PROVO, Utah. – Eastern Washington went toe-to-toe with No. 10 BYU in the opening half but a dominant second-half surge by the Cougars led to a 109–81 setback on the road.
Kiree Huie led the Eagles with 17 points, while
Jojo Anderson,
Alton Hamilton IV and
Isaiah Moses also scored in double figures. Moses paced Eastern with seven rebounds and Hamilton IV added six assists. The Eagles shot 46 percent from the field and outscored BYU 24–16 in bench points, though the Cougars finished at 54 percent shooting.
The Eagles matched BYU's pace in an up-tempo, physical first half and trailed just 53–48 at the break. Eastern overcame early turnover issues and foul trouble to stay within striking distance, leaning on crisp ball movement and second-chance opportunities. Huie got the Eagles on the board early and was active on the glass, while Hamilton IV facilitated the offense with steady scoring and playmaking.
Eastern briefly grabbed momentum midway through the half as a
Johnny Radford three-pointer, along with buckets from Hamilton IV and
Straton Rogers, helped the Eagles build a small lead. BYU answered with perimeter shooting and second-chance points, but Eastern continued to respond.
Emmett Marquardt, Moses and
Tyler Powell all connected from beyond the arc, and Hamilton IV drilled a three in the final minute before Radford knocked down two free throws. A late BYU triple at the buzzer sent the Eagles into halftime down five after a gritty opening 20 minutes.
BYU took control coming out of the locker room, using defensive pressure, offensive rebounding and transition scoring to quickly push the lead into double figures. Eastern continued to compete with scoring from Huie, Anderson, Hamilton IV and Rogers, but the Cougars answered every push with efficient shooting and depth. BYU closed the game strong over the final 10 minutes to pull away and secure the 109–81 win.
Up Next
The Eagles will open up the new year on the road as they take on Idaho in Moscow, Idaho for the first Big Sky match up for the season on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 2 p.m.
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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