CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington (4-10, 0-1) suffered a tough loss to Montana (8-6, 1-0) in a high-scoring affair, falling 92-81. Despite shooting 46% from the field and out rebounding the Grizzlies 35-23, the Eagles couldn't overcome a strong offensive performance from Montana.
"I thought our defense was much better and our offense was much worse than it's been," said head coach
Dan Monson. "Our offense led to a lot of our problems on the defensive end. Mason got going which was awesome, but it also got us pretty stagnant and had our guys going one-on-one a lot tonight."
"They scored 19 points to our six on turn overs, and that in itself is a 13-point swing. In fast break points it was 21-3 and a lot of that wasn't on our defense either. I really thought we fought, and we did a good job on fighting, but we didn't play very well. You have to do both."
Mason Williams had a standout performance for Eastern Washington, scoring 28 points — a new career high, surpassing his previous best of 20 against Missouri earlier this season.
Andrew Cook and
Nic McClain also contributed in double figures, with both players providing key scoring for the Eagles.
On the defensive end,
Emmett Marquardt grabbed seven rebounds, while
Sebastian Hartmann made his presence felt with seven rebounds and two blocks.
First Half:
In a back-and-forth first half, Marquardt got the Eagles on the scoreboard early with an offensive rebound followed by a putback. Williams then knocked down consecutive three-pointers, giving Eastern Washington a quick 10-2 lead. Montana responded after forcing several turnovers, clawing their way back to pull within one with 13 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Grizzlies took their first lead of the game, 17-16, on a layup with 10 minutes left. They extended their advantage with a three-pointer from the top of the arc, but Williams answered with his third triple of the evening. The rest of the half was a seesaw battle, with Hartmann hitting a corner three to give Eastern a 24-22 lead.
Montana capitalized on an "and-one" opportunity to regain a one-point lead after completing the three-point play. They went right at Marquardt, drawing his third foul of the half, which helped the Griz push their lead to two with five minutes remaining. However, McClain had other plans, knocking down a step-back three to put the Eagles back on top.
With 2:30 left in the half, the game was tied at 33. Montana then hit a deep three to reclaim a three-point lead.
Elijah Thomas stepped up with a corner three to knot the game at 38, but Montana quickly stormed down the court to hit a tough bucket, regaining a slight lead. On the other end, McClain hit both of his free throws to tie the game once again, 40-40, heading into the break.
Second Half:
The Griz struck first, but Marquardt responded with a bucket to keep the game tied. Cook then hit a reverse layup, giving Eastern their first lead of the second half at 44-42. Montana quickly answered with a 6-0 run to reclaim a two-point lead, but Williams drained his fourth three of the game, surpassing his career high of 20 points, and giving Eastern a slight advantage.
With 10 minutes remaining, Montana held a four-point lead after back-to-back baskets.
Vice Zanki responded with a three-pointer to pull the Eagles within one possession, but Montana extended their lead again with two free throws, going up 65-60. Just before the media timeout, Williams hit a layup to keep Eastern within three.
With four minutes left, Williams connected on a turnaround jumper to close the gap to three again, before heading into the final media break. Montana then capitalized on free throws to stretch their lead to seven with 2:51 remaining. They sealed the game with a clutch three-pointer, pushing their advantage to 83-72—their largest of the night. Montana held firm the rest of the way, finishing with a 92-81 victory.
Up Next:
The Eagles will take on Montana State on Saturday, January 4 at 2 p.m., to cap off their recent home stand.
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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