CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington (4-9) a dominant 89-63 victory over Eastern Oregon (7-4), shooting 44% from beyond the arc and forcing 14 turnovers. The Eagles were efficient offensively, finishing with 48.3% shooting from the field while controlling the game from start to finish.
"Offensively, I'm pleased on where we are at, and defensively we were better today," said head coach
Dan Monson. "It will be a few sleepless nights for me because defensively and rebounding we aren't where we I had envisioned us heading into conference play."
"Some of our guys like
Sam Stockton and
Elijah Thomas have settled into reliable rolls. Getting Angelo back today and getting him some meaningful minutes was great for our inside play. Angelo is probably the best option behind Emmett at the moment."
Leading the Eagles' charge was
Emmett Marquardt with 17 points, while
Sebastian Hartmann,
Andrew Cook,
Mason Williams, and
Nic McClain each reached double figures. On the defensive end, Marquardt grabbed seven rebounds to lead Eastern's rebounding efforts.
First Half:
The Eagles came out strong, with Marquardt getting the scoring started with a pull-up jumper. Eastern's defense set the tone early, forcing a shot clock violation on the Mountaineers. Marquardt, Hartmann, and Cook each drained a three-pointer, helping EWU build an early eight-point lead.
Eastern Oregon responded with a 6-0 run to cut the Eagle lead to four, but Eastern Washington quickly regained control with a few fast breaks and consecutive three-pointers, pushing their lead back to eight.
In the final minutes of the half,
Angelo Winkel, who had missed the previous nine games, converted two free throws to get on the board. At the 3:25 mark, Winkel also played solid defense, and following a block from Marquardt, McClain finished a fast break with a powerful slam off a perfect assist from
Sam Stockton.
The Eagles entered halftime with a commanding 45-29 lead, shooting 50% from three-point range and 51.7% from the field.
Second Half:
The Mountaineers came out of halftime with renewed energy, cutting the lead to 12 within the first three minutes. However, the Eagles weathered the storm, taking advantage of an EOU scoring drought to steadily build their lead to 19. Key contributions came from McClain, who hit another three-pointer, and Marquardt, who added a close-range jumper.
Williams also delivered in the paint, completing a three-point play after being fouled on a layup. With 10 minutes left, Eastern Washington led 71-51, but Eastern Oregon answered with an 8-0 run to trim the lead back to 12. The Eagles responded quickly, stopping the Mountaineers' momentum with a clutch three from McClain and several key free throws from Marquardt.
In the end, Eastern Washington cruised to an impressive 89-63 win.
Up Next:
To kick off the new year and Big Sky Conference play, Eastern will host Montana on Thursday, January 2, and Montana State on Saturday, January 4.
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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