The first start for Tyler Robertson was a fast start too.
 
Led by the sophomore from Melbourne, Australia, making the first start of his now 29-game collegiate career, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team jumped on The College of Idaho early and often for an 80-56 victory Friday (Dec. 11) at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
 
In the first meeting between the two schools in 60 years, Robertson assisted on four of EWU's first five baskets as the Eagles jumped out to a 17-4 lead. He was one of five Eagles in double figures with 12 points, five assists and a career-high six rebounds, and junior Tanner Groves had a double-double with10 points and 12 rebounds.
 
"The good thing about having multiple options on offense with players who can dribble, shoot and post-up, is that it really puts team in a bind," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "And we have Tanner inside, and teams will have to double-team him at some point. He keeps getting better and better. Early in the season we're taking what the defenses are giving us."
 
The Eagles had played just nine of its 15 available players in the first three games, but that changed on Friday. A total of 13 saw action and nine of them scored. Making their Eagle debuts were freshman Isaiah Amato and Victor Radcocaj.
 
Eastern finished the game with just five turnovers compared to 14 for the Coyotes, leading to a 19-2 advantage in points off turnovers. Eastern out-shot COI 42 percent to 31 percent, but in the first half it was 50 percent to 25 percent as the Eagles led at intermission by 20.
 
The game was added to the schedule on Wednesday (Dec. 9), a result of the cancellation of EWU's game at UNLV scheduled for Wednesday. Eastern lost Monday (Dec. 7) at defending Pac-12 Conference champion Oregon 69-52, and was scheduled to depart Eugene for Las Vegas the next day. Instead, because of a positive Covid-19 case within the Runnin' Rebels program, the Eagles flew home.
 
"It was fun to get a home game and get a win," added Legans.
 
Although a combined 1-5 entering the game, both the Eagles and Coyotes have high expectations for the 2020-21 season after having their high hopes at the end of last season dashed because of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Eagles were the defending Big Sky Conference champions, and the Coyotes, a NAIA powerhouse, won the Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season and tournament titles.
 
 
Records
 
* Now 1-3, The Eagles entered Friday's game looking for their first victory of the season in four tries after falling at Oregon 69-52 on Dec. 7, just two days after a heart-breaking 70-67 loss at Arizona. Eastern opened the season with a 71-68 loss at Washington State on Nov. 28.
 
* The Coyotes are also 1-3 thus far, and had an opening in their schedule because a pair of games scheduled for Dec. 10 and 11 versus Montana Western canceled. A member of the NAIA and the defending champions of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, the College of Idaho defeated Montana Tech 79-70 on Nov. 27 to open the season. The Coyotes then fell to a pair of NCAA Division I opponents – Boise State 86-49 on Dec. 4 and Utah State 90-64 on Dec. 8.
 
* A year ago, the College of Idaho won the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament championship, then won its opener in the NAIA Division II National Championships before the season ended because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Coyotes finished the season 31-3 and with a 25-game winning streak, and were a perfect 20-0 in the CCC.
 
 
Top EWU Performers
 
Junior Tanner Groves had the third double-double of his career and first for an Eagle this season. He had 10 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, plus had a trio of blocked shots.
Sophomore Jacob Groves, the younger brother of junior Tanner Groves, led the Eagles with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. He also had five rebounds. Both Groves brothers are graduates of Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash.
Senior Jacob Davison, the preseason MVP in the Big Sky Conference, also scored 15 on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and had three assists and a pair of blocked shots.
Sophomore Tyler Robertson finished with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. His rebounds eclipsed his previous high of five.
Junior Kim Aiken Jr., a preseason All-Big Sky selection, scored 11 points and had eight rebounds and three steals.
 
 
Game Details & Turning Point
 
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 17-4 lead, thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Aiken and four assists by Robertson on EWU's first five baskets. The lead then ballooned to 32-13 with 7:17 left in the half on a dunk by Jacob Groves after a steal and assist by Casson Rouse.
 
Eastern led by as many as 22 in the first half and led 43-23 at intermission. Robertson led the way with 10 points, five assists and three rebounds in the first half, which saw the Eagles out-shoot the Coyotes 50 percent to 25 percent.
 
The Eagles put the game away by opening the second half with an 11-2 run to open a 25-point advantage, with Davison scoring six of the points. Eastern led by 30 with a 6-0 run later in the half, and led by no less than 17 the rest of the way.
 
 
Series Notes
 
* Since EWU became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, the Eagles have not played College of Idaho. However, they played nine times prior to that, and the series is now tied at five wins apiece after EWU's win. Former NBA star and College of Idaho player Elgin Baylor played in College of Idaho's 81-67 victory in Cheney on Dec. 20, 1954. The two schools hadn't played since EWU won 86-66 on Dec. 1, 1960.
 
 
More Game Notes
 
* A year ago, Eastern won its fourth Big Sky regular season title in school history (2000, 2004, 2015, 2020), but now joins the 2004 team with the only outright titles. Eastern has gone on to win two Big Sky Tournament titles (2004 and 2015) to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles also have national postseason appearances in the NIT (2003) and the College Basketball Invitational (2016, 2017, 2018).
 
* The Eagles entered the 2020-21 season with four starters back from last year's squad which finished 23-8 overall and 16-4 in the Big Sky to win the outright league title. The Covid-19 Pandemic resulted in the cancellation of the season, including the conclusion of the Big Sky Conference Tournament and the entire NCAA Tournament.
 
* Coached by Colby Blaine, the Coyotes finished the 2019-20 season ranked No. 1 in NAIA Division II. They were ranked eighth in this year's preseason poll, which now includes both NAIA Division I and Division II schools. Blaine is in his third season at the helm and is 63-11 as head coach.
 
* On the roster for The College of Idaho was Elijah Jackson, a 6-4 junior who played the last two seasons at Eastern. He scored eight points and had five rebounds versus his former team. As an Eagle, he played in 31 games and had 52 points and 46 rebounds.
 
 
On the Horizon
 
* Following Friday's game, the Eagles are scheduled to play one last non-conference road contests at Saint Mary's on Monday, Dec. 16. Saint Mary's was 26-8 overall and 11-5 in the West Coast Conference a year ago. The Gaels beat Pepperdine (89-82 in two overtimes) and BYU (51-50) in the WCC Tournament, but fell to Gonzaga (84-66) in the title game.
 
* So far this season, the Gaels are 5-1 following a 73-61 home victory over UTEP on Dec. 8. Saint Mary's also plays San Jose State on Dec. 11 in Moraga, Calif., prior to hosting EWU. After a 73-56 loss to Memphis to open the year, Saint Mary's has reeled off five consecutive victories. Included are wins over Northern Iowa (66-64), South Dakota State (72-59), Nicholls State (73-50) and Texas Southern (82-70). The latter two were home games, and the first three games were neutral site contests in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
* Eastern is then scheduled to play its Big Sky Conference openers on the road at Northern Arizona on back-to-back days on Dec. 18 and 19 in Flagstaff, Ariz. Both of those games will begin at 11:05 a.m. Pacific time, and were moved from the previous dates of Dec. 3 and 5. After the cancellation of a home game on Nov. 30, the Eagles will open their home schedule on Dec. 31 versus Portland State and play the Vikings again two days later.
 
 
More Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans
 
On The College of Idaho: "I want to thank College of Idaho for coming here. They are a very well-coached team with good players. They had an off-shooting night – I'd like to think it was our defense but it could have been their travel. They kind of did the same thing we've done the last couple of games. You have to give them credit for coming out and playing a very, very hard-fought game."
 
On Scoring/Shooting by Davison and Aiken: "It's good for those guys to get the ball in the basket. We haven't shot the ball well – especially those two guys – early in the season. Once the game starts flowing and moving, I think their shooting percentages and everything will start going up. They are very talented and very confident."
 
On Playing in an Empty Arena: "I think they're used to it. They gym has been set up like this for our practices. I think they were mentally ready, especially going on the road already and seeing nobody there in those big arenas. They try to give each other energy on the bench and they make sure it's real. We talk about celebrating teammates, and that is huge this year. You have to celebrate your teammates if you want to have that energy and feel an advantage. That's what I think we did in our first three games, and we did a good job today too."