They would gladly trade more games for honors, but six Eastern Washington University men's basketball players have been honored with team awards selected by the Eagle coaching staff after helping EWU to the Big Sky Conference outright regular season championship.
 
Eagle senior 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, which saw EWU finish 23-8 overall and 16-4 in the league.
 
That trio all earned All-Big Sky honors, but they had lots of help from teammates. 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.
 
The COVID-19 virus wiped out the Big Sky Conference Tournament before the Eagles could even play a game, but EWU took solace in that it could celebrate heartily on March 7 after the Eagles beat Weber State 78-69 to wrap-up the outright title. The world changed dramatically shortly after that.
 
"We got to cut down the nets after our regular season championship, and we were happy about that," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "But if the cancellation of the season had to happen, it had to happen. We feel for the seniors and all players – in every program. We all play in the conference tournament, and that gives all teams hope of making the NCAA Tournament. It took the hopes away from a lot of young men, not just us. They'll never forget that."
 
The league tournament was canceled on March 12, shortly before the Eagles were to play their first game versus Sacramento State. A few hours after that, the NCAA Tournament was canceled as well, ending EWU's season.
 
"We still had some hope, but the other seniors in our conference knew their season was over no matter how hard they worked and felt like they could earn it," added Legans, who was selected as the Big Sky Coach of the Year. "For a couple of hours at least, we still had the excitement and hope of playing in the NCAA Tournament. But then we had to tell the team that was canceled. That was the tough one to swallow."
 
The Eagles had their-second highest win total in 37 years as a NCAA Division I member and their 16 league wins were the most in 33 years in the Big Sky. The Eagles finished sixth in the nation in scoring offense (80.9 per game) and were fourth in assists (17.5).
 
"It's tough – there are no words you can prepare to tell those young men that news," added Legans. "You can talk about a win, you can talk about a loss, you can talk about taking a last-second shot -- but this is something brand new for me and this country. My heart goes out to everybody. It's a tough pill to swallow, but at the same time you have to worry about the safety and health of all people. We have to keep moving forward. Sports teaches you how to be tough, so we have to figure out how to cope with this and move on."