CINCINNATI, Ohio — Eastern Washington (0-3) continued their tough non-conference schedule with their third-straight road game against a high-major program, staying close but losing at Cincinnati (3-0), 85-73 on Sunday.
Cedric Coward led the Eagles with 21 points.
"We knew it was going to be a tough road trip. We've learned a lot about ourselves, learned a lot about our team," said head coach David Riley. "I'm really excited about the ceiling of this team (and) about where we're going, but we want to get there sooner than later."
Overall, the Eagle defense played well, holding the explosive Bearcats to 46.7% shooting, including 8-for-21 (38.1%) from 3-point range. EWU also managed the ball better on Sunday, turning it over only 10 times. Foul trouble was evident throughout the game as the Eags were whistled 24 times, leading to 31 free throw attempts for Cincinnati.
"We could have won this game on the defensive end," Riley added. "Since I first met with this team on June 27 when they came in for the summer and on September 12 when they came in for the fall, the first message is always been 'we're going to win these games, we're going to win the championship and we're going to go to the NCAA tournament on the back of our defense'."
The first half was a story of runs. After an early 7-4 lead for the Eagles, Cincinnati stormed out to an 18-7 lead with a 14-0 run over five minutes. The Bearcats held EWU without a point for nearly seven minutes.
Eastern responded with a 17-8 run of their own, cutting the deficit to two with help from reserves Andre Mulibea and LeJuan Watts, who combined for 10 of the 17 points. Freshman Bearcat guard Jizzle James found a groove late in the opening frame, scoring 7 points in the final two minutes to give Cincinnati a 38-30 lead into the break.
Coward took over early in the second, scoring EWU's first four field goals including an and-1 with just over 15 minutes left to make it a 42-47 game.
Cincinnati pushed out another 13-2 run shortly thereafter and kept the Eags at arm's-length from then on, snuffing out any brief runs thanks in large part to the play from Russian big man Victor Lahkin, who scored a career-high 26 in the game, including 18 in the 2nd half.
After Coward's 21, forward Casey Jones had 16 as the only other Eagle in double digits scoring. As a team, EWU shot 44.8% (26/58) from the floor and just 5-for-23 (21.7%) from beyond the arc. They had 16 assists on their 26 made baskets, led by fifth-year senior Ellis Magnuson with 6. Rebounds were close, with Cincinnati narrowly winning the battle on the glass, 36-32.
"We're building our foundation right now," Riley continued.
Eastern will play their fourth-straight road game to open the season at Stanford on Friday, Nov. 17, with tip scheduled for 6 p.m. Their first home game will be on Wednesday, Nov. 23 vs. Walla Walla University, marking one of only three non-conference home games this season.
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.
FOLLOW THE EAGLES
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
