SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Eastern Washington and Cal Poly are conference foes on the football field but not on the basketball court. By the style of play on the hardwood on Monday night, you might not have known which was which. In a game that saw 34 called personal fouls, 33 combined turnovers and just 41 total made field goals, it was EWU (4-6) who prevailed over the hosting Mustangs (3-8), 62-53 on Monday night.
"I'm proud of our team for winning a game on the defensive side of the ball," said head coach David Riley. "I loved our activity. We spend so much time focusing on the defensive side of the ball and guys doing their job."
Neither team led by more than five points until the waning minutes and the lead changed nine times throughout the contest as the Eagles and Mustangs went blow for blow all night. Both teams shot 40 percent from the field but it was Eastern's slight edge in turnovers — 14 to Cal Poly's 20 — that proved to be the difference. Eastern converted 18 points off those Mustang giveaways, scoring 13 on the fastbreak.
The game marked the 8th road game for the Eagles, who have played just twice at home so far in their non-conference schedule. Monday was also the first road game Eastern has played against a mid-major opponent.
"The great thing about our schedule is that it exposes every single hole in your foundation," Riley added. "Tonight showed the growth we've had defensively."
Reigning Big Sky Player of the Week Jake Kyman led the Eags with 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting, while junior forwards Ethan Price and Casey Jones added 10 apiece. Kyman added 4 assists and 3 steals.
At each chance for EWU to pull away, Cal Poly managed to get a critical stop and find the basket. Key scorer Kobe Sanders, who sat much of the first half with foul trouble, scored 15 of his 17 points in the final 20 minutes to lead the home side.
The game was tied at 45-45 with eight minutes left but a Jones layup at 7:50 gave Eastern the lead for good. Price knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 50-45, layups from freshmen LeJuan Watts and Sebastian Hartmann maintained the lead and late free throws by Cedric Coward sealed it.
"It's really hard to win games, even harder to win on the road," Riley concluded. "I'm really proud of our team."
Eastern plays their final game before conference play on Thursday as they'll head to Seattle to face the Washington Huskies. That game will tip at 6 p.m. on Pac-12 Network and the radio via 700 ESPN and the Varsity Network App.
The Eagles host Portland State and Sacramento State to open Big Sky play on Dec. 28 and 30 before closing the book on the non-conference slate at South Dakota (Jan. 3) and home versus North Dakota State (Jan. 6) as part of the Big Sky - Summit League Challenge.
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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