The dream of a year ago was finally realized.
 
The second-seeded Eastern Washington University men's basketball team jumped out to a 20-point lead in the first half and went on to beat fifth-seeded Montana State 65-55 in the championship game of the Big Sky Conference Men's Basketball Championship at the Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.
 
The next stop for the Eagles is the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. Pairings will be announced Sunday afternoon.
 
"Our team did everything they needed to do to get to the NCAA Tournament," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans after a long and jubilant post-game celebration. "I couldn't be more proud."
 
The Eagles were playing in their third-straight league championship game, having lost to Montana in 2018 and 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 tournament when the Eagles entered as the No. 1 seed. Eastern now has a 3-6 record in the championship games, with previous tourney titles in 2004 and 2015 to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Runs of 12-0 and 7-2 in the first half helped ignite EWU to an early 29-9 advantage, and they eventually led by 14 at halftime. Eastern led by as many as 18 and no less than nine the rest of the way as EWU out-shot MSU 40 percent to 35 percent, and had a 35-32 rebounding advantage.
 
"We had to play one of our best defensive games to win this one," said Legans. "They did a good job of slowing us down We were ready to go and excited for the moment. Our team took full advantage of what they needed to do."
 
Sophomores Michael Meadows and Jacob Groves combined for 27 points, with Meadows finishing with 12 and Groves scoring 15. Juniors Tanner Groves and Kim Aiken Jr. were workhorses for EWU, with Groves finishing with a double-double with 14  points and 14 rebounds, and Aiken closing with nine points and 10 boards. Senior Jack Perry sparked Eastern with five early points and finished with nine.
 
Tanner Groves, the league MVP during the regular season, was named the tournament MVP as well. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by Jacob Groves.
 
The Eagles swept Montana State on the road during the regular season, beating the Bobcats 93-77 on Feb. 11 and then winning again 85-69 two days later. Eastern had previously 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 16-7 overall after finishing 12-3 in the league, and the Eagles have won 13 of their last 14 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, scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field as he was selected to the All-Tournament team along with his brother. Both Groves brothers are graduates of Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash.
Big Sky Conference MVP Tanner Groves had his ninth double-double of the season and 11th of his career with 14 points and 14 rebounds. His rebound total was one away from his career high.
First team All-Big Sky selection and Defensive Player of the Year Kim Aiken Jr., had nine points and 10 rebounds as he came a point away from a double-double. The junior has three double-doubles this season, 20 in his career and 26 career double-figure rebounding performances.
Sophomore Michael Meadows, after having his streak of scoring in double figures snapped at 10-straight games when he had two versus Montana in the semifinals, scored 11 versus MSU. He hit 4-of-10 shots from the field and 3-of-4 free throws, and also had a team-high three assists. He also had three rebounds.
Sophomore Tyler Robertson, selected as the league's Top Reserve, didn't score from the field, but made 4-of-4 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
Senior Jacob Davison, the preseason Big Sky MVP, had two points, a rebound, an assist and a steal.
Sophomore Ellis Magnuson, a product of Boise's Borah High School, played just six minutes.
 
 
Game Details & Turning Point
 
Eastern had another fast start, as Perry hit a 3-pointer to get EWU on the board first. Eastern would soon start at run, including a dunk by Aiken on a pass by Meadows to put EWU up 14-3.
 
That was part of a 12-0 Eagle run that ended with a basket by Meadows to give EWU a 20-3 lead with 12:17 to play. Eastern would eventually go on another mini-run of 7-2 and take its biggest lead of the night at 29-9 at the 7:52 mark.
 
Eastern hit 10 of its first 15 shots, but cooled off and finished the first half at 48 percent. Montana State was the opposite, making just 3-of-17 before finishing at 33 percent. Eastern led 38-24 at halftime.
 
The Eagles regained an 18-point bulge in the second half, and led by 17 with 14:13 remaining when MSU made a move. The Bobcats scored six-straight, then hit a 3-pointer to pull within 10 at 51-41 at the 9:19 mark. But that was the closest that MSU could get, as four-straight free throws by Tyler Robertson helped put the game away.
 
 
Series Notes
 
* Following Saturday's championship game,  Eastern has won 16 of the last 20 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 six-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 27 of the last 40, 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 47-46 all-time against MSU, including a 39-37 record as a member of NCAA Division I (24-12 in Cheney, 13-25 in Bozeman, 2-0 on neutral courts). The records include two MSU forfeits in the 1993-94 season.
 
 
More Game Notes
 
* Eastern was making its 18th Big Sky Conference Tournament appearance in 33 years as a member of the league, and now has a record of 20-15 in its 35 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 3-6 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 State game, 10 different Eagles have combined for 84 double-figure scoring performances, and three players have combined for 12 double-doubles.
 
 
On the Horizon
 
* Eastern will find out Sunday (March 14) at 3 p.m. Pacific time who their first-round game of the NCAA Tournament will be against as all 64 teams gather in the Indianapolis, Ind., area for the entire tournament. The selection show airs on CBS.
 
 
Eagles in National Postseason Tournaments
 
* In the 2017-18 season, Eastern made its sixth appearance in a national postseason tournament in school history and fourth-in-a-row. Eastern advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2015, were in the NIT in 2003 and have played in the last three College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournaments in 2016, 2017 and 2018. In the 2016 CBI, Eastern recorded its first win in a national postseason tournament as a member of Division I with a 79-72 home win over Pepperdine. The Eagles are now 1-5 in postseason national tournaments as a member of NCAA Division I, and 7-10 overall.
 
* Eastern also played in the NAIA Championships (then known as NAIB) on five occasions, with a 6-5 record in appearances in 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946 and 1947. Before beating Pepperdine in 2016, Eastern's previous national tournament victory came on March 12, 1947, when Eastern – then known as the Eastern Washington College of Education Savages – beat Dakota Wesleyan 62-48. One year earlier, Eastern lost to Pepperdine before meeting the Waves again for the second time in school history nearly 70 years to the day later in the CIT.
 
Here is a list of Eastern's all-time games in National Postseason Tournaments as a
member of NCAA Division I (1-6) . . .
3/13/18 – College Basketball Invitational - at Utah Valley (Orem, Utah) - L, 65-87
3/15/17 – College Basketball Invitational - at Wyoming (Laramie, Wyo.) - L, 81-91
3/21/16 – College Basketball Invitational - at Nevada (Reno, Nev.) - L, 70-85
3/16/16 – College Basketball Invitational - Pepperdine (Cheney, Wash.) - W, 79-72
3/19/15 – NCAA Tournament - #22 rank/#4 seed Georgetown (Portland, Ore.) - L, 74-84
3/19/04 – NCAA Tournament - #3 rank/#2 seed Oklahoma St. (Kansas City, Mo.) - L, 56-75
3/20/03 – National Invitation Tournament - at Wyoming (Laramie, Wyo.) - L, 71-78
 
Here is a list of Eastern's all-time games in the NAIA Tournament, which was then known as the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament (6-5) . . .
3/13/47 – NAIB Tournament - Marshall (Kansas City, Mo.) - L, 48-56
3/12/47 – NAIB Tournament - Dakota Wesleyan (Kansas City, Mo.) - W, 62-48
3/11/47 – NAIB Tournament - Culver-Stockton (Kansas City, Mo.) - W, 51-48
3/14/46 – NAIB Tournament - Pepperdine (Kansas City, Mo.) - L, 42-46
3/13/46 – NAIB Tournament - Southeastern Oklahoma (Kansas City, Mo.) - W, 45-37
3/12/46 – NAIB Tournament - Louisiana Tech (Kansas City, Mo.) - W, 66-44
3/13/45 – NAIB Tournament - Doane - (Kansas City, Mo.) - L, 51-54
3/11/43 – NAIB Tournament - Southeast Missouri (Kansas City, Mo.) - L, 51-57 (ot)
3/10/43 – NAIB Tournament - St. Cloud State (Kansas City, Mo.) - W, 54-51
3/09/43 – NAIB Tournament - Valparaiso (Kansas City, Mo.) - W, 54-52
3/10/42 – NAIB Tournament - Southeastern State (Kansas City, Mo.) - L, 33-43