With a trio of close losses punctuating its non-conference schedule, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team finally gets a chance to provide an exclamation point in the Big Sky Conference.
The preseason and defending regular season champions begin their league season with a doubleheader at Northern Arizona on Friday (Dec. 18) and Saturday (Dec. 19) in a pair of games that start at 11:05 a.m. Pacific time from the Rolle Activity Center in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Eastern games are aired live on radio on 700-AM ESPN, 105.3-FM, via the web at tunein.com and via mobile phone app, with pre-game coverage starting a half-hour prior to tipoff. Larry Weir serves as the play-by-play broadcaster.
The Eagles enter the doubleheader with a 1-4 record, including a trio of losses by a total of just 11 points after leading at halftime and with 10 minutes left in each. The Lumberjacks are 0-3 and will also be playing in their league opener.
"It's going to be different than a lot of our doubleheaders because we play back-to-back days," said Eastern head coach
Shantay Legans. "We have to be mentally tough on the road. There are a lot of teams in the country going on the road to play the same opponent twice and lost both."
Eastern is coming off a 91-52 loss on Dec. 15 at Saint Mary's, which entered the game ranked fourth in the CollegeInsider.com top 25 poll of mid-major teams. Northern Arizona played its last non-conference game the night prior and fell at Colorado State 91-52.
Eastern has won the last six meetings versus the Lumberjacks and 15 of the last 18. The last loss to the Lumberjacks came on March 4, 2017, by a 76-61 score in Flagstaff. The all-time series is tied 37 victories apiece, and EWU is 12-24 at NAU.
"Northern Arizona is coming off a tough game and will be ready to go – they are well-coached and have really good players," said Legans. "We'll have to be ready to fight, rebound and do anything we can to win. It's the most important game of the season – it's a Big Sky Conference game and we have to come out and play well."
While Eastern was picked to finish No. 1 in the league in both the preseason coaches and media polls, the Lumberjacks were picked to finish eighth in both. This weekend's games feature three of the six players selected to the Big Sky Conference preseason team – Eastern's
Jacob Davison and
Kim Aiken Jr., as well as NAU's Cameron Shelton.
Shelton is averaging 15.3 points, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 3.3 rebounds, and the Eagles take on the 6-foot-2 junior guard a game after allowing Saint Mary's Tommy Kuhse to finish with 34 points, six assists, seven rebounds and a pair of steals.
"We have to be better against ball screens and we will be better," said Legans. "We'll make sure we are ready to go and we'll make sure we defend well."
Game Notes
More About the Lumberjacks
The Lumberjacks are currently 0-3 after falling 91-52 at Colorado State on Dec. 14. Northern Arizona has had several games canceled or postponed, and the other games it has played came on Dec. 7 at Arizona (96-53 loss) and home versus UC Riverside on Dec. 10 (74-50 loss). Eastern fell at Arizona on Dec. 5 by a 70-67 score.
Northern Arizona was 16-14 overall and 10-10 (tie for fifth) in the Big Sky last season under first-year head coach Shane Burcar. Cameron Shelton, a 6-2 junior guard, averages 15.3 points, 2.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals. Luke Avdalovic, a 6-5 guard, is averaging 13.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals. The team's third-leading scorer is 6-9 forward Nik Mains with averages of 6.7 points and 1.3 rebounds.
More About the Eagles
The lone victory for the Eagles came on Dec. 11 when they took a 17-4 lead over The College of Idaho and cruised to an 80-56 win. It was Eastern's first victory of the season 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.
In each of EWU's first two games, Eastern led at halftime, led with 10 minutes left and led with five minutes remaining. Eastern led for 33:09 versus WSU, but a late 13-5 run by the Cougars was the difference; a 14-4 run by Arizona cost the Eagles that win after they led for 13:49 in the game.
Eastern also lost at Oregon 69-52 on Dec. 7 after leading by as many as six in the first half and trailing by just four at halftime. Against Saint Mary's on Dec. 15, the Eagles led for 28:30 and had the lead at halftime and with 10 minutes to play.
A familiar trend has seen the Eagles play impressively in the first half, only to see their shooting go south after intermission.
In its first five games, EWU has out-scored opponents 197-167 in the first half, but has been out-scored by 35 in the second half (179-145). Eastern made 47.7 percent (73-of-153) of its shots from the field in the first half, including 28-of-64 3-pointers for 41.1 percent. But in the second half, those percentages dipped to 33.3 percent (51-of-153) overall and 18.0 percent 13-of-72) from the arc. Ironically, in each of EWU's first three games it made just 2-of-15 3-pointers in the second half.
However, the Eagles have been impressively defensively thus far, holding opponents to a 40.9 shooting percentage. Eastern has held the opposition to 30.1 percent from the 3-point stripe (34-of-113) and has forced eight more turnovers.
A year ago, Eastern was 23-8 overall and 16-4 in the Big Sky Conference to win the outright regular season 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. Eastern was on site for their league tournament opener on March 11, 2020, when the news hit. The Eagles entered the 2020-21 season with four starters back from last year's squad.
"We've been able to see how they've gelled so quickly, and obviously, the comradery and chemistry of the team knowing each other so well is great," said Eastern head coach
Shantay Legans, whose team returns 10 total letterwinners. "Now we just have to start defining roles, and being able to get that established will help us a lot. I think they pretty much understand each other's games and that is important. And it's our job as coaches to just make sure that we are pushing them in the right direction and they are getting everything done in the right manner and the right sense. I do think we have a pretty good ball club."
Legans, the reigning Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, led EWU to a final record of 23-8 overall and 16-4 in the league in the 2019-20 season. Legans entered the 2020-21 season 59-41 in his three years as head coach for a .590 winning percentage. In league games, he has directed EWU to 13, 12 and now 16 victories, winning 71 percent for a record of 41-17. Both percentages are currently the best among the eight men who have been head coaches in EWU's tenure in the league, and his 41 league wins is the best three-year stretch in school history.
More recently, in the spring of 2020, Legans was selected to ESPN's "40 Under 40" list of the top NCAA Division I basketball coaches under the age of 40. He was selected No. 11 -- eighth among head coaches -- in the list of coaches ranked by achievement and potential.
Eastern's school-record 16 Big Sky wins a year ago included sweeps over seven of the league's 10 other teams, and a split versus Idaho State and Idaho. Eastern was swept by Montana, which had won the two previous regular season and tournament titles. The Eagles had just two seniors –
Mason Peatling and
Tyler Kidd – so EWU has high aspirations for 2020 and beyond.
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).
On the Horizon
The Eagles will open their Big Sky home schedule on Dec. 31 versus Portland State and host the Vikings again two days later. The New Year's Eve game will tip off at 6:05 p.m. and be televised live by SWX TV in the Eastern Washington region. The game on Jan. 2 will be played at 12:05 p.m.
At this time, no spectators will be permitted to attend home basketball games due to institutional, regional, and state guidelines. Eastern home games are available via PlutoTV channel 1053 and via
https://bigskyconf.com/watchbigsky. Live statistics from all Eastern home games are available via
http://ewustats.com.
The Vikings, coached by Barret Peery in his fourth season at the helm, is 1-2 heading into their league openers at Weber State on Dec. 18 and Dec. 20. A year ago, the Vikings were 18-14 overall and 12-18 in the league to finish fourth. In this year's preseason polls, PSU was picked to finish fourth by the coaches and seventh by the media.
Newcomers dot the roster for PSU, which is led by 6-5 senior guard James Scott with averages of 11.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. The Vikings have a pair of 6-10 graduate students in Amari McCray and Khalid Thomas, and they average 9.7 and 8.7 points, respectively, and 6.3 and 5.3 rebounds. Paris Dawson, a 6-2 freshman guard, has averages of 9.7 points and 1.3 assists.
Hectic Three Weeks of Changes
Starting Nov. 23rd, it was a hectic three weeks of changes for the Eastern Washington University men's basketball program because of pandemic-related schedule adjustments.
The season opener for EWU versus Oregon scheduled for Nov. 25 was postponed because of Covid-19 precautions and concerns. Later in the week, the opponent for Eastern's home game on Nov. 30 changed from Northwest University to Montana Tech, but the game was eventually canceled on Nov. 28 – the day Eastern actually opened its season at Washington State with just eight available players. The Eagles searched for a replacement home game, but eventually was scheduled by Arizona for Dec. 5 because of Northern Colorado being unavailable to play the Wildcats on that date.
Also on Nov. 28, Eastern announced the move of the opening weekend of conference play versus Northern Arizona from Dec. 3 and 5 to Dec. 18 and 19. Both of those games are scheduled to be played in Flagstaff, Ariz., at 11:05 a.m. Pacific time.
Finally, on Dec. 6 – the day after Eastern fell at Arizona by just three points – Eastern announced that the Oregon game would be made up on Monday (Dec. 7). On Dec. 8, while EWU was still in Eugene awaiting a flight to Las Vegas, the UNLV game was cancelled because of a positive case within the Runnin' Rebels program. One day later, on Dec. 9, Eastern added a home game versus The College of Idaho for Friday, Dec. 11.
MVP Davison and Aiken are on Preseason All-Big Sky Team
Senior
Jacob Davison was selected as the MVP as he joined junior
Kim Aiken Jr. on the 2020-21 Big Sky Conference Preseason All-Conference Team announced by the league office on Nov. 10. Davison earned second team honors a year ago and Aiken was on the third team as they led Eastern to the regular season Big Sky Conference title.
"I love seeing our players receive accolades because I see all the hard work they put in behind the scenes to get there," said Eastern head coach
Shantay Legans. "Both on and off the court, our guys work harder than any group I've ever been around, and I am so proud of all they have achieved, and eager for all that is to come."
Davison was a unanimous selection on the preseason squad. The Eastern duo was joined on the all-conference team by Bodie Hume of Northern Colorado, Jubrile Belo of Montana State, Cameron Shelton from Northern Arizona and Michael Steadman of Montana. Steadman is a 6-foot-10 transfer from San Jose State.
In the 2019-20 season, Davison was 70th nationally and fourth in the Big Sky in scoring (18.4), to go along with averages of 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In league-only statistics, Davison was fourth in the league in scoring (18.7), as well as ranking 11th in field goal percentage (.439), 10th in free throw percentage (.752), 12th in steals (1.2) and 14th in assists (2.7).
"A lot of times teams have to pick their poison with us," said Legans. "Jacob is such a talented scorer and does so many things on offense which makes him hard to guard. He can drive, he can hit the mid-range jump shot and he shoots the three well. We watch the way teams defend him in games and then we adjust."
Davison is Eastern's newest member of the 1,000-point club, going over that mark with a 21-point effort versus Idaho on Feb. 13, 2020. He followed that with 30 points in a win at Portland State on Feb. 15 to give him four performances in his career with at least 30 (three in the 2019-20 season).
In his now 92-game career (62 as a starter), he's averaged 13.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals while sinking 45.2 percent of his shots from the field, 33.7 percent from the 3-point stripe (112-of-332) and 76.6 percent of his free throws. He now has 1,213 career points to rank 14th on EWU's all-time list of 1,000-point scorers, joining 2019-20 Big Sky MVP
Mason Peatling as one of 23 in the club. In his career, Davison now has 23 performances with at least 20 points (14 in the 2019-20 season).
So far this season, Davison is averaging 12.6 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds, making 36.5 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from the 3-point stripe (6-of-26). He's also made 11-of-15 free throws and has three steals and five blocked shots.
Aiken, meanwhile, has averaged 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds, while making 34.1 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from the arc (6-of-27). He's also made 9-of-11 free throws and has seven steals, three blocked shots and six assists.
Aiken averaged nearly a double-double in the 2019-20 season, finishing fourth in NCAA Division I in defensive rebounds per game (8.2) and 36th in rebounding overall (9.7). He led the Big Sky in both categories, and was also 38th in the nation with 12 double-doubles and averaged 13.3 points per outing.
Aiken's overall rebound average was Eastern's best since Ron Cox averaged 12.3 in the 1976-77 season when the school was affiliated with the NAIA. Aiken's average broke the school's previous DI record of 9.1 in the 2016-17 campaign, and his single-game high of 22 is the second-most in school history and EWU's DI record.
The 6-foot-7 Aiken also finished his sophomore season third in the league and 85th in the nation in steals (1.74). In league games only, Aiken finished second in rebounding (9.0), first in defensive rebounds (7.5), third in 3-pointers made per game (2.3), fifth in steals (1.7), 12th in blocked shots (1.1) and 21st in scoring (12.1).
At times his shooting was inconsistent, but he still managed to sink a team-leading 76 3-pointers on 229 attempts for 33.2 percent. Overall, he shot at a 39.8 percent clip from the field and 78.7 percent from the free throw line (59-of-75).
He had a career-best 26-point effort at Washington on Dec. 4, 2019, and had five total performances of 20+ points (seven in his career). Against Belmont in a huge 87-82 victory, he scored eight of EWU's last 12 points and had four defensive boards in the final 44 seconds on his way to final tallies of 11 points and 11 boards.
Aiken had 14 double-figure rebounding performances as a sophomore (18 in his career), and thus far in his 66-game career (47 as a starter), he is averaging 9.8 points and 7.3 rebounds with 16 career double-doubles (12-4 record). He has 78 career steals, 54 blocked shots and 62 assists.
Eagles Overwhelming Favorite to Defend League Title
The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team is hoping the landslide that was announced on Nov. 11 carries over to next March.
The Eagles were the overwhelming favorite to defend the Big Sky Conference title they won a year ago, garnering nine of 11 first-place votes cast by the coaches and 24 of 28 by the media in the preseason polls announced by the league office. That's a total of 33 of 39 ballots, or 85 percent, which had the Eagles as No. 1. The league season is scheduled to begin Dec. 3, with EWU's opener being moved back to Dec. 18.
"Our team is being picked as the favorite to win the Big Sky this year, which is a testament to all we accomplished last year and the culture of success we've been able to build here at EWU," said Eastern head coach
Shantay Legans. "That said, we haven't accomplished a single thing this year, and that is our approach to the season. After winning the Big Sky last year but having to stop short of our quest towards the NCAA Tournament, our team is hungrier than ever. There is a lot of work to be done."
Eastern had 99 points in the coaches' poll, with Montana next with 86 points and a first-place vote. Weber State had 73 points and was picked third, while Portland State picked up a first-place vote and had 67 points to rank fourth.
In the media poll, Eastern received 304 votes to easily out-distance Montana with 250. Northern Colorado was picked third with 222 points, and Montana State was selected at No. 4 with 200. The Grizzlies and Bears both received a pair of first-place votes.
Groves Bros Averaging in Double Figures in Scoring After Five Games
The aptly named "Groves Bros" – junior
Tanner Groves and sophomore
Jacob Groves – are each averaging in double figures in scoring after five games. Tanner is averaging 12.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game thus far, and Jacob has averaged 10.2 points and 3.6 boards. So far they have season shooting percentages of .511 and .426, respectively, and Tanner had his first double-double of the season and third of his career with 10 points and 12 rebounds versus The College of Idaho on Dec. 11. He followed that by equaling his career high with 17 points at Saint Mary's on Dec. 15.
Tanner scored 13 at Arizona on Dec. 5, a week after equaling his career high with 17 versus Washington State. He also had nine rebounds and three assists versus the Cougars as he equaled the career high for scoring he had as a sophomore last season with 17 points. Jacob chipped in 10 points – all in the first half at Arizona after having a career high with 16 points at WSU. He sank 6-of-16 shots in the first start of his career, and had eight rebounds, as he eclipsed his previous high of eight points as a freshman, and his eight rebounds was also a career high as well.
Versus Oregon on Dec. 7, Tanner pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, eclipsing his previous high of 11 as a freshman.
Tanner came off the bench to average 5.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in his sophomore season, and this year helps fill the role left by 2019-20 Big Sky Conference MVP
Mason Peatling. Tanner scored a career-high 17 points versus Multnomah on Dec. 13, 2019, including a rebound dunk that was the No. 1 play by ESPN's Sportscenter that night and had 2 1/2 million views. Groves also came off the bench to score 16 versus Montana State on Feb. 8, hitting 4-of-5 3-pointers. Thus far in his 64-game career (eight as a starter) he's averaged 4.8 points, 3.1 boards and has 44 blocked shots, while sinking 52.4 percent from the field.
Jacob averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in the 24 games he played as a freshman in the 2019-20 season. His first two appearances came in victories against High Point and Belmont, and he had his high game with eight points versus Multnomah. In his 29-game career (one as a starter), he's averaging 3.9 points and 1.9 rebounds, and has 12 steals and eight assists.
Both Groves brothers are graduates of Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash. Tanner stands 6-foot-9 and graduated in 2017, and Jacob is 6-7 and graduated two years later. Their parents are Randy and Tara Groves.
Sophomores Playing Their First Game of the Season Lead the Way at Arizona and Oregon
Sophomores
Tyler Robertson and
Casson Rouse made their season debuts against Arizona on Dec. 5, and combined for 28 points in the narrow three-point loss. They followed that with a combined 21 points at Oregon on Dec. 7, and thus far have a combined six double-figure scoring performances.
Robertson is coming off a career-high 17 points with five 3-pointers in seven attempts at Saint Mary's on Dec. 15 in the second start of his career. In his first start against The College of Idaho on Dec. 11, he assisted on four of Eastern's first five baskets en route to a 17-4 lead. He finished the game with 12 points, a career-high six rebounds and five assists.
Robertson made 5-of-7 shots from the floor to finish with a career-high 15 points in his first game of the season, eclipsing his previous high of nine set as a freshman. He also had five rebounds, and drew the foul that disqualified Arizona 6-11 forward Jordan Brown from the game.
Rouse, who also didn't play in EWU's opener at Washington State, had 13 in his first game of the season. He sank a trio of 3-pointers and had four assists to share team-high honors. Robertson and Rouse both hit 3-pointers in a 9-1 run as the Eagles took their biggest lead of the half at 56-48 with 8:42 remaining. In the next game, Robertson scored 11 points and Rouse had 10.
In four games played thus far, Robertson is averaging a team-leading 13.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists while sinking 54.3 percent from the field (10-of-20 3-pointers) and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (6-of-9). Rouse is averaging 8.5 points and 2.5 assists, and has made five 3-pointers (in 19 attempts for 26.3 percent, 33.3 percent overall).
A year ago as a redshirt freshman, Rouse started seven games and chipped in 6.5 points and 1.7 assists while making 37-of-96 3-pointers (38.5 percent). He exceeded his previous career best by seven points when he scored 21 points in a 100-75 victory over Idaho State on March 5 to help EWU wrap-up at least a share of the Big Sky title. So far in his career, he's played in 35 games (11 as a starter) and is averaging 6.7 points, 1.8 assists and 2.0 rebounds while sinking 42-of-115 3-point attempts (36.5 percent).
Robertson played in 26 Eastern games a true freshman in 2019-20, averaging 8.1 minutes, 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high eight points at Boston College and one game later had his high for rebounds with three at High Point. In a 68-64 victory at Northern Colorado in a battle for first place in the league standings, Robertson came off the bench to provide some of the defense on UNC's Jonah Radebaugh, who needed 24 shots to score 21 points. In his career thus far, Robertson has played 30 games (his first 28 off the bench) and has averaged 3.7 points and 1.8 rebounds while sinking 21-of-51 3-pointers for 41.2 percent.
"Casson and Tyler are really good, and they are two reasons why I'm so high on this team," said Eastern head coach
Shantay Legans after the Arizona game. "We have a lot of depth on this team and we can call on a lot of players when we need to. We have a really good team, but we have to win these close games, especially when we get into crunch time. We'll get better – it's a fun to coach and watch play. We just have to make sure we're making those toughness plays to win games."
Senior Jack Perry Continues Marksmanship from 3-Point Line
With nearly 100 games of experience as an Eagle, so far this season senior
Jack Perry has averaged 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while sinking 3-of-11 3-point shots.
He adds senior leadership in the back court after averaging 6.2 points and 2.5 assists during a junior that was limited to 26 games because of a high ankle sprain. In league-only statistics last season, Perry was 14th in assists (2.7) and 11th in 3-pointers made per game (1.7). He has also provided some clutch moments through the years for EWU, including the 100th 3-pointer of his career to give EWU the lead for good in a 78-75 victory at Idaho on Jan. 16, 2020.
On schedule to play in his 100th game as an Eagle on Dec. 19, Perry has played in 98 games (64 as a starter), just six games from moving into the No. 22 position in school history. He is currently just off EWU's all-time career 3-point percentage list at 39.7 percent (131-of-330), and has averaged 5.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game with 46 total steals.
Ellis Magnuson, a 31-Game Starter from a Year Ago, Makes Debut Versus Oregon
Ellis Magnuson started all 31 Eagle games as a true freshman in the 2019-20 season, but missed the first two games of his sophomore season because of the Covid-19 pandemic. He made his season debut versus Oregon on Dec. 7 and finished with two assists and no points in eight minutes of action. In three games thus far, he's averaged 12.5 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists.
A year ago, Magnuson finished 118th in the nation in assists (4.2 to rank fifth in the Big Sky) and was 112th in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.84 per game to rank fifth in the league). In Big Sky-only statistics, he was eighth in assists (3.4), and was the only freshman ranked in that category in the top 15. He was also the only freshman in the top 11 in assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking seventh (+1.5).
Eagles Enter 2020-21 Season with New Assistant, T.J. Lipold
The 2020-21 Eastern Washington University men's basketball season will include a new assistant coach, as
T.J. Lipold moves from an operations position to a coaching role for the Eagles.
Replacing Lipold as EWU's director of basketball operations is
Shawn James, a veteran of two previous seasons with the program. Continuing in the program are new Associate Head Coach
David Riley and assistant coach
Bobby Suarez, who both have previously been selected by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) on its Under Armour 30-under-30 squad. Riley was honored in 2016-17, and Suarez was chosen to the squad in the 2019-20 school year. The honor recognized Riley and Suarez among a group of up and coming young coaches in men's college basketball.
Lipold (pronounced "Lip-old") began working for the EWU Basketball program in June of 2017 in an assistant director of basketball operations/video coordinator role. The 2020-21 season will be his fourth overall at EWU, and his first as an assistant coach after spending 2019-20 as the head director of basketball operations. His previous responsibilities included film breakdown, scouting reports preparation, opponent player tendencies evaluation and day-to-day team operations.
"T.J. has worked his tail off the last few years in our program and is ready to make the jump into a coaching position," said Eastern head coach
Shantay Legans. "His energy and passion is infectious, and he will be a huge asset as he helps coach our defense and the big men this season."
He played two years (2010-2012) under John Moore at Westmont College, where he was a part of back-to-back 25-win seasons and earned his bachelor's degree. Before Westmont, Lipold played his first two years of college basketball for Saddleback College (2009-10) under head coach Andy Ground and assistant Nick Booker. Booker is EWU's former associate head coach.
While at Saddleback, Lipold earned first team All-Orange Empire League on a team that won the CCAA State Championship in 2010.
After completing his master's degree in education in 2013, he started coaching at Saddleback College, serving as an assistant coach for three years. He contributed to another state title as part of the 2015 CCAA State Championship team, and his responsibilities included recruiting, practice planning, scouting, skill development and academic planning.
"I am just grateful for the opportunity to be a part of something special and learn from an awesome coaching staff on a day to day basis," said Lipold when he first came to EWU. "Coaching at the college level has been a dream of mine since as young as I can remember, as I grew up in a gym watching my dad coach at Long Beach City College."
James now coordinates operations and video for the team, and the previous two years as a graduate assistant he helped work with EWU wing and post players.
He also has previously helped with video analysis and assisted with on-campus visits and summer camps while at EWU. He completed his master's degree in educational leadership in 2020.
A 2016 graduate of the University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif., James received his degree in environmental business and played four years of basketball for the Bulldogs. The NCAA Division III school won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) title in the 2012-13 season.
Prior to coming to Eastern, he was an assistant coach at Dallas Christian College in the 2016-17 season. He was responsible for player development, statistics/analytics, scouting opponents, video exchange, and special teams.
After that, he was an intern in the 2017-18 season for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association. He assisted with practices, shootarounds, and pre- and post-game workouts. He was able to work with the team in the 2018 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Nev.
James is originally from Plano, Texas, and attended Plano Senior High School.
More on EWU's 2020-21 Schedule
As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, road trips will be few and far between for Eastern, as the preliminary 2020-21 Big Sky Conference men's basketball schedule was released in October. In addition, Eastern initially was scheduled to play on the road at two Pac-12 Conference foes (Oregon and Washington State), as well as one nationally-renown program from the West Coast Conference (Saint Mary's) and a member of the Mountain West Conference (UNLV). The Eagles were also scheduled to host a non-NCAA Division I foe.
League teams will typically play two games at a venue, with EWU's league schedule starting with games in December versus Northern Arizona at Flagstaff, Ariz. Those contests were scheduled to be played on Dec. 3 & 5, but were subsequently moved to Dec. 18 and 19.
Eastern will have 10 league home games, starting New Year's Eve (Dec. 31) versus Portland State, followed by another home game versus the Vikings on Jan. 2.
"I would like to think having a large group of returning players will help us during the limitations created by the pandemic," said Legans. "I hope that's a big factor, but at the same time there are some really good coaches in our league. There are some really good transfers who came into our league from different leagues, so like I said, having returning players who know each other is going to be a huge advantage."
"I am glad we are getting 20 games -- that's the best thing about our schedule," said Legans. "The safety and health of all of our student-athletes is the most important part. We also want to make sure they have a full season so they don't feel slighted this year by any means. It's going to be different, but sometimes you have to change for certain reasons. I think we all understand why we have to do it this way. We are not the only conference scheduling this way, so it will be a little different for everybody."
"There are going to be some flare ups, so I'm hoping those don't carry over from Thursday to Saturday -- coaches included. Playing the same opponent back-to-back is going to be like a quick little NBA mini playoff series. You have to see if you can adjust and do different things on that Saturday. It's going to be a lot of fun."
The Eagles began practices on Wednesday (Oct. 14) for the 2020-21 season, and the earliest date the National Collegiate Athletic Association allowed NCAA Division I games to be played is Nov. 25.
"We had our first 5-on-5 session at practice in October since March 11th when we were told at the Big Sky Tournament that we weren't playing anymore," Legans commented. "They were excited to play, excited to get up and down and excited to compete against one another. We just got right back to business. We are hoping that we keep everybody healthy and keep everyone moving forward. I really like the team we have this year."
"It's been good to see what they look like in person, instead of having them tell you," he added. "They could tell you they are as good as Lebron James and you have to believe them because you can't see them for yourself. But now being able to see them come out here and compete has been a lot of fun and I love it."
Eastern is also scheduled to play Big Sky home games versus Southern Utah (Jan. 14 & 16), Sacramento State (Jan. 28 & 30), Idaho (Feb. 6), Montana (Feb. 18) and Idaho State (March 4 & 6).
The Eagles will also travel to Ogden, Utah, to play at Weber State (Jan. 7 & 9), Greeley, Colo., to play Northern Colorado (Jan. 21 & 23), Moscow, Idaho, to take on Idaho (Feb. 4), Bozeman, Mont., to play Montana State (Feb. 11 & 13) and Missoula, Mont., to face Montana (Feb. 20).
"Different states allow different things and some guys have been playing with each other, so they are getting a little bit of the chemistry going -- especially the schools with a lot of transfers," Legans said. "I'm hoping our chemistry turns out to be something good for us. At the same time you just never know. Injuries could happen, but I like to think being able to have these guys around each other for so long and that they know each other so well will give us an advantage."
"We have NAU first, then we will go from there -- but you have to win both games," said Legans, whose team had seven league sweeps a year ago. "You don't want splits anymore. The NAU trip is going to be interesting because previously we would just drive up from Phoenix the day of the game and drive right back. Now we are going to have to adjust to a new type of road schedule, and that's going provide some interesting travels as we move ahead."
All 11 league teams will advance to the Big Sky Conference Basketball Championships, to be held for the third consecutive year at recently re-named Idaho Central Arena (formerly CenturyLink Arena) in Boise, Idaho. The neutral-site tournament will run from March 10-13, 2021, and begins two days earlier for the women.
Series Notes
* Eastern has won 15 of the last 18 versus Northern Arizona and has a six-game winning streak, tying the all-time series versus NAU 37-37 (12-24 in Flagstaff, 23-12 in Cheney, 2-1 neutral). Eastern has won the last nine meetings in Cheney dating back to a 73-69 loss on Jan. 15, 2010. The Eagles have won three of the last four in Flagstaff, and haven't lost there since March 4, 2017, in a 76-61 loss. 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.
* Since Eastern became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, the Eagles are now 26-24 versus Portland State. All of the meetings have come since the 1996-97 school year when PSU joined the Big Sky Conference, and Eastern is 17-8 in Cheney and 8-15 against PSU in Portland (1-1 on neutral courts) since then. The overall series is now knotted at 27 apiece. Eastern is 2-1 against PSU in the Big Sky Tournament, winning 78-72 in the quarterfinals in 2018 in Reno, 81-75 in the 2006 quarterfinals in Cheney and losing 80-74 in the 1999 quarterfinals in Ogden, Utah.
Recent Game Recaps
Eagles Nearly Get Breakthrough But Fall 80-75 at Saint Mary's
Eastern led for 28 1/2 minutes, but didn't get the finish it needed en route to an 80-75 loss at Saint Mary's – the nation's No. 4 mid-major team – on Dec. 15 in Moraga, Calif. Sophomore
Tyler Robertson and junior
Tanner Groves led a quartet of players in double figures with a career-high 17 each for the Eagles, but Saint Mary's Tommy Kuhse was too much to overcome. He had a career-high 34 points to go along with six assists and seven rebounds. Eastern rallied late with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to two, but Kuhse and hit the dagger with a driving layin with 1:09 left. Eastern missed its last four shots in the final 1:38. The game featured 11 lead changes and eight ties – both season highs for EWU -- until the Gaels took command with 9-0 run late in the game. Both teams shot the ball well, with EWU finishing at a season-best 45.2 percent and the Gaels at 48.4 percent. The only difference in the game in favor of the Gaels was a 38-33 rebounding advantage as both teams had seven 3-pointers and eight turnovers. Eastern had an 18-8 advantage in second-chance points – highs in both categories for EWU – thanks to eight offensive boards. Robertson had his fourth double-figure scoring performance in the four games he's played this season, finishing with a career-high 17. He sank 5-of-8 shots from the field, including 5-of-7 from the 3-point stripe. He eclipsed his previous high of 14 at Arizona on Dec. 5, and his high last season as a freshman was nine. His previous high for 3-pointers made was three. Groves also scored 17 to equal his career high, sinking 7-of-10 shots from the field and 3-of-4 free throws. He also had seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots as he came three boards from his second-straight double-double and fourth of his career. He equaled his high of 17 earlier this season at Washington State and a year ago versus Multnomah. Senior
Jacob Davison, the preseason MVP in the Big Sky Conference, had 15 points, including 11 in the first half. Junior
Kim Aiken Jr., a preseason All-Big Sky selection, scored 12 points and finished with eight rebounds and three assists. Sophomore
Casson Rouse chipped in six points and four rebounds. Davison had a driving lay-in, 3-pointer and the 100th steal of his career in the opening minute as EWU took an early 5-0 lead. Eastern also had a 5-0 run to open its biggest lead of the half at 34-28 with 1:49 to play. Neither team had scoring runs of more than five points before intermission, as Saint Mary's also had a pair and trailed 40-37. There were eight ties and seven lead changes in the first half, and Eastern led for 15:02 compared to 2:24 for the Gaels. The game was tied the other 2:34. Robertson hit a 3-pointer to start the second half, then hit another at the 16:41 mark to give EWU its largest lead at 50-41. Less than two minutes later he hit another with 14:49 left to maintain the nine-point lead at 55-46. The Gaels, however, had a pair of 5-0 runs to help knot the score at 63 with 7:25 to play. Eastern took its last two leads of the game on free throws, including a pair by Aiken with 6:35 left.
Eagles Jump on Coyotes Early in 80-56 Win
The first start for
Tyler Robertson was a fast start too. Led by the sophomore from Melbourne, Australia, Eastern jumped on The College of Idaho early and often for an 80-56 victory 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 in the first start of his now 29-game collegiate career, and junior
Tanner Groves had a double-double with10 points and 12 rebounds. The Eagles had played just nine of its 15 available players in the first three games, but that changed versus the Coyotes. 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. Groves had the third double-double of his career and first for an Eagle this season, and also 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, and also had five rebounds. 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. Junior
Kim Aiken Jr., a preseason All-Big Sky selection, scored 11 points and had eight rebounds and three steals.
2019-20 Recap
2019-20 Men's Basketball Highlights . . .
- The Eagles had their-second highest win total in 37 years as a NCAA Division I member with 23 victories.
- Their 16 league triumphs were the most in their 33 years as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
- The Eagles finished sixth in the nation in scoring offense (80.9 per game) and were fourth in assists (17.5).
- Eastern was able to celebrate heartily on March 7, 2020, after the Eagles beat Weber State 78-69 to wrap-up the outright Big Sky Conference title.
- The Coronavirus pandemic resulted in cancellation of the Big Sky and NCAA Tournaments, and ended a historic run by EWU and senior Mason Peatling, who won the league's MVP award after averaging a double-double in 20 league outings.
- Mason Peatling also was a first team Academic All-America selection, and finished his career with 118 games played, 1,250 points, 725 rebounds, 112 blocked shots and a .555 field goal shooting percentage – all marks which rank in the top 12 in EWU history.
- Mason Peatling and Jacob Davison were rewarded for the historic season by receiving All-District 6 honors by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
- Peatling was a first team All-Big Sky selection, while junior Jacob Davison was picked for the second team and sophomore Kim Aiken Jr. was on the third squad.
- Head Coach Shantay Legans himself was the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year after leading EWU to a final record of 23-8 overall and 16-4 in the league.
- Legans is now 59-41 in his three years as head coach for a .590 winning percentage. In league games, he has directed EWU to 13, 12 and now 16 victories, winning 71 percent for a record of 41-17. Both percentages are currently the best among the eight men who have been head coaches in EWU's tenure in the league, and his 41 league wins is the best three-year stretch in school history.
- Mason Peatling was on fire during the league season, closing with averages of 18.5 points on 56 percent shooting from the field, 10.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.7 blocked shots and 0.8 steals. He had 11 double-doubles in his last 15 games.
- Mason was honored three times during the year as Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, and Jacob Davison earned the honor twice.
- Eastern's school-record 16 Big Sky wins included sweeps over seven of the league's 10 other teams, and a split versus Idaho State and Idaho. Eastern was swept by Montana, which had won the two previous regular season and tournament titles.
- The Eagles had just two seniors – Mason Peatling and Tyler Kidd – so EWU has high aspirations for 2020 and beyond.
- 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).
- A Big Sky Conference-best eight players were named to the league's All-Academic squad, including four-time recipient Mason Peatling. The others were Kim Aiken Jr., Jacob Groves, Tanner Groves, Ellis Magnuson, Michael Meadows, Jack Perry and Tyler Robertson.
- A trio of Eagles – Kim Aiken Jr., Jacob Davison and Mason Peatling – were honored during the year as the EWU Scholar-Athletes of the Month.
- Six different players earned team awards at the conclusion of the season. Mason Peatling was chosen as the MVP after earning the same honor from the league. Sophomore Kim Aiken Jr., received the team's Best Defender award, and Peatling, Aiken and junior Jacob Davison were recognized as EWU's co-captains for the 2019-20 season. In addition, junior Jack Perry received the team's Most Improved award, true freshman Ellis Magnuson was the Top Newcomer and sophomore Tanner Groves out of Spokane's Shadle Park High School was Most Inspirational.
Eagles Finish Sixth in NCAA Division I in Scoring
After hitting the 100-point mark on March 5 for the first time since December and the first time versus a NCAA Division I opponent in the 2019-20 season, the Eagles finished sixth in NCAA Division I in scoring. Eastern closed with a league-leading average of 80.9 points per game, with Gonzaga ranking first in the nation at 87.4. The Eagles also ranked fourth in assists (17.5 per game) and 15th in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.36 per game) to lead the league, and were 26th in 3-point field goals per game (9.3) and 41st in scoring margin (+8.0) to rank second in the Big Sky. Eastern was also 57th in field goal percentage (.460) to rank third, and had the league's best winning percentage (23-8, .742) to rank 33rd nationally.
Individually, sophomore
Kim Aiken Jr. finished fourth in NCAA Division I in defensive rebounds per game (8.2) and 36th in rebounding overall (9.7). He led the Big Sky in both categories, and was also 38th in the nation with 12 double-doubles. Senior
Mason Peatling is 55th in rebounding overall (9.1 to rank second in the league behind Aiken) and 29th in offensive rebounds per game (league-leading 3.42). He had 14 double-doubles to rank 26th nationally and lead the Big Sky. Junior
Jacob Davison was 70th nationally and fourth in the Big Sky in scoring (18.4) and Aiken was third in the league and 85th in the nation in steals (1.74). True freshman
Ellis Magnuson finished 118th in the nation in assists (4.2 to rank fifth in the Big Sky) and is 112th in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.84 per game to rank fifth in the league).
Davison, Aiken and
Mason Peatling all ranked in the top 14 in the Big Sky in scoring, with Peatling averaging 17.2 (sixth) and Aiken at 13.3 (14th).
Additionally, in the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings, Eastern finished as the second-best Big Sky school at 135th in the nation. Northern Colorado was 100th and Montana finished 141st.
In League Games Only, Peatling was Arguably the Most Productive Player in the Big Sky
In Big Sky
Conference games only, senior
Mason Peatling was the only player in the league to rank in the top 10 in league-games only in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocked shots and field goal percentage, and he ranked in the top six in each. Further, he is also the only player to average a double-double. In league games only, he ranked first in rebounding (10.4), third in field goal percentage (.563), fifth in scoring (18.5), sixth in assists (3.8) and third in blocked shots (1.7). He was also first in offensive rebounds (3.9), second in defensive rebounds (6.5), eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.4) and 14th in free throw percentage (.636).
Also ranking high in league-only statistics was junior
Jacob Davison, who overtook Peatling for fourth in scoring (18.7), as well as ranking 11th in field goal percentage (.439), 10th in free throw percentage (.752), 12th in steals (1.2) and 14th in assists (2.7). Sophomore
Kim Aiken Jr. finished second in rebounding (9.0), first in defensive rebounds (7.5), third in 3-pointers made per game (2.3), fifth in steals (1.7), 12th in blocked shots (1.1) and 21st in scoring (12.1).
Additionally, true freshman
Ellis Magnuson was eighth in assists (3.4), and was the only freshman ranked in that category in the top 15. He was also the only freshman in the top 11 in assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking seventh (+1.5). Junior
Jack Perry was 14th in assists (2.7) and 11th in 3-pointers made per game (1.7).
As a team, Eastern led the league in assists (16.8) and total rebounds (36.5) in Big Sky games only. The Eagles were also second in scoring (76.2), assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.4) and 3-pointers made per game (8.8), and finished third in scoring margin (+4.8).
More Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
On Saint Mary's Loss: "We have to come out and make sure we make winning plays and rebound. We didn't do that in the second half and that's the story of the year so far. We have to get better game-by-game. Our team will get there. We have a great bunch of guys and smart players. We just have to finish these games off at the end."
On Robertson and Tanner Groves Versus Saint Mary's: "We have to figure out a way to get those players the ball a lot more, especially with them playing that way. Tanner is showing he's one of the best big man in the country. He went against some big guys in the Pac-12 and did well against a good big man tonight. We have to make we're making the right plays and the right reads so he can get touches."
On Victory Over The College of Idaho: "It was fun to get a home game and get a win. 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. 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."
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 Reese Court: "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."
On Depth: "We have a lot of depth, and have even more players who haven't played who are going to play. We like to give players opportunities to see what they can do and see if they run with it. We have a lot of players, and we have to figure out who can get in there and do certain things and play roles. That's the fun of coaching to figure that part out."
