Every game is a dogfight in the Big Sky Conference.
 
If their battle wasn't close enough two days earlier, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team used another hard-fought effort to beat Northern Colorado 82-76 Saturday (Jan. 23) in Greeley, Colo., for a split in two games versus the Bears.
 
Eight Eagles scored at least six points, and EWU used a late 7-0 run to break open a close game that featured 20 lead changes and six ties. The Eagles had lost 78-76 on Thursday when the Bears sank two free throws with one second left in the game after EWU had rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit.  That game featured 10 lead changes and eight ties.
 
Eastern changed up the starting lineup with sophomore Michael Meadows making the first start of his career, and sophomore Jacob Groves getting his second. Although the Eagles had just 27 points at intermission – a low in a first half and third-lowest overall – the Eagles responded with his highest scoring half of the season with 55 after halftime.
 
"We are relying on players we trust, and they did a great job," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "I couldn't be any prouder. We're trying of find the right recipe and we'll get there. We have some really, really good groceries."
 
Three Eagles scored in double figures, including a double-double by Tanner Groves with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kim Aiken Jr. had 17 with eight boards, and senior Jacob Davison came off the bench for the first time in three years and scored 11.
 
Eastern made all 10 of its free throw attempts in the last 52 seconds to preserve the victory. Northern Colorado's last lead came with 5:56 to play as the Eagles took the lead for good 15 seconds later.
 
 "You have to be happy for these young men," added Legans. "They did a great job today."
 
Eastern, which is scheduled to host Sacramento State on Jan. 28 and 30 in its next home games at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash., are in a logjam in a league season impacted by numerous cancellations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Through all games this weekend, Montana State sits on top at 6-0, followed by Southern Utah (6-2), Sacramento State (4-2), Idaho State (5-3), Eastern (3-2) and Weber State (2-2). Northern Colorado is also at .500 with a 5-5 record, followed by Montana (3-5), Portland State (2-4), Northern Arizona (3-6) and Idaho (0-8).
 
 
Records
 
* The Eagles, the preseason and defending regular season champions, are 4-6 overall and 3-2 in the Big Sky Conference. Because of the Covid-19 protocols and a positive case within EWU's program, Eastern went a full 25 days without a game. But they returned and beat Southern Utah 75-63 on Jan. 14, and two days later the Thunderbirds rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat the Eagles 99-94. Eastern led for 65 1/2 out of a possible 80 minutes against SUU, but came out with a split.
 
 * Northern Colorado was picked to finish third by the media and fifth by the coaches in the Big Sky Conference preseason polls. Led by first-year head coach Steve Smiley, UNC is 8-7 overall and 5-5 in the Big Sky. A year ago, the Bears were 22-9 overall and 15-5 in the Big Sky to finish second behind EWU.
 
 
Top EWU Performers
 
Junior Kim Aiken Jr., a preseason All-Big Sky selection, led the Eagle with 17 points, making 5-of-10 shots from the field and 7-of-9 free throws. He also finished with eight rebounds, four assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
Junior Tanner Groves had his second-straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He missed his first free throw of the game, snapping his streak of 27 made free throws in a row dating back to making his last seven at Northern Arizona on Dec. 19. He made 8-of-14 to start the year, but is 33-of-36 since (91.7 percent). Groves now has four double-doubles this season and six in his career.
Senior Jacob Davison, the preseason MVP in the Big Sky Conference, came off the bench to score 11 for EWU. He also had five rebounds and a pair of steals. He had started 59-straight games, with the last time he came off the bench coming on Nov. 17, 2018, at Washington.
Sophomore Tyler Robertson scored nine with a pair of assists and two rebounds.
Sophomore Michael Meadows made the first start of his now 24-game career and finished with nine points and three rebounds in 32 minutes of action. He sank all five of his free throws.
Senior Jack Perry, playing in his 103rd game as an Eagle, helped spark the Eagles in the second half with eight points. He sank both of the 3-pointers he attempted and had a team-high three steals.
Sophomore Jacob Groves, the younger brother of junior Tanner Groves, made the second start of his career and had seven points and four rebounds. Both Groves brothers are graduates of Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash.
Sophomore Ellis Magnuson chipped in six points but was held without an assist.
 
 
Game Details & Turning Point
 
The first half was close throughout, and included eight lead changes and five ties at the point EWU used a 6-0 run to take a 27-22 lead. Aiken made a basket after a steal by Davison to spark the run, then Meadows hit back-to-back buckets to give EWU its largest lead of the game at five.
 
But EWU would go the final 3:49 of the half without scoring, and Northern Colorado scored the final eight points to lead 30-27 at intermission and provide the ninth lead change. Keeping the Eagles in the game at that point were four rebound baskets, as Tanner Groves and Jacob Groves each scored seven for the Eagles. The 27 points were the fewest in the first half for the Eagles this season and third-fewest overall.
 
The Bears continued to expand on the lead in the second half, going up 43-34 with 14:33 to play. The Eagles, however, battled back, and a basket by Aiken and a 3-pointer by Davison cut the lead to 46-44 with 12:27 remaining. At that point, the Eagles had made just 1-of-12 3-pointers, and would make four of its last five to finish 5-of-17 for the game.
 
Eastern completed the comeback with another steal by Davison and basket by Aiken, putting EWU up 47-46 with the game's 11th lead change at the 11:44 mark.
 
The two teams traded blows after that, with the largest lead by either team in the next 6 1/2 minutes at three points until Perry hit a 3-pointer with 5:11 left that gave EWU a 65-61 advantage. Soon after that, the Eagles went on a game-deciding 7-0 run on baskets by Aiken, Tanner Groves and a 3-pointer by Robertson at the 2:48 mark, giving EWU a 72-64 lead.
 
The last Northern Colorado lead came at the 5:56 mark, and EWU took the lead for good on a basket by Tanner Groves with 5:41 to play.
 
 
 
Series Notes
 
* The Eagles are now 16-13 all-time versus UNC (10-3 in Cheney, 6-10 in Greeley), with the first meeting taking place on Dec. 20, 1971, when Eastern beat the Bears 76-68 in Greeley, Colo. Since then, all of the meetings have been with EWU as a member of NCAA Division I (since 1983-84), starting in the 2006-07 season when the Bears became a Big Sky Conference member. A year ago, Eastern swept the Bears with an 89-84 overtime victory at home followed by a 68-64 win in Greeley.
 
* Eastern had lost the last two times they've played in Greeley until the victory last season, but the Eagles have won the last six times the squads have met in Cheney dating back to an 88-80 Bear win in overtime on Feb. 28, 2013. Eastern has won 10 of the last 14 overall since that EWU loss, including a recent stretch of seven victories in the last nine meetings ended with the 78-76 loss on Jan. 21.
 
 
More Game Notes
 
* This week's games were a match-up of the No. 4 offense in the league and the No. 4 defense, as Eastern entered the game averaging 73.9 points per game and UNC is surrendering 66.3. The Bears have the league's third-best 3-point shooting percentage (.361) and are tied at the top in the Big Sky in 3-point defense (.281). Eastern is seventh in the league in percentage (.333), but is second with an average of 9.3 3-pointers per game (Weber State is averaging 10.1). The Eagles, however, are third in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.294).
 
* Junior forward Tanner Groves entered action this week leading the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (8.9 per game) and field goal percentage (.541). He is also sixth in scoring (16.6), fourth in blocked shots (1.3) and fifth in free throw percentage (.810). Preseason All-Big Sky MVP Jacob Davison joined Groves with a 46-point weekend last week, including 31 in the second game versus Southern Utah on Jan. 16 when he hit nine 3-pointers to come one from the school record of 10. The senior entered action this week averaging 14.6 points to rank 10th in the league, and second in 3-pointers made per game (2.25). Pre-season All-Big Sky Conference selection Kim Aiken Jr. was second behind in Groves in rebounding in the league, averaging 8.0 per game to go along with 11.8 points per outing. He also joined Groves in ranking fourth in the BSC in blocked shots (1.25). Sophomore Tyler Robertson was also averaging in double figures for EWU entering the week at 11.6 points per game, and was also 10th in the league in assists (2.7).
 
* Entering action this weekend, preseason All-Big Sky selection Bodie Hume led the Bears with averages of 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-6 junior guard is supported by 6-4 junior guard Daylen Kountz with averages of 12.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, and 6-2 guard Matt Johnson averaged 11.6 points, 2.3 assists and 2.2 boards. Hume is seventh in the league in scoring and fourth in rebounding, and his average of 2.2 3-pointers per game ranks fourth and his 1.3 blocks per game is third.
 
 
On the Horizon
 
* The Eagles return to Reese Court on Jan. 28 to host Sacramento State at 6:05 p.m. Pacific time, then host the Hornets two days later on Jan. 30 for a game that starts at 11:05 a.m. (changed recently to accommodate Sac State travel). With only seven games played entering action this week, the Hornets had played the fewest games as any team in the Big Sky thus far (Eastern's eight was the second-fewest). Sacramento State is now 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the league after a home split versus Montana (78-66 loss on Jan. 21 and 89-83 double-overtime victory on Jan. 23). The prior week, they fell to Idaho State 57-56 on Jan. 16 and then beat the Bengals two days later by a 70-65 score.
 
* Entering action this week, the Hornets were led by a quartet of seniors all averaging in double figures. Six-foot-7 forward Ethan Esposito is averaging 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds, and UC Santa Barbara transfer Christian Terrell is averaging 14.8 points, 5.2 boards and 2.4 assists. Bryce Fowler is averaging 11.6 points and 4.0 assists, and William FitzPatrick is the fourth Hornet averaging in double figures at 11.4 points per outing.
 
* Brian Katz is in his 13th season as head coach of the Hornets, making him the dean of coaches in the league. After the Montana split, he has a 148-223 record in Sacramento. A year ago, Sac State was 16-14 overall and 8-12 in the league to place in a tie for eighth, and this year were picked to finish ninth by both the coaches and media in the league's preseason polls. The Eagles and Hornets were set to meet in last year's Big Sky Conference Tournament before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
 
 
More Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans
 
On Being Preseason Picks: "We need to understand we are the guys being hunted now, and we have to have a different mentality for every game. We'll get there because we have guys stepping up all over the place and they are giving us great contributions and great toughness. That's what's going to win games. We'll always recruit players who can score, but we need to play tough, defend and rebound the ball well, and today we did that. When you do that and not give up easy baskets, you put yourself in a great position to win games."
 
On Second Half: "We just said 'go make baskets boys.' We had great contributions in the second half. Tanner was all beat up, but he came out and gave us a double-double. You can't say enough about that young man and the great basketball he is playing. Kim Aiken played the same way and made big shots and big plays. Jacob was taken out of the starting lineup so we could switch some things out, and he was rooting louder than anybody else on that bench. When he got in he stretched the game out for us and did some amazing things. Jack Perry hit two huge 3-pointers and got some huge steals. That's what you can hope for from you leaders. But this was the result of this week's game, and next week will be different."
 
On Toughness: "Mike Meadows hasn't played a lot because of an Achilles injury, but he came in and played 32 minutes. He has toughness, and our other players do too. When you have tough guys and things go wrong, they stick together. That's what we need to achieve and understand, and we are trying to fill roles. At the same time, we have players with great character. They've worked their tails off every single day and do anything we ask. They are great in the community, and you couldn't ask for better guys to root for."
 
On Rebounding: "Rebounding is toughness. We have talent, but if you have toughness to go along with that talent you will win a lot of games. That's what we did last year and that's what we'll do this year."