OXFORD, Miss. — Eastern Washington (0-2) gave Ole Miss (2-0) a scare on Friday night in Oxford but the Rebels pulled away late in the second half, winning 75-64. Junior swingman
Cedric Coward paced the Eagles with 16 points — a new Division-I career-high — on 8-of-13 shooting, adding 6 rebounds in defeat.
"I think we we played more consistent minutes than we did on Monday and at the end of the day our goal is all about progress," said head coach David Riley after the game. "There's some good things to take away from it but we've got to finish games the right way. Unfortunately, we didn't tonight."
After Ole Miss jumped out to a 12-4 lead early in the first half, the Eagles responded to tie it at 17 apiece when transfer guard Jake Kyman hit a midrange jumper along the left baseline with 10:53 left.
Led by 10 points from Coward and 7 each from Kyman and junior forward Dane Erikstrup, Eastern trailed by only two at the break, 34-32. The Eagles outrebounded the Rebels 23-12 in the first half, earning 8 second chance points. They finished with a 38-29 edge on the glass.
"We have a really physical team that takes pride in that, and it really hurt us on Monday (at Utah) that we were not the more physical team," Riley continued. "I was proud of our guys for that. We knew that rebounding and just winning that paint game was going to be the key. I think our guys bought into that."
The lead changed nine times in the first 10 minutes of the second as the teams exchanged baskets. EWU took a three-point lead with a free throw from Erikstrup with 13:59 left, but from there it was all Ole Miss. The Rebels went on an 18-5 run over the next 6:29 to take firm control of the game, powered mostly by Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan, who scored 20 of his team-leading 29 points after halftime.
Joining Coward (16) with double digits scoring were Erikstrup (12), Kyman (10) and Casey Jones (10). Coward and Jones led the team with 6 rebounds apiece while Erikstrup, Ethan Price and Ellis Magnuson each had 4 assists.
It was just the third time Eastern has faced an SEC opponent. They are now 0-3 all-time.
The Eagles continue their non-conference schedule with an early contest at Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 12, playing the Bearcats for the first time in program history. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT.
Season tickets for EWU men's and women's basketball are now available and start as low as $100! Tickets for basketball and all EWU Athletics events are available at goeags.com/tickets or via the EWU Athletics Ticket Office at 509-359-6059.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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