CHENEY, Wash. – Eastern Washington (10-19, 6-10) suffered a heartbreaking 66-64 loss to Weber State (11-19, 5-11) after a last-second tip-in.
"It was a tough loss," said head coach
Dan Monson. "We rebounded the best we have defensively until the last two minutes, and one of our best defensive games. Missing Cook offensively, we were never in sync but we found a way to dig it out and we didn't finish it."
Sebastian Hartmann led the Eagles with 16 points, adding 8 rebounds, while
Emmett Marquardt contributed 13 points and
Nic McClain added 10. Hartmann also led the team in rebounding, with Marquardt pulling down 6. However, Eastern struggled with turnovers, committing 17, compared to Weber's 10.
"Thos first 38 minutes were pretty, we didn't play good especially offensively but we deserve to because we played hard and we played together."
First Half:
Weber State came out hot, opening with a 9-0 run, while the Eagles struggled offensively, failing to score for the first three minutes. Marquardt put the Eagles on the board with a second-chance tip-in. Eastern started to close the gap, pulling within three points with 11:10 left in the half.
Elijah Thomas hit a three-pointer to bring the Eagles within two, but Weber responded with a three of their own.
The Wildcats would go on a 7-0 run before
Mason Williams converted a free throw, followed by a three from Marquardt. Eastern ramped up the intensity with an 11-2 run to tie the game at 22. However, Weber knocked down another three to regain a three-point lead with 4:32 left.
Both teams struggled to score after the final media timeout, with Weber hitting two free throws and Eastern responding with two made by
Angelo Winkel. At halftime, Weber led 27-24. Eastern shot 40% from the field, while Weber was at 36%.
Second Half:
Williams got the Eagles started with a floater after a key defensive stop. Weber quickly answered with two baskets.
Vice Zanki hit a three-pointer to bring Eastern within four. The Eagles continued to chip away at Weber's lead, going on a 9-2 run capped off by a three from Marquardt to tie it up at 46-46.
Eastern grabbed its first lead of the game with a
Sebastian Hartmann corner three at the 6:52 mark. Weber answered with a three to retake the lead, and the teams continued to exchange baskets. With 3:44 left, Thomas hit a clutch corner three to give Eastern a three-point lead.
In the final media timeout, Winkel came through with two clutch free throws, putting the Eagles up by five. Weber, refusing to back down, nailed a three-pointer and forced a steal, driving the ball down the court to tie the game at 60-60. With just 0.4 seconds left, Winkel made a huge block on the inbound pass, but Weber tipped it in to seal the 66-64 victory.
Up Next:
The Eagles will return to action on Saturday, March 1, for Senior Night, facing Idaho State 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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