The Eagles couldn't ask for nothing else than to control their own destiny heading into the final weekend of play.
The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team will try to wrap-up a second-straight Big Sky Conference regular season title when they host Idaho State for a pair of games this week at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. The Eagles and Bengals play on Wednesday, March 3 at 6:05 p.m. Pacific time and again on Friday, March 5 at 12:05 p.m. Pacific.
Wednesday's game will be televised live regionally on SWX – both in Eastern Washington and in Montana. Both games will be available via PlutoTV channel 1053, as well as via
https://bigskyconf.com/watchbigsky. Eastern games are also 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. Live statistics from all Eastern home games are available via
http://ewustats.com.
This week's games were previously scheduled for one day later, but were pushed up to avoid a conflict with EWU's home football game on March 6. At this time, only immediate family of players and coaches are permitted to attend home basketball games due to institutional, regional, and state guidelines in regards to the Covid-19 pandemic.
While Eastern is leading the league at 11-2 (12-6 overall) and has won nine-straight games, they can't wrap-up even a share of the title on Wednesday. That's because Southern Utah has won seven consecutive games and is sitting at 10-2 in the league, and plays on March 4 and 6 at Portland State. Weber State is also in the hunt at 11-3 and has a five-game winning streak, and the Wildcats host Northern Colorado on March 4 and 6.
Behind that trio of teams is Idaho State, which is currently 7-5 in the Big Sky Conference and 12-9 overall after a pair of home losses to Montana in Pocatello, Idaho, last week by 64-58 and 59-58 scores. The previous week, Idaho State had games on Feb. 18 and Feb. 20 versus Montana State canceled.
This week's games will be a classic match-up of offense versus defense. In league-only games, Eastern is averaging 85.1 points to lead the Big Sky, and ISU is tops in scoring defense at 61.7 per game. However, Eastern head coach
Shantay Legans likes his team's balanced attack during a season in which nine different Eagles have combined for 64 double-figure scoring performances, and three players have combined for 13 double-doubles.
"We have players who can do different things and they all play for each other," said Legans. "As a coach, that really makes your day and really makes you proud. They are listening and understanding, but the most important thing is they are playing for each other and that's all that matters."
Eastern has won nine-straight games and hasn't tasted defeat since losing at Northern Colorado on Jan. 21. The nine-game winning streak is now in sole possession of second-best in Eastern's NCAA Division I history, and is one of 12 the Eagles have had of six-straight or more since moving to D-I in the 1983-84 season. The record is 11 set by the 2003-04 Eastern team which advanced to the NCAA Tournament that season.
In its most recent outings, Eastern handed Montana its worst two Big Sky losses of the season with a pair of twin 90-76 victories on Feb. 18 and 20. After a week off, the Eagles enter their finales 11-2 in the Big Sky and 12-6 overall, and have won at least 10 league games for the eighth-straight season. That only happened six times before in EWU's first 30 seasons as a member of NCAA Division I.
Entering action this week, Eastern has a half-game lead in the Big Sky at 11-2, followed by Southern Utah (10-2), Weber State (11-3), Idaho State (7-5), and Montana State (7-5). They are followed by Portland State (6-6), Northern Colorado (6-7), Montana (7-9), Sacramento State (4-8), Northern Arizona (4-10), and Idaho (1-17).
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.
The Eagles, 12-6 overall and with a nine-game winning streak, are on the roll they had a year ago en route to the regular season league title. Last year after five games of the league season, the Eagles were 3-2 (like this year's team), and had won the first game of what would become a six-game winning streak. Eastern ended the regular season with a streak of seven-straight victories to win the league title with a 16-4 mark.
Game Notes
A Look at the Final Weekend of the League Race Before the Tourney
Eastern will get a jump-start on the rest of the league this week, with 10 total games scheduled that will determine seedings for the Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Championship on March 10-13 in Boise, Idaho.
Besides EWU's games on Wednesday (March 3) and Friday (March 5) versus Idaho State, four games each day will take place on March 4 and March 6. But about 2 p.m. Saturday (March 6) the pairings for the tourney should be determined.
Eastern controls its own destiny toward the title, but other key games are doubleheaders for Southern Utah at Portland State and Northern Colorado at Weber State. The Eagles are assured of at least a No. 3 seed and a first-round bye into the quarterfinals of the league tournament on March 11.
Winning percentage will determine league placements this season since there are an unequal number of games played by the 11 league schools because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, Eastern played just one game versus Northern Arizona this season, and that could become a factor if the Eagles lose one of their remaining two games.
The first tiebreaker is head-to-head, and EWU, Weber State and Southern Utah are either 0-0 (EWU vs. WSU) or 1-1 versus one another (EWU vs. SUU; WSU vs. SUU).
The next tiebreaker would be record versus teams in descending order of finish. Entering the week, EWU is 0-0 versus ISU (this week's opponent), 2-0 vs. MSU, 0-0 vs. PSU, 1-1 vs. UNC and 2-0 vs. Montana. Versus those same teams, Southern Utah is 0-0 (ISU), 0-0 (MSU), 0-0 (PSU; this week's opponent), 0-0 (UNC) and 2-0 (UM), and Weber State is 0-0 (ISU), 2-0 (MSU), 1-1 (PSU), 0-0 (UNC; this week's opponent) and 1-1 (UM).
The tiebreakers could go deeper than that, however, because if an 0-0 record is involved with a tiebreaker, the next tiebreaker would be considered and so forth. If needed, the final tiebreaker is NCAA NET rankings, and entering the week Weber State is No. 102, EWU is 113th and Southern Utah is 140th.
The top five seeds receive a bye to the quarterfinal round, with three games taking place on Wednesday, March 10 – No. 8 versus No. 9, No. 7 versus No. 10 and No. 6 versus No. 11. If Eastern was to secure the No. 1 seed as it did a year ago, the Eagles would open games on Thursday, March 11 at 10 a.m. Pacific time versus the winner of the #8/#9 game. The No. 2 seed plays at 4 p.m. Pacific time against the #7/#10 winner, and the No. 3 seed plays at 7 p.m. Pacific time against the #6/#11 winner.
Semifinal games are scheduled for 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Pacific time, and the championship game on Saturday, March 13 is at 5 p.m.
Eagles Record Best-Ever Sweep of Montana Schools
In what was the biggest sweep of the Montana schools in EWU's 34-year history in the Big Sky Conference, Eastern enjoyed a 15.0 margin of victory in a four-game sweep of Montana State and Montana from Feb. 11-20. The Eagles won those four games by margins of 16, 16, 14, 14, including a pair of twin 90-76 victories over UM for Eastern's first season sweep of the Grizzlies in 18 years (since 2003)
Eastern also previously had season sweeps over the two Montana schools in 2003 and 1990, but won by an average of 10.8 in '03 (10, 15 vs. UM; 14, 4 vs MSU) and 9.4 in '90 (1, 17 vs. UM; 6, 14 vs. MSU).
In the four games combined, Eastern led 83 percent of the time -- 133:06 out of 160 total minutes (opponents led for 19:09 and the game was tied the other 7:45). Montana never led versus EWU in those two meetings (EWU led for 77:49 and there was no score for 2:11). The Eagles had their largest leads of 17 and 24 versus the Bobcats and 27 and 29 against the Griz.
Kim Aiken Jr., was a main contributor to the quartet of victories, earning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors after each of the sweeps. In those four games, Aiken had a trio of 20+ scoring performances and came a single rebound away from averaging a double-double. He had 81 points (20.3 average), 39 rebounds (9.8), nine assists (2.3) and eight steals (2.0) in those four Eagle victories, including a trio of road wins.
Eastern beat Montana State 93-77 on Feb. 11 and 85-69 on Feb. 13, then won at home against Montana 90-76 on Feb. 18. Two days later in Missoula, Eastern won by the same 90-76 score.
More About the Bengals
The Bengals are the top defensive team in the Big Sky, leading the league in both scoring defense (60.6) and field goal percentage defense (.399). Idaho State is also tops in blocked shots (3.7 per game) and rebounding defense (29.4 per game for opponents). In league only statistics, ISU is No. 1 in scoring defense (61.7), field goal percentage defense (.407) and blocked shots (3.4).
Overall this season, Tarik Cool is 10th in the Big Sky in scoring with a 13.8 average, and he is 10th in 3-pointers per game at 1.7. Robert Ford III is fifth in rebounding (7.2) and Brayden Parker is 14th (5.5), while Ford is also No. 6 in assists (3.3) and 13th in steals (1.1). Ford also averages 11.0 points per game and Brayden is at 10.6, while also ranking second in the league in blocked shots (1.2).
In league-only statistics, Cool is 12th in scoring (14.2), and Ford is sixth in rebounding (7.2) and seventh in assists (3.2). Malik Porter has had 16 blocked shots in 12 league games for a 1.3 average to rank second (overall he is seventh at 1.0 per game).
More About the Eagles
Thanks to its nine-game winning streak, in league games only Eastern is leading the Big Sky in six major categories – scoring offense (85.1), 3-point field goal percentage (.403), free throw percentage (.825), rebounds (36.5), assists (16.4) and assist/turnover ratio (+1.41). Overall, Eastern is leading the league in assist/turnover ratio (+1.33), and is No. 2 in free throw percentage (.793) and assists (15.3) and as well as No. 3 in scoring offense (80.4), field goal percentage offense (.470), field goal percentage defense (.422), and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.332).
Junior forward
Tanner Groves continues to lead the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (8.2 per game, tied with teammate
Kim Aiken Jr.) and field goal percentage (.572). He is also fifth in scoring (16.7), sixth in blocked shots (1.1) and fifth in free throw percentage (.815). In Big Sky games only, he is second in scoring (18.5) and rebounding (7.9), and first in field goal percentage (.591). He is also fifth in free throw percentage (.871) and 10th in blocked shots (0.9).
Pre-season All-Big Sky Conference selection
Kim Aiken Jr. has earned two-straight Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors from the league office. He has averaged 12.3 points (17th in the Big Sky) and 8.2 rebounds (first, along with teammate
Tanner Groves) thus far in his junior season. He's made 48-of-59 free throws (.814 to rank sixth in the league) and has 20 steals (1.1 per game to rank 14th), 17 blocked shots (0.94 to rank eighth) and 37 assists. In Big Sky Conference games only, Aiken is leading the league in rebounding (8.9) and is 14th in scoring (13.8), 11th in free throw percentage (.813), 12th in 3-pointers per game (1.69), 13th in steals (1.0) and seventh in blocked shots (1.08).
Sophomore
Tyler Robertson is also averaging in double figures for EWU at 11.9 points per game to rank just out of the top 20 in the league overall, and is 10th in assists (2.9) and 12th in 3-pointers per game (1.71). In league games only, he is tops in the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio (+3.42 with 41 assists and 12 turnovers) and eighth in assists (3.15). He's averaging 11.5 points per game during Big Sky play, with sophomore
Michael Meadows averaging 13.0 points (18th in the Big Sky) in the 10 league games he's played thus far with a string of seven-straight games in double figures.
Although he's played sparingly in EWU's last two games, preseason All-Big Sky MVP
Jacob Davison is eighth in 3-pointers made per game (1.75) overall and fifth in league games only (2.0). He scored 31 versus Southern Utah on Jan. 16 when he hit nine 3-pointers to come one from the school record of 10.
Prior to league play starting on Dec. 19 with an 80-64 win at Northern Arizona, on the same trip Eastern fell 80-75 at Saint Mary's in a game in which the Eagles led for 28 1/2 minutes. The first 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. Previously, Eastern fell to 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.
Eastern has had a trio of losses to top-notch NCAA Division I competition by a total of just 11 points after leading at halftime and with 10 minutes left in each. One of those was an 80-75 loss on Dec. 15 at Saint Mary's, which had entered the game ranked fourth in the CollegeInsider.com top 25 poll of mid-major teams. Two of those losses were versus Pac-12 Conference foes Washington State and Arizona.
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 led by as many as six in the first half against Oregon and trailed 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 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.
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).
Eagles Has +14.3 Winning Margin During Nine-Game Winning Streak
Eastern has now averaged 86.8 points per game during its current nine-game winning streak, while allowing 72.4 for an average winning margin of 14.3 points per game. During the streak, EWU has out-shot opponents 50.7 percent to 42.5 percent overall, and 42.0 percent to 35.1 percent from the 3-point stripe, and has made 83.8 percent from the free throw line. Eastern also has a plus 5.8 rebounding margin in those games, averaging 36.4 per game. The Eagles are 8-0 this season when they out-rebound their opponent, and 7-1 when they have at least 36 boards.
Eagles Showing Second-Half Dominance in League Play
The Eagles have won eight league games by at least 12 points (26 once, 16 three times, 15 twice, 14 twice, 12), plus victories by six and eight points. Their two losses have come by a combined seven points (5, 2). Their biggest margin of the season came in a 90-64 win over Idaho on Feb. 6, plus wins by 16 over Northern Arizona on Dec. 19 (80-64) as well as both games at Montana State (93-77 and 85-69) on Feb. 11 and 13, respectively. Eastern defeated Montana by twin 90-76 scores. In EWU's last seven games alone, they've won by an average of 16.4 points per game (total of 115).
Eastern took a 32-28 lead at halftime at NAU, then used a 48-point second half to pull away. Eastern led 34-28 against the Vandals before having its best half of the season with 56 points to surge ahead. Eastern had second-half performances of 44 and 49 at MSU and first half performances of 51 and 49 against Montana, giving them a total of 15 halves this season with at least 43 points (seven in the first half, eight in the second). The Eagles had entered the NAU game averaging just 29.0 points in the second half through its first five games (145 total), but in the 13 games since have averaged 45.2 with eight performances of at least 43 points and four with at least 51.
Legans Currently Ranked No. 5 in Winning Percentage in Big Sky History
Shantay Legans, the reigning Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, is No. 3 in winning percentage in the 58-year history of the Big Sky Conference – tops among those who coached at least four seasons. After the first Montana game, he's 52-19 in four seasons for a percentage of .732. He only ranks behind Phil Johnson (Weber State 1968-71, .886, 39-5) and Kermit Davis (Idaho 1989-90, .813, 26-6), and is now ahead of Dick Motta (Weber State, 1963-68, .727, 40-15), Travis DeCuire (Montana 2014-present, .719, 92-36) and Ron Abegglen (Weber State, 1991-99, .717, 86-34).
Overall, Legans is now 71-47 overall (.602) in four seasons. In school history, Ray Giacoletti (four seasons, 2000-04) currently ranks behind Legans in winning percentage overall (.580, 69-50) and is No. 2 in league games only (.707, 41-17).
In league games in his four years at the helm, Legans has directed EWU to 13, 12, 16 and 11 victories, His 41 league wins is the best three-year stretch in school history, and could be matched this season. His four-year total of 52 is also the best all-time at EWU, as Eastern has won at least 10 league games for the eighth-straight season. That only happened six times before in EWU's first 30 seasons as a member of NCAA Division I.
Legans 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 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 Has Eighth-Toughest Strength of Schedule in Initial NCAA NET Rankings
While ranking 110th in the nation overall and tops in the Big Sky Conference, the ranking that popped out most in the initial NCAA NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings released on Jan. 4 was No. 8. That was the team's national ranking in strength of schedule, which was aided by pre-conference games versus three Pacific-12 Conference foes (Arizona, Oregon, Washington State) and another powerhouse from the West Coast Conference (Saint Mary's).
The second-highest Big Sky Conference school in the initial rankings was Southern Utah at 135, followed by Weber State (162), Sacramento State (188) and Montana (190) in the top 200. The remainder of the league ranked from No. 224 (Montana State) to No. 333 (Idaho) among the 340 NCAA Division I programs who had played at that point of the season. Among EWU's non-conference foes, Oregon (19), Arizona (21), Saint Mary's (53) and Washington State (101) were all in the top 101.
The NET rankings serves as the primary sorting tool for the selection and seeding process for the NCAA tournament. The NET is in its third season for men's basketball and was modified in the offseason when it was simplified to a two-component system. The two components are the Team Value Index, which rewards teams for beating quality opponents, especially away from home, and a team's efficiency rating, which is adjusted for the strength of an opponent and the location of a game.
Through games of Feb. 28, Eastern is second among Big Sky schools with a ranking of 113th, and is 187th in strength of schedule (tops in the league). Weber State is No. 1 in the league at 102nd, followed by EWU, Southern Utah (140), Montana (206), Montana State (233), Portland State (237), Sacramento State (262), Northern Colorado (270), Idaho State (279), Northern Arizona (333) and Idaho (344) among the 347 schools who have now played.
Free Throw Record Falls at Montana State
En route to a 93-77 victory at Montana State on Feb. 11, Eastern made its first 25 free throws and finished 27-of-28 from the free throw line for a school-record .964 percentage. The previous school record (minimum of 20 attempts) was .952 set twice previously with 20-of-21 performances. The last time it occurred was on Jan. 8, 2009 versus Idaho State and the first time came against Portland on Dec. 10, 1994. Five Eagles were perfect from the line against the Bobcats –
Tanner Groves (9-of-9),
Kim Aiken Jr. (8-of-8),
Michael Meadows (5-of-5) and
Tyler Robertson (2-of-2). The only player to miss was
Jacob Groves, who was 3-of-4 after a miss late in the second half.
Eagles Nearly Set 3-Point Records Versus SUU
With 10 3-pointers in the first half and nine in the second, the Eagles as a team and
Jacob Davison as an individual flirted with school records for 3-point shooting in EWU's 99-94 loss to Southern Utah on Jan. 16. Eastern came one make from the team record of 20 set against Portland State on Jan. 28, 2016. Eastern finished the SUU game with 43 3-point attempts, and the school record of 45 came against Oregon on Nov. 9, 2018. Eastern's high through the first seven games of the season was 10 3-pointers made on two occasions, and 35 attempts versus The College of Idaho on Dec. 11.
Davison sank nine of 18 3-point attempts, and his previous high for 3-pointers made was seven. The school record is 10 set previously by Tyler Harvey (2/1/14 vs. Northern Colorado) and Kevin Winford (12/4/10 vs. New Hope). The record for 3-pointers attempted is 23 (Winford versus New Hope).
On the Horizon
Eastern begins play in the Big Sky Conference Tournament in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, March 13 in Boise, Idaho. The Eagles can finish no lower than a third-place tie in the league standings, but would have a tiebreaker advantage over Montana State because of a season sweep over the Bobcats.
Player Notes
Honored by League on Feb. 15 and Feb. 22, Aiken was Also a Preseason All-Big Sky Pick
Kim Aiken Jr. has been a beast in recent weeks. Continuing his recent hot streak in conjunction with a sizzling stretch for his team, the pre-season All-Big Sky Conference selection honored two-straight weeks as Big Sky Conference Player of the Week for helping Eastern to back-to-back season sweeps over the Montana schools. The league made the announcement on Feb. 15 and 22, and he was also honored with the same honor by College Sports Madness the second week.
The 6-foot-7 junior from Redlands, Calif.,
has averaged 24.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in twin 90-76 victories over Montana for EWU's first season sweep of the Grizzlies in 18 years (since 2003). Coupled with a pair of victories over Montana State the week prior when Aiken was also honored by the league, Eastern enjoyed a 15.0 margin of victory in the four games (16, 16, 14, 14).
In the two games combined versus the Grizzlies, Aiken made 65.4 percent of his shots overall, including 7-of-11 from the 3-point stripe for 63.6 percent. He also made 8-of-10 free throws and had six steals, three assists and a pair of blocked shots. Eastern led by as many as 27 in the first half in the Jan. 18 gave versus UM, and 22 at halftime in the rematch, with its largest lead in that game at 29. The wins helped extend EWU's winning streak to nine – just two from the school record -- and keep the Eagles in sole possession of first place in the Big Sky Conference standings.
In the last four games alone, Aiken has a trio of 20+ scoring performances and is a single rebound away from averaging a double-double. He has 81 points (20.3 average), 39 rebounds (9.8), nine assists (2.3) and eight steals (2.0) in those four Eagle victories (average winning margin of 15.0 per game).
Eastern, which closes the Big Sky regular season at home versus Idaho State on March 3 and 5, is atop the league standings with an 11-2 record. A balanced attack all year – but particularly as of late during a nine-game winning streak – has put the Eagles on the cusp of a second-straight regular season title.
"We kept throwing (
Tanner Groves) the ball, and Kim and Mike (Meadows) stepped up to have terrific games," said Legans of the Feb. 20 win at Montana to wrap up the team's fourth-straight Big Sky season sweep. "When you have players who can do things like that and change the game, it really helps. You can take away our 3-point shot, but we can throw the ball inside to Tanner and he's efficient. Kim was driving the ball to the hole and Mike can get to the rim --
Jacob Groves too. We have multiple players than can go make plays at the basket and lead this team."
In the first game against the Grizzlies, Aiken hit all six of his 2-point shots and 3-of-6 3-pointers to finish with 21 points, eight rebounds and four steals. In the next game, he finished with a career-high 28 points, 10 rebounds, two blocked shots, two steals and two assists to give him three double-doubles this season and 20 in his career. He now has 23 double-figure rebounding performances in his career and 11 performances with at least 20 points. He sank 8-of-14 shots overall, 4-of-5 from the 3-point arc and 8-of-9 free throws. His previous career high was 26 versus Washington on Dec. 4, 2019.
Prior to the start of the season, Aiken joined teammate
Jacob Davison on the 2020-21 Big Sky Conference Preseason All-Conference Team announced by the league office on Nov. 10.
Aiken has averaged 12.3 points (17th in the Big Sky) and 8.2 rebounds (first, along with teammate
Tanner Groves) thus far in his junior season. He's made 48-of-59 free throws (.814 to rank sixth in the league) and has 20 steals (1.1 per game to rank 14th), 17 blocked shots (0.94 to rank eighth) and 37 assists. In Big Sky Conference games only, Aiken is leading the league in rebounding (8.9) and is 14th in scoring (13.8), 11th in free throw percentage (.813), 12th in 3-pointers per game (1.69), 13th in steals (1.0) and seventh in blocked shots (1.08).
Aiken had 14 double-figure rebounding performances as a sophomore (23 in his career), and thus far in his 79-game career (60 as a starter), he is averaging 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds with 19 career double-doubles (14-5 record). He has 91 career steals, 68 blocked shots and 93 assists. His 596 rebounds currently rank ninth in school history, his 7.5 average is 10th and his 68 blocks are 10th. He also ranks 10th in 3-point field goal attempts with 400 and is nearing the all-time list in makes with 133.
In the sweep at Montana State on Feb. 11 and 13, Aiken averaged a double-double in the 93-77 and 85-69 victories. In the two games combined, Aiken averaged 16.0 points and 10.5 rebounds, and also had six assists and a pair of steals. The 6-foot-7 junior guard/forward from Redlands, Calif., was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line while making 47.4 percent overall (9-of-19) and 4-of-12 3-point attempts.
In the first win on Feb. 11, he scored 20 points and made all eight of his free throws to help EWU break a school record with a .964 team percentage (27-of-28). He also had eight rebounds and three assists for EWU. In the next game, in which EWU had a key 37-35 rebounding advantage, Aiken had his second double-double of the season and 18th of his career by finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds. He also had a trio of assists and a steal as EWU held MSU to just seven offensive rebounds after having 17 in the first meeting.
"Kim was amazing on the boards," said Eastern head coach
Shantay Legans after the MSU sweep. "That's the Kim Aiken we have come to know and we've seen in the past. When he plays like that he's one of the top three players in the league. He goes to the boards, defends, rebounds, blocks shots, he's hitting threes and he's leading our team. He's really hard to guard and hard to play against."
He scored 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the 3-point stripe in EWU's 80-64 win at Northern Arizona, and also had nine boards. He had his first double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds versus Southern Utah on Jan. 16. He had 11 rebounds versus Idaho on Feb. 6.
Aiken nearly averaged 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 what was then a career-best 26-point effort at Washington on Dec. 4, 2019, and had five total performances of 20+ points (11 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.
The Elder of the "Groves Bros" Tandem, Tanner Groves on Mid-Season Henson Award Watch List
Junior
Tanner Groves has had a stellar 2020-21 men's basketball season, and has been rewarded on five occasions thus far. On Jan. 26, he was selected on the mid-season watch list for the 2020-21 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award. He is one of 40 players listed as a candidate for the award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in NCAA Division I college basketball. This year's recipient will be announced in April, and the award honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.
Groves was rewarded Dec. 31 by being selected to the HoopsHD.com mid-season All- Big Sky Conference team. Other players selected to the team included guards Bodie Hume (Northern Colorado), Cameron Shelton (Northern Arizona) and Isiah Brown (Weber State), as well as forward Maizen Fausett (Southern Utah). Brown was selected as the mid-season "Player of the Year So Far."
Twice he has earned Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors – the first honor coming on Dec. 21 and the second on Feb. 1 after registering a double-double with 23 points and a career-high 15 rebounds in a win over Sacramento State one day earlier.
He received the same honor the same weeks from College Sports Madness, and was also honored by CSM on Feb. 15 after averaging 21.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in a road sweep over Montana State. Included was his sixth double-double of the season and eighth of his career in the first meeting when he equaled his career high with 26 points and also had 12 rebounds. He sank 68.2 percent of his field goal attempts and 3-of-5 3-point shots (37.5 percent), and all nine of his free throws. He had 15 rebounds for the weekend.
Groves continues to lead the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (8.2 per game, tied with teammate
Kim Aiken Jr.) and field goal percentage (.572). He is also fifth in scoring (16.7), sixth in blocked shots (1.1) and fifth in free throw percentage (.815). In Big Sky games only, he is second in scoring (18.5) and rebounding (7.9), and first in field goal percentage (.591). He is also fifth in free throw percentage (.871) and 10th in blocked shots (0.9).
Groves registered a pair of double-doubles in EWU's split against Northern Colorado, with the Eagles falling 78-76 in the first game on Jan. 21 and winning the second 82-76 two days later. In the second meeting with UNC, 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 went on a 33-of-36 tear (91.7 percent) and has sank 82.7 percent for the year (62-of-75).
In December, Groves sank 82 percent of the shots he took in a pair of games for the Eagles, and for his efforts he was selected Dec. 21 as the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week. He earned the same honor from College Sports Madness. Groves averaged a double-double as he equaled, then broke, his career-high in scoring in two games – a narrow 80-75 loss at Saint Mary's on Dec. 15 and then an 80-64 win at Northern Arizona on Dec. 19 to open the league season. In the two games combined, Groves averaged 21.5 points and 10.0 rebounds, while also contributing four assists and two blocked shots. He sank 16-of-23 field goals for 69.6 percent and 11-of-13 free throws for 85 percent – a combined 27-of-33 for 81.8 percent.
Groves hit 7-of-10 shots and 3-of-4 free throws at Saint Mary's to finish with 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. The 6-foot-9 junior had the fourth double-double of his career, hitting 9-of-13 field goals and 8-of-9 free throws to finish with 26 points and 13 rebounds at NAU. That eclipsed his previous high of 17 on three occasions, including twice this season. His 13 boards equaled the 13 he had earlier this season at Oregon, and he also had three assists.
"Tanner is a stud and our players did a great job looking for him," said Eastern head coach
Shantay Legans after the NAU game. "He scored 26 but didn't shoot any threes, and he loves to shoot threes. He did a great job of getting the ball and making himself available. He's got a lot more games like that in him. I saw him go against (2019-20 Big Sky MVP)
Mason Peatling in practices and we saw the flashes of what he is capable of. He's playing really, really good basketball and is very confident. You love to see that, especially out of a player with so much character, how hard he plays, how much he loves his teammates and how much he gives his team every game."
The aptly named "Groves Bros" – including sophomore
Jacob Groves – have given Eastern a boost this season. Jacob has averaged 8.3 points and 3.8 boards as a sophomore and has made 49.2 percent of his shots. Jacob added seven points and seven rebounds in the road victory at Northern Arizona, and had 10 points in a loss at Northern Colorado on Jan. 21. He has started every game for EWU since Jan. 23, and had 11 points and a career-high three assists versus Sacramento State on Feb. 1. He scored 12 versus Idaho on Feb. 4, then had a career-high 17 points and seven boards two days later versus the Vandals.
Tanner scored 13 at Arizona on Dec. 5, a week after equaling what was then his career high of 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 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 77-game career (21 as a starter) he's averaged 7.1 points, 3.9 boards and has 55 blocked shots to rank 13th in EWU history, while sinking 55.0 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 42-game career (10 as a starter), he's averaging 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds, and has 16 steals and 21 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. Randy played basketball at Shadle Park HS and Community Colleges of Spokane, and Tara (formerly Tara Flugel) still owns the Whitworth scoring record of 2,040 points and is in the school's Hall of Fame. She's formerly from Colville, Wash.
Davison is MVP on Preseason All-Big Sky Team
Senior
Jacob Davison was selected as the MVP as he joined teammate
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 now has 1,330 career points to rank 11th 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. After playing in his 100th Eastern game on Feb. 4, two days later Davison moved past Marc Axton into 11th on EWU's all-time scoring list. Axton, who was the analyst for the television broadcast on SWX that day, had 1,319 points from 2002-05.
In his now 103-game career (66 as a starter), Davison has averaged 12.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals while sinking 44.8 percent of his shots from the field, 35.2 percent from the 3-point stripe (134-of-381) and 77.5 percent of his free throws. In his career, Davison now has 24 performances with at least 20 points (14 in the 2019-20 season and one in 2020-21) and five with at least 30 (three in the 2019-20 season and one in 2020-21).
So far this season, Davison is averaging 11.3 points, 1.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds, making 39.4 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from the 3-point stripe (28-of-75). He's also made 30-of-36 free throws (83.3 percent) and has 10 steals and seven blocked shots. Although he's played sparingly in EWU's last two games, he is eighth in the league in 3-pointers made per game (1.75) overall and fifth in league games only (2.0). He more than doubled his season-high of 15 points when he had 31 points in loss to Southern Utah on Jan. 16. He hit nine 3-pointers in that game, coming one from the school record.
Meadows Catches Fire as Starter in Last Seven Games
Recently, sophomore
Michael Meadows has provided a boost as a starter, and has started each game since Jan. 23rd – all Eastern wins, nine in all. He's averaged 14.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists in those nine games, and those totals of 129 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists during the winning streak compare to the 10/3/5 he had in the first four games he played.
He's scored in double figures in EWU's last seven games, including 20 in his last outing a – a 90-76 Eagle win at Montana on Feb. 20. Meadows scored 17 of his career-high 21 points in the first half to ignite EWU to a 93-77 win at Montana State on Feb. 11. He finished the game 7-of-13 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, and also made all five of his free throws. In a 90-64 Eastern victory over Idaho one game earlier, Meadows had 16 points as EWU finished with a total of 11 players scoring and seven with at least one 3-pointer made. He made 5-of-11 shots from the field and all five of his free throws, and also had a career-high five assists with a pair of steals. His previous high for dimes was three. Two days earlier when Eastern won at Idaho 89-75 on Feb. 4, Meadows hit 7-of-10 shots to finish with 17 points, eclipsing his previous career high of 11. He also had three rebounds and a pair of assists, and 10 Eagles scored and eight players hit 3-pointers.
On Feb. 1 in a 94-79 romp over Sacramento State, Meadows equaled what was then his career high with 11 points, and also had three assists. He started for the third-straight game as he equaled the 11 points he had as a freshman versus Portland Bible. Prior to the Sac State game, Meadows had played in six of EWU's 11 games and was averaging 4.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and shooting just 6-of-25 from the field (24 percent) and 1-of-7 from the 3-point stripe (14.3 percent).
Meadows has played in 13 of EWU's 18 games this season (nine starts) and is averaging 10.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and is shooting 48.0 percent from the field (48-of-100), 39.3 percent from the 3-point stripe, (11-of-28) and 88.6 percent from the line (31-of-35). He is averaging 13.0 points in league play (18th) in the 10 league games he's played thus far with a string of seven-straight games in double figures.
In his 32-game career (nine as a starter), Meadows is averaging 5.4 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and is shooting 46.3 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from the 3-point stripe and 88.6 percent from the line.
Robertson Continues Solid Contribution as One of EWU's Talented Sophomores
Sophomore
Tyler Robertson has provided a huge boost this season for the Eagles, registering 11 double-figure scoring performances, including seven in EWU's last 11 games. Included was his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in an 85-69 win over Montana State on Feb. 13.
He had a career-high 21 points with five assists in a 90-76 home win over Montana on Feb. 18, and earlier that month on Feb. 1 against Sacramento State he had 20 points to go along with team highs of six rebounds and six assists. He hit his first seven shots in the game, including four 3-pointers, and finished 7-of-8 overall for the day.
Robertson's had 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 versus Arizona, 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.
In 17 games played thus far, Robertson is averaging 11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists while sinking 47.6 percent from the field (including 29-of-72 3-pointers for 40.3 percent) and 77.3 percent from the free throw line (34-of-44). His 11.9 average ranks just out of the top 20 in the league overall, and he is 10th in assists (2.9) and 12th in 3-pointers per game (1.71). In league games only, he is tops in the Big Sky in assist-to-turnover ratio (+3.42 with 41 assists and 12 turnovers) and eighth in assists (3.15).
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 43 games (six as a starter) and has averaged 6.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists while sinking 40-of-103 3-pointers for 38.8 percent.
Fellow sophomore
Casson Rouse joined Robertson in making his season debut against Arizona on Dec. 5, and that duo combined for 28 points in the narrow three-point loss. They followed that with a combined 21 points at Oregon on Dec. 7. Rouse is averaging 3.1 points and 1.1 assists this season, and has made nine 3-pointers (in 38 attempts for 23.7 percent, 28.8 percent overall).
Rouse, who also didn't play in EWU's opener at Washington State, had 13 in his first game of the season against Arizona. 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.
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 48 games (12 as a starter) and is averaging 5.3 points, 1.5 assists and 1.7 rebounds while sinking 46-of-134 3-point attempts (34.3 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."
Senior Jack Perry Continues Marksmanship from 3-Point Line
With more than 100 games of experience as an Eagle, so far this season senior
Jack Perry has averaged 4.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while sinking 15-of-30 3-point shots (.500). He missed four games from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, but has played in 14 games thus far (three as a starter).
In an 82-76 win at Northern Colorado on Jan. 23, he helped spark the Eagles in the second half with eight points as he sank both of the 3-pointers he attempted and had a team-high three steals in the game. He hit a key 3-pointer in the second half in a 93-77 win at Montana State on Feb. 11 to give EWU its largest lead of the night at 73-63.
He adds senior leadership in the back court after averaging 6.2 points and 2.5 assists during a junior campaign that was limited to 26 games because of a high ankle sprain. In league-only statistics in the 2019-20 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.
Perry has played in 107 games (64 as a starter) to become just the 24th player in school history to hit the century mark (he now ranks 21st). He is currently 10th on EWU's all-time career 3-point percentage list at 41.0 percent (143-of-349), and has averaged 5.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game with 53 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 16 games thus far, he's averaged 17.9 minutes, 4.4 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He had his first back-to-back double figure scoring games of the season with 15 at Idaho on Feb. 4 and 10 at home versus the Vandals two days later, then had his third in four games with 11 at Montana State on Feb. 13. His father, Josh, lettered as a linebacker at Idaho from 1991-93.
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).
In his 47-game career (43 as a starter), Magnuson is averaging 3.5 assists, 5.3 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. He's made 37.0 percent of his field goal attempts, including 27-of-89 (30.3 percent) from the 3-point arc. He's also made 47-of-57 career free throws for 82.5 percent.
Series Notes
* Eastern is now 49-30 all-time against ISU, including a 46-29 record since becoming a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season (16-20 on the road, 29-8 at home, 1-1 at neutral sites). The Eagles have won 17 of the last 20 meetings overall and six of the last seven. Eastern split versus ISU in the 2019-20 season, losing 74-71 in Pocatello and winning 100-77 in Cheney to capture at least a share of the Big Sky title. That loss snapped EWU's five-game winning streak in the series, and a four-game streak in Pocatello. The last time EWU had lost to the Bengals was on March 3, 2016, by a 75-71 score in Cheney. Eastern has won 15 of the last 16 at Reese Court, with the lone loss since 2003 coming on March 3, 2016, when EWU was upset by ISU 75-71 at Reese Court. Eastern had won 65-57 at home in the 2014-15 season, extending EWU's home winning streak versus ISU to 13 games dating back to a 65-63 loss on March 1, 2003. Eastern had an overall eight-game winning streak snapped in 2013-14 when the Bengals prevailed 72-83 in Pocatello.
Recent Game Recaps
Fast Start Again for Eagles in Another 90-76 Win Over Grizzlies
The script was familiar, and the final score as well. Another fast and furious start helped the Eagles lead from start to finish for the second-straight game as EWU registered a 90-76 victory over Montana on Feb. 20 in Missoula, Mont. Having won by the same score two days earlier, it was EWU's first regular season sweep of the Grizzlies since the 2003 league season. The Eagles opened an early 17-3 lead, then led by 22 at halftime in another dominating first-half performance. Junior
Kim Aiken Jr. had a monster game with a career-high 28 points and the 20th double-double of his career with 10 rebounds, two blocked shots, two steals and two assists. The Eagles led by 22 at halftime and by as many as 29 in the second half. Eastern won for the ninth-straight time, and hasn't tasted defeat since losing at Northern Colorado on Jan. 21. Sophomore
Michael Meadows had his seventh-straight game in double figures with 20 as EWU out-shot the Grizzlies 48 percent to 44 percent, and out-rebounded UM 37-31. Junior
Tanner Groves finished with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, and also had a pair of rebounds and three steals. Sophomore
Tyler Robertson had seven points and three rebounds. The Eagles used a 13-1 run to take an early 17-3 lead as the Eagles sank seven of their first 12 shots while holding Montana to a 1-of-10 start. In fact, the Eagles held the Grizzlies to a 5:10 stretch without a field goal. After Montana cut the lead to seven, the Eagles surged again with a 6-0 run and took a double-digit lead for good at the 5:43 mark. Eastern closed the half on a 10-0 run, including EWU's first 3-point attempt
of the game with three seconds to play by Meadows. The Eagles and Aiken continued their hot stretch to open the second half, starting it with an 8-2 run to go up by 28. Moments later, Aiken hit his third 3-pointer of the half to give EWU a 62-33 lead with 15:05 left. That matched Eastern's largest lead of the night.
Blistering Start Leads Eastern Past Montana 90-76
At one point, the Eagles were on a pace to beat Montana by nearly 100 points. With a 17-of-19 shooting start leading to a 24-point lead in the opening 10 1/2 minutes, Eastern used a 51-point first half to beat Montana 90-76 in a Big Sky Conference game on Feb. 18 at Reese Court in Cheney, Wash. Sophomore
Tyler Robertson led the Eagles with a career-high 21 points, and junior
Kim Aiken Jr. also had 21 to go along with eight rebounds and four steals. Junior
Tanner Groves contributed his seventh double-double of the season with 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocked shots. Sophomore
Michael Meadows was the fourth Eagle in double figures with 14. Eastern led by as many as 27 points in the first half and no less than 12 in the second half as EWU won for the eighth-straight time and snapped a four-game losing streak to UM. After its 17-of-19 shooting start – 89.5 percent – the Eagles cooled off to finish at 54 percent for the game. Eastern held the Grizzlies to 42 percent and had a 19-4 advantage in fast-break points. Senior
Jack Perry came off the bench and sank all three of the shots he attempted – all 3-pointers – to finish with nine points and a pair of assists. Sophomore
Jacob Groves, the younger brother of junior
Tanner Groves, chipped in nine points and five rebounds. The Eagles hot start including early leads of 5-0, 11-5 and 18-7, then the Eagles really got going. A 6-0 run opened a 27-11 advantage, as a three-point play by Meadows and a 3-pointer by Perry put EWU up by 16 with 12:14 left. An 11-0 run led by Aiken with six points and Robertson with 5 resulted in a 38-14 lead with 9:35 to play – a 22-point margin in the game's first 10 1/2 minutes. A 7-0 run then put EWU up 47-20 with 6:24 to play, and the Eagles led 51-34 at halftime. At one point in the first half, Eastern went exactly nine minutes between misses. En route to the 27-point margin, EWU sank 17-of-19 field goals with a string of 14-straight. Eastern cooled off even more in the second half, and Montana was able to cut the lead to 14 before back-to-back 3-pointers by Robertson and Perry put EWU back up by 20. Later, after the Grizzlies crawled to within 13, Eastern used four free throws during a 6-0 run to regain a 19-point lead at the 6:01 mark. Eastern led by no less than 12 the rest of the way.
2019-20 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 Peatling 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.
More Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
On Win at Montana for Sweep: "We did everything we possibly could in the first half to make sure we weren't forcing shots and weren't taking bad shots. We took the right shot and everybody was there for one another. It was a fun game to coach and be a part of, and it's always great to beat Montana."
On First Sweep over UM Since 2003: "I didn't hear that, but that is a long time I guess. There are a lot of things we are hearing lately, but we're just happy our players go out there and handle their business. We just have to play our game and our team is doing that. The guys are excited and it's a self-motivating game. They pretty much did the scout for this game and were ready to go."
On Beating Montana in Cheney: "We came out hot and made some shots early. Their pressure really bothered us and we turned the ball over at a pretty high rate. But coming out and hitting those shots early really put us in a good spot for the rest of the game. They kicked our butts last year – twice, and even the last four times. Our team was excited to play this game, had intensity and were ready to go."
On Tyler Robertson: "He's a swiss army knife – he can do anything on the court, play point guard or play center. It's a lot like how Kim plays on defense where he guard anybody, one through five. Tyler can play any offensive position one through five. When you have players like that who can do different things, it puts you in a great position. You want to play everybody, but some games some players do better than others and you have to give them those opportunities. Tonight we saw that outcome with
Tyler Robertson."
On Inside/Outside Attack: "We have the best player in the league in
Tanner Groves and nobody can slow him down or stop him. (In the second game against Montana) we kept throwing him the ball, and Kim and Mike stepped up to have terrific games. When you have players who can do things like that and change the game, it really helps. You can take away our 3-point shot, but we can throw the ball inside to Tanner and he's efficient. Kim was driving the ball to the hole and Mike can get to the rim --
Jacob Groves too. We have multiple players than can go make plays at the basket and lead this team."
On Second MSU Victory: "Defense was what won us this game. Rebounding was the key – I thought we could stop them in certain ways, but they are a very good offensive rebounding team. Our goal was to hold them to eight offensive rebounds or under, and we did that. That was a key part to me. Getting out to that lead in the second half made me feel good. We hit some shots and spread them out, so we really used their pressure against them in the second half."
On Record Free Throw Performance & First Win Over MSU: "We were struggling from the free throw line early this season, but we've seemed to hit a groove. Offensively our team did a very good job of moving the ball around. We had 15 assists but I thought we could have had 10 more because we missed some chippies. It was great having Mike (Meadows) coming out and playing the way he did, and we ended with three players with 20 points. We got to the free throw line and knocked them down. We knew what we needed to do offensively."
On Having 11 Players Score in Feb. 6 Win Over Idaho: "We have multiple players getting a lot of baskets and shooting a lot of shots. The ball is getting moved around well -- we had 19 assists which is huge. That means we are playing well and everybody is touching the ball. When you touch that basketball it makes you feel like you are really involved. We had players that didn't have big scoring games against Idaho, but they contributed in other ways. When you get contributions like that from your team – especially from your leaders – it's really good."
On First Idaho Win: "We can play multiple styles of basketball, and that's the best part about our team. We have players who can step up and we have players who can defend – they do a lot of different things to help us win games. Everybody wants to do great for themselves, but everybody wants to come together and win. That is something our leaders on our team really push. As we keep moving forward these guys keep understanding what we need to do to win."
On Win Over Sac State on Feb. 1: "Our offense in the second half was amazing. We took it strong to the hole, and we had 46 points in the paint. We kept going after them and kept going after them. They had to pick one or the other in terms of defending us inside or outside – we ended up making some shots from everywhere. We had 47 bench points and that's hard to guard when you have players coming off the bench doing that. That really helped us out and got us in the flow."
On Scoring Inside the Paint: "That's a huge key for us. We have some players who can really get into the paint and make some plays, and we're finally doing that. When we are able to do that and get downhill, it makes the game that much easier. Tanner can score in any way, and
Jacob Davison is hitting his threes and can drive it to the basket. Mike Meadows is driving it now, and Kim Aiken can too. We have a lot of threats out there and it puts us in a good position. When we can score that way it really helps us become an efficient team."
On Rebounding: "Teams are going to try to out-physical us and try to pressure us. We have to be tougher and be able to drive the ball to the basket and make plays. We just have to be smart, because in certain situations we can make teams pay. We have some size, but if teams play us on the outside we'll have inside position for rebounds. You have to really fight for them all the time because that is going to help us down the stretch. We have some size and quickness and we have to use that to our advantage."
On Target on Their Backs as 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. When you do that and not give up easy baskets, you put yourself in a great position to win games."
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."
On League-Opening NAU Win: "Sitting in the hotel and not doing anything for 50 hours and then coming out and playing that way was amazing. For this group of players it shows mental toughness. They were really excited to play this game. I couldn't be happier to watch them get out and play. Everybody on the roster played and they deserved it. I was proud of their effort for what they had to go through. We tried to make it as normal as possible, but it's not normal. We got punched in the mouth early because they were playing really good basketball. But our team battled through it and made all the right plays and took the easy baskets. When you shoot that well on the road, you have to be proud. Our players defended well and held them to 37 percent."
On Depth: "We have a lot of depth, and 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."
