also has another brother named Dylynn.
 
 "He's also had great success in the classroom and community," added Legans. "He has had a terrific career at Shadle Park and has made great strides while showing tremendous growth as a player. He has a very unique combination of size and skill, and has a great shooting touch that gives him the ability to become a prolific 3-point threat in the Big Sky. His skill level on the court, combined with his IQ and toughness, is going to make him a major contributor."
 
 "Having Jake join his brother Tanner here at EWU next year is going to be a great fit, both on the floor and in the locker room," Legans said. "We've had some amazing shooters from Spokane lately with Parker Kelly and Cody Benzel, and Jake fits that mold perfectly. He is one of the best shooters in the state and with his size, that should translate very well to the college level."
 
Robertson played on his country's FIBA U18 team last summer, and has been part of the State and National high performance programs since 2014. He helped Australia national teams win championships at the 2017 U17 Oceania Championship and the 2018 U18 Asia Cup, while helping Australia qualify for the World Championships in 2019. Robertson also played on a team representing the state of Victoria for four years, helping the team win a silver in 2015 (as vice-captain) and gold in 2016, 2017 (as captain) and 2018. He'll be with the team as well in February of 2019.
 
"Tyler is going to be a tremendous addition to our family," said Legans. "He is joining a long line of Aussies from Melbourne in our program and will make his mark as an exceptional playmaker and shooter. His size, skill, and versatility is going to make him a matchup nightmare in our league."
 
Robertson has played 12 years of club basketball starting when he was 6-years-old. He played five years for the Dandenong Rangers, the same club several other Eagles have played on in the past, including current Eagle Jack Perry. In 2016, 2017 and 2018 he played in the Victorian Youth Championship League for Dandenong, serving as team co-captain in 2018. He played in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) in 2017 & 2018 for Dandenong under the coaching of Darren Perry.
 
His school team has won the Champions Cup the past four years as the top team in the state of Victoria. He played for Rowville Secondary in 2015 and with Box Hill Senior Secondary in 2016, 2017 & 2018. The 2017 Box Hill team won the Australian School Championship.
 
Mohamed averaged over 15 points and nine rebounds per game as a junior at West Seattle, and was also a factor on the defensive side of the ball. He was born and raised in West Seattle, and will graduate in 2019.
 
 "We are excited to welcome Abdul to the program," said Legans. "Some of the best players in EWU history have come from West Seattle and we're excited to have a one of Abdul's caliber come play here. Abdul has big goals both on and off the basketball court and will fit right in with our culture."
 
"Abdullahi has an extremely high basketball IQ, which is why he is going to fit in perfectly with our family here at Eastern Washington," said Legans, who has begun his second year at the helm of the Eagles program. "His skill level on the court, combined with his intelligence and toughness, is going to make him a major contributor in the years to come. Abdullahi has also set his goals high in academics."
 
He enjoys volunteering with neighborhood children, and has a 3.0 grade point average. He tutors his classmates and teammates in math and science, and hopes to major in engineering at EWU.
 
"Abdullahi excels on and off the court, and has consistently done well in the classroom," added Legans. "He is known as a leader on the court, but his ability to lead off the court and set an example in the classroom has been most impressive. Abdullahi has very lofty goals for his future and has said how he wants to rebuild East Africa and bring stability to that country by providing youth with tools to further develop its economy."
 
His parents are Bashir Mohamed and Burhan Farah, and he has three brothers (Abdirahim, Ahmed and Yusuf), and a sister (Fatuma), who he closely mentors in basketball as well. His father has been in Somalia for the past 2 1/2 years taking care of his elderly mother. Abdullahi's mother works three different jobs to provide for her family, and also makes a huge impact on the African community in Seattle public schools.
 
 
 

More Team Notes

 
Eastern Picked Fourth in Big Sky Preseason Polls
 
Montana is the consensus favorite, but the Grizzlies are just one of several league championship contenders Eastern will face in the 2018-19 season. The Eagles were picked to finish fourth behind defending champion Montana, Weber State and Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Conference preseason polls announced on Oct. 18 by the league office. Eastern received 261 votes in the media poll to trail Northern Colorado by 19, and were 67 tallies ahead of Montana State. The coaches had Eastern seven points behind UNC and eight points ahead of No. 5 Portland State.
 
"The Big Sky will be good again – it's really talented from top to bottom," said second-year EWU coach Shantay Legans. "So it's going to be a fight for us."
 
Montana was a unanimous choice to repeat as champs, receiving 33 of 35 first-place votes in the media poll and all but one of the votes cast by the coaches. Picking up the other first-place votes and ranking second in both polls was perennial Big Sky power Weber State.
 
"Montana is the favorite because they have most of their players back," said Legans. "And Weber State is also bringing back some guys and has some good, young players coming in. Northern Colorado should be right at the top again, and Montana State has Tyler Hall so they'll be a challenge."
 
Big Sky foe Montana won't the only league favorites the Eagles will face. In their respective preseason polls in their leagues, Oregon (Pac-12) and South Dakota State (The Summit League) have been picked to win titles. Syracuse (Atlantic Coast Conference) under veteran head coach Jim Boeheim will be among the favorites after its run to the NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16" a year ago.
 
 
Big Sky Conference Preseason Rankings
 
Media Poll (Rank – Team – Points): 1. Montana - 383 (33); 2. Weber State - 346 (2); 3. Northern Colorado – 280; 4. Eastern Washington – 261; 5. Montana State – 194; 6. Idaho – 192; 7. Portland State – 189; 8. Idaho State – 176; 9. Southern Utah – 128; 10. Sacramento State – 115; 11. Northern Arizona – 46. First place votes in parenthesis
 
Coaches Poll (Rank – Team – Points): 1. Montana - 100 (10); 2. Weber State - 90 (1); 3. Northern Colorado – 70; 4. Eastern Washington – 63; 5. Portland State – 55; t6. Montana State – 53; t6. Southern Utah – 53; 8. Idaho State – 50; 9. Idaho – 34; 10. Sacramento State – 27; 11. Northern Arizona – 10. First place votes in parenthesis
 
 
Preseason Schedule Included Teams from Seven Different Conferences
 
It has already been another year of challenges, as Eastern played a total of 11 non-conference games – four at home and seven on the road – prior to the start of Big Sky Conference play on Dec. 29.
 
Eastern opened the year by suffering a pair of season-opening losses to nationally-ranked opponents in the first of two preliminary games of the 2K Empire Classic. Eastern fell 66-34 to Syracuse on Nov. 6 before falling to Oregon 81-47 three nights later. The Ducks, the favorite to win the Pac-12 Conference title, were ranked 14th in the Associated Press preseason poll and 16th in the USA Today Coaches rankings. The Orange, which advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament a year ago, entered the EWU game ranked 16th and 14th, respectively.
 
In all, Eastern's non-conference schedule included teams from seven different conferences – ACC, Pac-12, Horizon, Ohio Valley, Western Athletic, Summit and the West Coast. The 11 non-conference opponents EWU played combined for a 194-149 overall record last season, and were 86-78 in their respective leagues.
 
Along with Syracuse, South Dakota State also advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished 28-7 after winning the Summit League title with a 13-1 record. Washington, Stanford and Oregon all played in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), winning first-round games before bowing out in the second round.
 
Seattle and San Francisco joined EWU in the 2018 CBI. Both Eastern and the Redhawks – coached by former Eagle head coach Jim Hayford – fell in the first round. But the Dons advanced all the way to the championship series versus North Texas where USF won 72-62 in the opener but lost 69-55 and 88-77 in the next two games.
 
In all, 10 of EWU's 21 NCAA Division opponents appeared in postseason NCAA Division I Tournaments. Montana represented the Big Sky in the NCAA Tournament, while Portland State and Northern Colorado both played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
 
 
Eastern Honored For Fifth-Straight Year by the NABC for Academics
 
For the fifth consecutive year, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team has been honored with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award announced July 11, 2018. The award was won by 184 colleges and universities for having a team cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and above for the 2017-18 season. Teams in NCAA Division I, II, II and NAIA Division I and II were eligible.
 
Eastern, Gonzaga and Seattle were the only NCAA Division I schools in the state of Washington to be honored, and were joined by Seattle Pacific from NCAA Division II. Eastern, Idaho State and Sacramento State were the only Big Sky Conference schools to be recognized.
 
Eastern had a 3.54 grade point average as a team in fall quarter of 2018, with a current accumulative team GPA of 3.61.
 
"We have and always will make academics a priority within our program," said second-year head coach Shantay Legans, who also spent eight seasons as an Eagle assistant coach. "Our players continue to take care of business in the classroom and on the court, and are setting the bar high for our next group of newcomers."
 
Players on EWU's 2017-18 team included Academic All-America nominee, Big Sky MVP and four-time league All-Academic selection Bogdan Bliznyuk. Others on the team who won Big Sky All-Academic accolades were Cody Benzel, Ty Gibson, Benas Griciunas, Jesse Hunt, Mason Peatling and Jack Perry. Other members of the squad included Sir Washington, Jesse Hunt, Jacob Davison, Richard Polanco, Grant Gibb and Joshua Thomas, with Luka Vulikic, Steven Beo, Kim Aiken Jr., Tanner Groves, Brendan Howard and Tyler Kidd redshirting.
 
 
Big Sky-Best Six Eagles on 2017-18 NABC Honors Court
 
Six Eastern Washington University men's basketball players – the most in the Big Sky Conference – have been honored on the 2017-18 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court announced on July 17, 2018.
 
Graduated forward Bogdan Bliznyuk is a repeat winner, and joined fellow senior Benas Griciunas on the squad. The remainder were underclassmen -- Cody Benzel, Ty Gibson, Jesse Hunt and Grant Gibb.
 
"We are very proud of those players," said Eagle head coach Shantay Legans. "To lead the league in the number of selections receiving this honor is a tribute to the hard work our players put into being true student-athletes, and the emphasis our program, athletic department and university put towards academics."
 
The six selections were the most EWU has had a single season, bettering the four the Eagles had in the 2014-15 school year. Of the 22 selections in school history, 20 of them have come in the six seasons starting in 2012-13. Besides Bliznyuk, repeat winners have included Venky Jois, Tyler Harvey, Daniel Hill and Julian Harrell.
 
The Honors Court recognizes those men's collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the past season. The NABC Honors Court recognizes the talents and gifts that these men possess off the court and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom.  To qualify, the recipients must have junior or senior standing academically, and have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the 2017-18 academic year. They must have also matriculated at least one year at their current institution.
 
NABC Honors Court Recipients: 2017-18 - Cody Benzel, Bogdan Bliznyuk, Grant Gibb, Ty Gibson, Benas Griciunas, Jesse Hunt; 2016-17 - Bogdan Bliznyuk, Julian Harrell, Mario Soto; 2015-16 - Julian Harrell, Venky Jois; 2014-15 - Tyler Harvey, Daniel Hill, Venky Jois, Fred Jorg; 2013-14 - Tyler Harvey, Daniel Hill, Martin Seiferth; 2012-13 - Jordan Hickert, Kevin Winford; 2008-09 - Andy Genao, Benny Valentine.
 
 
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 in his first season at the helm were 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. 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, he was married on May 10, 2014, to former Eastern women's basketball player Tatjana Sparavalo. Their daughter, Zola Lee, was born June 16, 2016, and their son, Maksim (Mak) Lee, was born March 23, 2018.
 
 
 
 

More Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .

 
On Southern Utah Win: "It was a great home win -- the environment was fun today. It's huge to be 5-4, and being above .500 says a lot."
 
On Aiken: "He stepped in and played terrific basketball. It's been brewing – we have been able to see him in practice and he has a lot of confidence. But freshmen go through highs and lows. I'm excited for him – he followed the game plan and was unbelievable. He kept going and playing – shooting and rebounding. He did everything he possibly could. And to hold (Southern Utah's) Andre Adams to four points big-time. That is bigger than the 24 points and 11 rebounds."
 
On Sac State Win: "The character of our players shined through to get a two-point win after all of the momentum Sac State had going to overtime. We told them in the locker room that the hardest one to win is your first road win. Tonight the guys came out and deserved it -- they played hard. We stuck with it and were mentally tough. It was a fun game, Sacramento State stuck with it and fought and battled."
 
On Overcoming Adversity: "It's huge, we've been on the other side of that this year. To do this on the road is hard, so we had to stick with it and be tough mentally and physically. We beat them on the glass and they beat teams on the glass all the time, so to see that was huge. When you're able to have our team play the way that they did, I couldn't be a prouder coach."
 
On MSU Win: "To see the hard work by our players and staff pay off makes me happy as a coach t was huge the way we came out and played offensively – we haven't really had an offensive game like that. I know it's in us because we have a lot of good offensive players. Seeing that payoff is big-time. Our guys stayed focused and tough. Those nine days between games really helped us get a good feel for each other. We are doing things now we should have been doing in October and early November. The preseason for me is to see what guys can do when competition is there. We want to find out if players are ready, but when you play guys out of position like we were because of injuries, it's hard to get a good feel for that. It's important to see players in the correct positions and understanding shot selection. As they understand their roles we've seen the percentages go up."
 
On Montana Victory:  "It's amazing when the ball goes in you win. We did a good job and our assistant coaches did an amazing job of getting our guys prepared for the game. With such a short turnaround, they worked tirelessly. I'm just happy that our guys were accepting to the game plan and stuck with it the whole time. It's nice to come away with a win at home in front of such a great crowd. We heard all the cheers for the football team and our guys got pumped up from that. It's an awesome feeling to see the joy on the bench and in the locker room after the game. They are proud and they can stick their chest out. That was one of our better defensive games of the year. I know they shot 48 percent from the field, but when they attempted threes our guys were contesting every single shot. We need to be able to do that and play as hard as possible."
 
On Kim Aiken: "He's been amazing. He started the first two games of his career against big-time teams and probably lost a little bit of confidence and got down on himself like freshmen do. He got put on the scout team but kicked butt every single day. We needed Kim against Montana and knew he would fight and rebound. The energy he brought was amazing, and he shot the ball well. He puts in so much work, and once everybody leaves the gym he'll come out and shoot like he always does. I tell you, he's going to be the president of the university before he leaves here. He's an unbelievable young man and we're lucky he wanted to come to Eastern – he has great character."
 
On Idaho State Win: "To be honest, this was a must-win for us. Our players have been in the gym working on their game and trying to get their shots back. Coaches have been working tirelessly trying to figure it out. We have some of the best players in the league, and it's tough to be 2-10. But we are competitors. This was a huge game for us to get this win. We had a big second half and Ty Gibson came up big, and we won the game because of our defense."
 
On Ty Gibson: "He's an unbelievable young man – he has a 3.99 grade point average, is a great leader and does a lot in the community. He shoots in the gym all the time, but they haven't been falling for him. He played about 10 seconds in the first half (against ISU) to play defense, but he stuck with it. He played nine minutes and those were the biggest nine minutes of the season for our team. We needed a win and he stayed ready. He has great character and I'm glad he's on our team. The shots are going to fall for him – I see great things ahead for him. I couldn't be happier for him."
 
On Mason Peatling Versus Weber State: "Mason did a great job in his first full game back. You could see he was gassed and tired at times, but he was battling and did a great job down low. He's going to get other players open looks and open shots, but we have to make sure we're ready and smart when we get him rolling. Mason played only 18 minutes in his first game back (against Corban), but he had four offensive rebounds and four assists – he's an unbelievable passer and screener. We play a little more efficiently with him in the lineup. He does a lot of talking back there on defense and is our anchor. We are only going to get better with Mason out there."
 
On Weber State Loss: "We were playing against one of the premier teams in the league, but at the same time I think we are one of the premier teams in the league too. That's what we hold our standard to."
 
On Benzel: "He's a great shooter, and when the ball is moving around and he gets open looks, he's going to make a lot. We've struggled hitting some shots early in the season, but we talk in the locker room that it's going to happen because our players work so hard. When you have players who are confident in their shots and their game, they are going to make a lot of shots. Cody is a very confident player, and he could be 1-of-10 and he'll shoot 10 more threes if he's open. He's never going to waver from shooting threes."
 
On Non-Conference Season: "We learned a lot about ourselves – there is a lot of fight in this team. I didn't see any of our guys hanging their heads. After the game it obviously hurts to lose, but the next day they bounced back and practiced hard. We have a very resilient group and a team that will fight for each other. They want to win and are trying to figure out how to get that message across with each other. But at the same time, they need to be positive and have constructive criticism. I think we know which guys we can call on in certain situations. A lot of players saw action in the preseason, and now we expect players to be ready to go when their number is called. They've accepted their roles pretty well – they have a lot of grit and come to fight every day. You obviously want more wins in the preseason, but I couldn't be more proud. We are getting better each game and we have a confident group. Every game they've played they've learned and we've had a chance to win. We are learning valuable lessons – not just the players but the coaching staff too."
 
On Jacob Davison: "Jacob is one of the better guards in the Big Sky. He's exceptional and can do a lot of things offensively because he's very skilled. He had a really bad wrist injury to start the season and injured his ankle, but he's starting to get back to full health."
 
On Playing Challenging In-State Opponents: "Players like it and they want to play against the best. When you come to Eastern you are going to get a chance to do that. Our preseason really speaks for itself – we play everybody we possibly can from within this state and it's a lot of fun. The players love it and gain a lot of experience. We have a lot of players from the state of Washington, so it's exciting to play games in front of their friends and families. It's awesome and we'll try to do it every single year."
 
On Losing First Two to Ranked Teams: "We got taught a lesson by two really good teams. We are going to take these back and get better and get smarter. We'll use this experience to move forward and be the best team we can be. We're trying to make that happen by Big Sky play. It's going to be fun to watch Oregon and Syracuse as the season goes along and to say we played them. Hopefully we get the opportunity again -- these are two NCAA Tournament teams."
 
On Opportunities: "We're playing against great teams and in great venues. I talk to our team about the opportunity they are being given at such a young age. We have freshmen out here playing that we thought might redshirt at some point. We want to make sure they are ready to go, but sometimes these freshmen need time to get better. At the same time, I like the fight we've had – we play hard. Some of the guys are playing different positions, some aren't even playing the positions they've played all year long. There are no excuses -- you have to come out here and play the game and put for the effort to try and win these games."
 
 
 

Recent Game Recaps

 
 
Aiken Has Career Day for Eagles in 82-79 Win over Thunderbirds
 
In the absence of their leading scorer, the Eagles turned to a pair of redshirt freshmen to fill the void. Kim Aiken Jr. had a career day and Tanner Groves made the first start of his Eastern career, helping EWU to an 82-79 victory on Feb. 2 versus Southern Utah at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. The Eagles only led for 6:08 of the game, and used a pair of 16-2 runs to make comebacks in each half. Their final run was their best, as EWU out-scored the Thunderbirds 16-2 in a late four-minute stretch in which SUU missed five-straight shots. Eastern sank six of its last seven and rose above the .500 mark in the Big Sky Conference. Aiken more than doubled his previous career high and finished with a monster game of 24 points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots and a pair of steals. Jacob Davison scored 21, Jesse Hunt 16 and Tyler Kidd 15 to contribute offensively while EWU played without its leading scorer, junior Mason Peatling. Peatling missed the game with an injury and, as a result, for the first time in EWU's NCAA Division I history – and overall since Dec. 30, 1981 -- two players from high schools in Spokane, Wash., started the game. Redshirt freshman Tanner Groves (Shadle Park HS) joined senior Cody Benzel (Ferris HS) in the starting lineup. Groves hit an early 3-pointer, but EWU made just seven of its first 21 shots and fell behind 31-19 at the 5:57 mark. But four Eagles scored during a 16-2 run, and Eastern took a 35-33 lead just before intermission. Eastern's defense held SUU without a field goal for 4:52 during that stretch, and EWU forced 13 Thunderbird turnovers in the first half. The game was tied at 37 at intermission. Eastern fell behind by as many as seven in the second half and had to play catch-up again. Aiken scored 10 points in a 6 1/2 minute span to keep the Eagles close, but the Thunderbirds still led 68-64 at the 5:03 mark. Then a 3-pointer by Aiken, a basket by Hunt and another bucket by Aiken gave the Eagles a hard-earned 71-68 lead with 3:10 remaining. The Eagles never trailed again, and completed what would become a 16-2 run to take a nine-point lead with 40 seconds to play. Aiken's free throw with two seconds to play helped clinch the win.
 
 
Eagles Earn Overtime Road Win at Sacramento State
 
In a game in which the Eagles led for 39 of 45 minutes of action, Eastern picked up a 94-92 overtime victory over Sacramento State on Jan. 26 in at The Nest in Sacramento, Calif. Two players had double-doubles and a total of four players scored in double figures, all four with between 17 and 22. Jesse Hunt led with 22 points and a career-high 17 rebounds to equal the eighth-most in school history. Tyler Kidd had a career-best 20 points while Jacob Davison added 19. Mason Peatling also turned in a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Eastern opened the game with a 17-2 run, and the first tie of the game came with one second left in regulation when Sacramento State sent the game into overtime with a three-pointer. The Hornets used a 6-0 run to take an 87-85 lead with 1:46 remaining, but with 13 seconds left, Davison sank two free throws to give EWU a 93-90 advantage. After Sacramento State responded with two free throws of its own, Kidd made one free throw and Sac State missed a potential-game winning 3-pointer as time expired.
Eastern made 47.7 percent from the field, 11 of 24 three-point attempts (45.8 percent) and were 21-for-26 from the free throw line. The Eagles out-rebounded the Hornets 44-to-41 for their third-straight rebounding advantage of the league season. Eastern held Sac State to 41.9 percent shooting from the field one game after allowing Portland State to sink 60.4 percent in a 78-65 loss at PSU on Jan. 24.