USAF Academy, Colo. — The Eastern Washington Eagles jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game and led for all but 15 seconds of the game on Saturday afternoon at Air Force, winning 73-68 to claim their first road win of the season. Fifth-year senior guard
Jake Kyman posted a career-high 25 points for the second-straight game to lead the way.
The first half was all Eastern as they earned two separate runs of 10+ points in a row, leading by as much as 18 with 5:55 left in the frame. They went into the break with the lead for just the second time this season, up 15 at 41-26.
"It was clear when we were playing the right way, getting paint touches and moving the ball, we got good looks," said head coach David Riley. "(Air Force) did a good job in the second half of crowding the paint a bit more and we got a little bit stagnant. We want to learn to play with a lead and that's the first time (this season) we've had to do that."
Air Force, ranked 114th in the most recent NCAA NET Rankings headed into the game, scratched their way back into it, forcing 13 EWU turnovers in the second half while the Eagle offense went cold. At one point, Eastern went over six minutes without a field goal made as the Falcons earned a 13-2 run. Air Force finished the game with 31 points off 20 EWU turnovers.
An Ethan Taylor fastbreak dunk with 5:31 left gave the hosts their first and only lead of the game at 57-56. LeJuan Watts hit two free throws 15 seconds later and the Eagles never again trailed. Kyman scored 8-straight points to make it 71-62 with under 2 minutes remaining before late-game fouls began.
It was a slugfest all night with 43 total personal fouls called. Eastern finished 15-for-18 from the free throw line, including 9-for-10 from Kyman. Air Force head coach Joe Scott was ejected with just over two minutes remaining.
"We talked about the physicality and mental toughness it was going to take to play this game. I'm proud of our guys," Riley continued. "We didn't do it the whole game, but you can say that Eastern was not out-toughed tonight."
The game marked another in a grueling stretch of non-conference games to start Eastern's 2023-24 campaign. As of Saturday morning, their total strength of schedule ranked 2nd among all Division-I programs. It was the Eagles' 7th game on the road, with the previous six all at Power 5 schools.
"You try not to put too much emphasis on any one game. Everyone on our team and in our locker room knew how big this game was just because we've fought our butts off this whole fall and haven't had success in the win column."
Eastern will have another chance to add to their win total on Wednesday at Reese Court in Cheney when they host Portland Bible College. They'll go back on the road on Dec. 18 at Cal Poly, then on Dec. 21 at Washington in Seattle.
Eagle Notes
- Eastern finished 24-for-46 from the field (52.2%), marking their best shooting performance against a Division-I team this year.
- They finished 10-for-18 from beyond the arc (55.6%), their best mark of the season.
- EWU led rebounds 32-28, but AFA got 12 offensive boards to Eastern's 6. Casey Jones led all players with 9 total rebounds.
- Eastern earned 26 points from their bench, led by forwards LeJuan Watts (13) and Dane Erikstrup (9).
- Kyman also scored 25 at USC on Nov. 29. His previous career-high was 21.
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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