To be the cream of the crop, you have to beat the cream of the crop.
 
The second-seeded Eastern Washington University men's basketball team did that emphatically as it opened an early 23-point lead and beat sixth-seeded Montana 78-50 in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Championship at the Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.
 
The Eagles advance to it's third-straight championship game on Saturday (March 13) at 5 p.m. Pacific time on ESPNU to face No. 5 seed Montana State. Top-seeded Southern Utah was upset by No. 5 seed Montana State 80-77 in Friday's other semifinal contest.
 
Eastern had runs of 11-0 and 17-0 in the first half and opened a 29-point lead at halftime. Eastern allowed just 15 points in the first half, a low against the Eagles this season by seven. In the second half, The Eagles led by as many as 38 points and Montana came no closer than 28 after EWU went deep to the bench in the final eight minutes.
 
Sophomore Jacob Groves had a career-high 21 points for EWU, and his big brother, League MVP Tanner Groves, had 18. Each also had four rebounds and combined for seven assists as EWU assisted on 16-of-31 baskets after assisting on 17-of-22 in the quarterfinals. Eastern out-shot Montana 56 percent to 34 percent and out-rebounded the Grizzlies 40-25 in the dominating performance.
 
"Our team was ready and prepared to play," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. "Montana played tough and did everything they could to try to slow us down a bit, but our guys made some shots tonight and we played very good defense. When we are playing on all cylinders we are pretty good. We just have to make sure we have that same energy and intensity Saturday."
 
Legans earlier this season called the Grizzlies the "cream of the crop" in the league. Montana, champions in the last two tournaments in 2018 and 2019 with victories in the title game over the Eagles, had won eight-straight conference tournament games. They opened the 2021 tourney with a 69-64 victory over Idaho, then upset third-seeded Weber State in the quarterfinals by an 80-75 score. Eastern slipped past No. 10 Northern Arizona 66-60 in EWU's quarterfinal game.
 
"We really get up for the Montana Grizzlies because they are one of the teams in our league with great tradition along with Weber State," Legans said. "You want to play your best basketball against the best teams and the best programs. We have a huge game tomorrow against Montana State. Coach Sprinkle has done a great job with his team and I know they'll be prepared after beating Southern Utah. We have to be ready to go – we have a huge one and it will be a lot of fun."
 
Montana had entered the game with a six-game winning streak overall. Last month, Eastern swept the Grizzlies by identical 90-76 scores on Feb. 18 in Cheney and Feb. 20 in Missoula, and the Grizzlies hadn't lost since.
 
Eastern is now 9-4 in the semifinals and will enter Saturday's game with a 2-6 record in the championship, with previous tourney titles in 2004 and 2015 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Eastern had entered Friday's game 1-6 in the BSC Tournament against Montana, with the lone victory a 2015 championship game victory in Missoula. Eastern had lost to the Griz in both the 2018 and 2019 title tilts.
 
The Eagles swept Montana State on the road this season, beating the Bobcats 93-77 on Feb. 11 and then winning again 85-69 two days later. Eastern has played the Bobcats just once in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, a 90-84 victory in the 2019 quarterfinals.
 
A year ago, Eastern won the league title with a 16-4 mark and were the favorites win the league tourney title. But the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic ceased the season just a few hours prior to EWU taking the court for its Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal opener on March 12, 2020.
 
 
Records
 
* Eastern is now 15-7 overall after finishing 12-3 in the league, and the Eagles have won 12 of their last 13 games. Eastern had won nine-straight games before falling to Idaho State 68-63 on March 3.
 
* Eastern finished as the Big Sky runner-up after leading the league from Feb. 6 to March 3, and won 10 of its last 11 Big Sky games to finish 12-3 and tied with Weber State. But Southern Utah finished perfect at home and won their last nine games to snag the league title away, while the Wildcats won their last seven.
 
* In the final standings based on winning percentage, Southern Utah was first (12-2, .857), followed by EWU and Weber State (12-3 .800). They were followed by Idaho State and Montana State (both 8-6 .571), Montana (7-9 .438), Portland State and Northern Colorado (both 6-8 .429), Sacramento State (5-9 .357), Northern Arizona (4-10 .286), and Idaho (1-17 .056).
 
 
Top EWU Performers
 
Sophomore Jacob Groves, the younger brother of junior Tanner Groves, had a career-high 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. He eclipsed his previous high of 17 this season versus Idaho. Both Groves brothers are graduates of Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash.
Big Sky Conference MVP Tanner Groves hit 8-of-14 shots with a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 18 points. One game earlier versus Northern Arizona he had his eighth double-double of the season and 10th of his career.
First team All-Big Sky selection and Defensive Player of the Year Kim Aiken Jr., came two points from a double-double, finishing with eight points, 10 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. The junior has three double-doubles this season, 20 in his career and 24 career double-figure rebounding performances.
Sophomore Tyler Robertson, selected as the league's Top Reserve, hit 4-of-6 shots and finished with nine points.
Senior Jacob Davison, the preseason Big Sky MVP, scored five and had eight rebounds. His career high for rebounds was nine versus Southern Utah in the 2019-20 season.
Sophomore Ellis Magnuson, a product of Boise's Borah High School, hit all three of his shots with a 3-pointer and had nine points, seven of them in the first half. He also had three assists.
Sophomore Michael Meadows scored just two after having scored in double figures in 10-straight games. He had a pair of assists.
 
 
Game Details & Turning Point
 
The Groves Bros scored the first 13 EWU points, and an 11-0 run opened a 13-3 lead for the Eagles. Montana made its first shot at the 19:09 mark, but missed its next eight shots and didn't hit another field goal until the 11:52 mark – a total of 7:17 without a bucket.
 
Montana cut the lead to 2011, but then the Eagles exploded for a 17-0 run as Montana went another 5:55 without scoring. Five different Eagles scored in the run as EWU's lead ballooned to 37-11 with 3:31 to play.
 
The Eagles led by as many as 29 on a 3-pointer by Magnuson with 2:17 to play, then took a 44-15 lead at intermission. Eastern out-shot UM 62 percent to 21 percent, and 23-8 on the boards. Tanner Groves scored 13 and his brother had nine in the first half.
 
It was much of the same earlier in the second half, as Tanner Groves scored EWU's first seven points, then Jacob Groves scored six to give EWU a 38-point bulge at 57-19.
 
 
Series Notes
 
* Eastern is now 26-55 against the Grizzlies since becoming a member of NCAA Division I in 1983-84, including an 11-29 record in Missoula, 14-22 in Cheney and 1-4 on neutral courts. Montana leads the overall series 72-47. The Eagles had lost four in a row prior to EWU registering its first season sweep over UM since 2003 in the 2021 league season. Eastern has won four of the last seven meetings in Missoula and three of the last four in Cheney. Until winning 75-69 on Feb. 5, 2015, the Eagles had lost their last 12 meetings in Missoula, dating back to a 71-52 Eagle win on Feb. 7, 2004. The Eagles would also beat the Grizzlies on their home floor in the 2015 Big Sky Championship game, giving the Eagles a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Eastern also picked up a 72-60 victory at Montana on Jan. 26, 2017. EWU is now 2-6 versus the Griz in the Big Sky Tournament. Besides the 2015 victory, Eastern has also lost to the Grizzlies in the 2018 (82-65) and 2019 (68-62) title games. The Eagles lost 74-66 to UM in the 2012 semifinals in Missoula; 73-71 in overtime in the 2006 semifinals in Flagstaff, Ariz.; 58-48 in the 2005 quarterfinals; and 70-66 in the 2002 championship in Bozeman.
 
* Entering Saturday's championship game,  Eastern has won 15 of the last 19 meetings against Montana State, including a sweep last season with a 71-58 victory in Bozeman and a 74-49 triumph in Cheney to contribute to EWU's current five-game winning streak in the series. The year prior in the 2018-19 season, Eastern won two of three games – a 90-84 victory in the Big Sky Conference Tournament quarterfinals, a 74-66 loss in Bozeman and an 85-81 victory in Cheney. Eastern has won 26 of the last 39, and is 13-3 at home in that span. Eastern, in fact, has not lost to the Bobcats at Reese Court since a 60-56 Bobcat win on Feb. 24, 2011 for an eight-game winning streak. The Eagles are 46-46 all-time against MSU, including a 38-37 record as a member of NCAA Division I (24-12 in Cheney, 13-25 in Bozeman, 1-0 on neutral courts). The records include two MSU forfeits in the 1993-94 season.
 
 
More Game Notes
 
* Eastern is making its 18th Big Sky Conference Tournament appearance in 33 years as a member of the league, and now has a record of 19-15 in its 34 games. The Eagles are 7-5 all-time in the quarterfinals, and went on to win tourney titles in 2004 and 2015 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Eastern is now 9-4 in the semifinals and 2-6 in the championship.
 
* Eastern finished as the Big Sky runner-up after leading the league from Feb. 6 to March 3, and won 10 of its last 11 games to finish 12-3 and tied with Weber State. Eastern won its 12 league games by an average winning margin of 14.2 points per game, and its lone league losses were by a total of 12 points (5 twice, 2). Overall entering the postseason, Eastern lost to Oregon by 17, but the Eagles lost their other six other games by an average margin of just 3.8 points (5 three times, 3 twice, 2).
 
* Eastern head coach Shantay Legans is one of 25 finalists for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award which goes to a coach who not only achieves success on the court but who displays moral integrity off the floor as well. He is also among the 25 finalists for the Ben Jobe Award presented to the top NCAA Division I minority coach. Both awards will be announced on April 1. Legans, the 2019-20 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, is No. 4 in winning percentage in the 58-year history of the Big Sky Conference – second among those who coached at least four seasons. After the conclusion of the league slate, he's 53-20 in four seasons for a percentage of .726. He only ranks behind Phil Johnson (Weber State 1968-71, .886, 39-5), Kermit Davis (Idaho 1989-90, .813, 26-6) and Dick Motta (Weber State, 1963-68, .727, 40-15), and is ahead of Travis DeCuire (Montana 2014-present, .719, 92-36) and Ron Abegglen (Weber State, 1991-99, .717, 86-34). His four-year total of 53 league victories is the best all-time at EWU in 34 seasons in the Big Sky.
 
* Eastern headed to Boise with a late-season starting lineup that consisted of two juniors and three sophomores. The team's lone seniors -- Jacob Davison and Jack Perry – started Eastern's final regular season game on March 5 in a 75-62 home win over Idaho State, and had 18 and 11 points, respectively. Through the Montana game, 10 different Eagles have combined for 81 double-figure scoring performances, and three players have combined for 12 double-doubles.
 
 
On the Horizon
 
* Saturday's championship game is on Saturday, March 13 at 5 p.m. Pacific time on ESPNU and via Westwood One Radio. Because of EWU's football game at Idaho State which starts two hours prior, EWU's radio broadcast will be on 920-AM News Now/100.7-FM, with the pre-game show starting a half-hour prior to tipoff. Larry Weir serves as the play-by-play broadcaster, and will be replaced in Pocatello, Idaho, by Riley Corcoran. Paul Sorensen will serve as analyst for the football game at ISU, which may be heard on 700-AM ESPN/105.3-FM.
 
 
More Comments from Head Coach Shantay Legans
 
On Beating Montana For a Third Time: "Every game is different. They all have their own little games – it's a mini-game after a mini-game. We play four minutes at a time. We did everything we could tonight to win this game. Coach DeCuire is a really coach and does a great job with his team. They're young and they're going to be really good in time. But I'm glad we got them tonight. We were playing against one of the better coaches and programs in the league, so you want to play your best. I think our guys got up for this one and were excited."
 
On Character of Team: "You have to play hard, smart and unselfish. If the game gets scrappy, you have to play above that and play with great character. I think we did that. We have some wonderful young men in our locker room – they are excited to be here and they are excited to play. I'm blessed to be their coach. It's an exciting time."
 
On Taking on Montana State: "It's good to play somebody different. It's going to be a tough match-up for us. They have an inside presence, they have one of the best point guards and they have one of the best slashers in the league. They are physical and they are well-coached. They are an up-and-coming team. Coach Sprinkle is one of the better coaches in the country so it's going to be fun for us. I know he's in his second year, but he's done a great job with his program. They are a really good ballclub. We have to play our best basketball game if we want to advance and play in the NCAA Tournament. That's the ultimate goal for all these young student-athletes. That's what they want to do, and you want your team to be that last team standing. Montana State does too. It's going to be an outstanding battle and I'm excited that our team gets to play in it."