The path is the same for the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team.
 
Scoring runs in each half helped the Eagles extend their league-best winning streak to five games and advance to the championship game for the second-straight year versus Montana with a 77-61 victory over Southern Utah in the semifinals Friday (March 15) of the Big Sky Conference Basketball Tournament presented by My Place Hotels at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho.
 
With Eastern's front line of Mason Peatling, Jesse Hunt and Kim Aiken Jr., leading the way, Eastern had a run of 22-0 in the first half and 16-2 in the second half to pull away for a win versus the Thunderbirds in the semifinals for a second-straight year. Now, Eastern will play Montana for the second-straight year in Saturday's (March 16) title game at 5 p.m. Pacific time.
 
Peatling, who had a double-double with 28 points and 14 rebounds in a quarterfinal victory, led the Eagles with 20 points and seven rebounds versus the Thunderbirds. Aiken had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Hunt finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
 
Eastern held the Thunderbirds for a 7:20 stretch in the first half without a point, and then 6:47 in the second half without a field goal. The Eagles held SUU to 34.5 percent shooting in the game and 33.3 percent from the 3-point stripe.
 
"We came out and played well defensively, and that really propelled us in the first half," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "In the second half they made some shots, but our guys kept the faith, kept the belief and kept the scout of keeping with the defensive game plan. And then we had some guys make some big plays. Mason had some big points down in the paint, Jesse had some drives and had six assists to get guys a lot of shots. Tyler Kidd came up big and our freshman, Kim Aiken, had a double-double. When you get that and some contributions from other players it's a lot of fun and they're fun to coach."
 
In a rematch of last year's semifinal game won by the No. 3 Eagles 82-70 over the No. 10 Thunderbirds, Eastern split the regular season series with SUU this season. Eastern won 82-79 earlier this season in Cheney (Feb. 2) and then suffered a 76-62 setback in Cedar City (Feb. 21). Eastern also split this season versus the Griz, beating Montana 78-71 in Cheney on Jan. 10 before falling at Montana 75-74 on Feb. 9 when now-injured Jacob Davison missed a shot that could have won it for the Eagles.
 
Eastern led early 8-3 with 15:38 to play in the first half, but over the next 7:17 could manage just a pair of free throws. Eastern missed five-straight shots as part of a 1-of-10 stretch, and the resulting 11-2 run gave SUU a 14-10 advantage.
 
But the tables quickly turned, as a Cody Benzel 3-pointer ignited the 22-0 run to give EWU a 32-14 lead. Five players scored in the run and EWU hit five 3-pointers, with Peatling scoring nine. His four-point play with 3:05 left capped the run as SUU went scoreless for 7:20 and missed 10-straight shots.
 
Eastern went on to lead by as many as 21 in the first half, and led 39-21 at intermission. Eastern led 14-0 in points off turnovers and 10-2 in points in the paint in the first half, with Peatling scoring 15 points.
 
The Thunderbirds made their last shot of the first half to start an 8-of-10 shooting run, and they eventually pulled to within four with 11:42 left in the game. But 3-pointers by Ty Gibson and Jack Perry ignited a 16-2 run to regain a 66-50 lead with 5:10 to play. Defensively, Eastern held the Thunderbirds without a field goal for 6:47 as SUU missed six-straight shots.
 
 
Records . . .
 
* The Eagles are now 16-17 overall, and 12-8 in Big Sky Conference play. The Eagles are 10-4 at home this season and 4-13 on the road with a three-game winning streak, and are now 2-0 on neutral courts. Eastern won 12 of its last 17 games in league play, and is 15-8 overall since starting the season 1-9. This is the fourth-straight year Eastern has recorded 10 league wins or more, and the sixth-straight year they have had a winning record. Eastern is 65-29 in those six years for a .691 winning percentage.
 
* The Eagles beat Montana State 90-84 in its quarterfinal game and have now advanced to the semifinals in each of the last three seasons, and reached last year's championship game. Eastern is 2-5 in its seven previous championship games, with titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2004 and 2015. They advanced to the quarterfinals in 2016.
 
* No. 7 seed Southern Utah, which defeated second-seeded Northern Colorado 83-64 in Friday's quarterfinal action, closed its season 16-16.
 
 
What's Next . . .
 
* Eastern advances to play two-time regular season champion and defending Big Sky Tournament champ Montana in Saturday's (March 16) title tilt. The Griz rolled to a 42-22 halftime win over No. 4 seed Weber State and went on to a 78-49 victory. Montana led by as many as 37 in the second half.
 
* The title game on Saturday (March 16) will be televised at 5 p.m. Pacific time on ESPNU. The championship game will be 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. 
 
* Eastern is 23-52 against the Grizzlies since becoming a member of NCAA Division I in 1983-84, including a 10-28 record in Missoula, 13-21 in Cheney and 0-3 on neutral courts. Montana leads the overall series 69-44. The Eagles triumphed the previous two times they played the Griz in Cheney, and have still won three of the last five 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 Championship game, giving the Eagles a berth in the NCAA Tournament. 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.
 
* 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.
 
* If the Eagles can win one more game in the tourney, they will join EWU's 2003-04 and 2014-15 squads in garnering the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. But by doing so, Eastern would have a 17-17 overall record and be just the third school since the league began in 1963-64 – and the first in 32 years -- to enter the "Big Dance" with a non-winning record. Granted, for most of the history of the Big Sky Conference Tournament the event consisted of six teams or less, but only tourney champions Montana State (14-16) in 1986 and Idaho State (15-15) the following season entered the NCAA Tournament with .500 records or less. The Big Sky Tournament has existed for 43 previous seasons, with eight other members prior to that receiving berths. Thus, just two of the previous 51 representatives have entered with a non-winning record – and EWU seeks to be the third.
 
 
Top Performers . . .
 
* Senior Jesse Hunt came a point from a double-double, finishing with 10 rebounds, nine points and six assists. He now has 33 career double-figure scoring performances in his career to go along with 18 performances with 10 or more rebounds. He has 12 double-doubles on the season and 14 in his career.
 
* Junior Mason Peatling had 15 of his 20 points in the first half, and finished the game 6-of-10 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds, a block and a steal. An honorable mention All-Big Sky selection a year ago, he has 31 career games scoring in double figures, with 10 rebounding in double figures. He has three double-doubles this season and nine in his career.
 
* Redshirt freshman Kim Aiken Jr. had his third double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He has seven double-figure scoring performances this season and three with at least 10 rebounds.

* Junior guard Tyler Kidd scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and also had four assists. He has scored in double figures 14 times, all coming in EWU's last 22 games.
 
* Senior Cody Benzel hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eight points and four steals. He scored 22 in EWU's quarterfinal victory, and two games before that versus Idaho State he had a career-high 30 points. The MSU outing was his sixth game of the season scoring in double figures, but just his second since scoring 10 at Idaho on Jan. 3. He had scored just 35 points total in the 15 games prior to his outburst versus ISU.
 
* Sophomore Jacob Davison has not played since suffering an ankle injury versus Northern Colorado on Feb. 16. Before scoring 13 against the Bears, he had scored at least 20 points in six of his last seven games, and eight total this season (nine in his career). He's had 15 performances in double-digits (25 in his career).
 
 
Key Stats . . .
 
* Finishing at 47.4 percent for the game, EWU is now 14-1 this season when it makes at least 45 percent of its shots from the field (4-0 at 50 percent or better) and 2-16 when it doesn't. Eastern also made 10-of-25 3-point shots for 40.4 percent and 13-of-16 free throws for 81.3 percent. Eastern held Southern Utah to 34.5 percent shooting, including just 7-of-21 from the 3-point arc for 33.3 percent.
 
* Eastern had a 38-33 rebounding advantage. Eastern has out-rebounded 14 of its last 17 opponents after having advantages in just two of its first 16 games. The Eagles are 13-3 when they out-rebound opponents and 3-14 when having less or tied.
 
 
Notables . . .
 
* The Eagles are 13-6 all-time against Southern Utah (7-1 in Cheney, 4-5 in Cedar City, 2-0 on a neutral court), including an 82-79 win earlier this season in Cheney (Feb. 2) and a 76-62 setback in Cedar City (Feb. 21). Last season, EWU recorded an 82-70 victory over the Thunderbirds on March 9, 2018, in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Reno, Nevada. Earlier in the year, EWU had its eight-game winning streak over SUU snapped with a 66-62 overtime loss on Jan. 20, 2018, in Cedar City, Utah. The Thunderbirds joined the Big Sky in the 2012-13 season and EWU is 12-2 versus them since then.
 
 
More Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
 
On Game: "It was a great basketball game and Southern Utah did a great job. We jumped on them in the first half, but they came out and fought and battled back. They are well-coached and have some really good players. We made some defensive stops when we needed to and didn't let them get over the hump. You have to give them a lot of credit for the way they fought on their third day of playing games."
 
On Leadership and Intelligence: "We have good leadership on this basketball team. We have three good seniors and Mason does a really good job of making sure everybody is on the same page. It's really easy to coach – I'm not coaching energy or effort. I'm coaching x's and o's and not coaching emotions. They are a smart bunch of guys. I'm never the smartest guy in any room, but especially that room. They do a really good job of understanding the game plan, and can pick it up on the fly in less than 24 hours. Now it's going to be a task to try to stop Montana, which is going to be really hard."
 
On Previous Meeting with SUU: "They kicked up our butts pretty good at their place and I think our guys remember that. We took that to heart and they came out and played really, really well tonight. I think they had a chip on their shoulder from that team."
 
On Montana: "We're a different team because we had Jacob when we played there, and when we beat them at our place they had Akoh. It's going to be a different match-up. They are really good and well-coached. Travis took his team to first place and he does a great job with his team. They come out and play really hard for him. We are both going to be good defensive teams, but we have to make sure we don't feed into that pressure. They are really good and it's going to be a lot of fun for us to out there and show what he have."