CHENEY, Wash. – Eastern Washington edged Montana 66–65 in a dramatic Big Sky battle in Cheney, snapping a string of close losses by erasing multiple second-half deficits.
Isaiah Moses led the Eagles with 20 points and five assists, while
Emmett Marquardt and
Alton Hamilton IV each scored 12 and
Kiree Huie added 10. The three-point line proved pivotal, as EWU shot 43 percent from deep compared to Montana's 14 percent. Eastern also controlled the glass, outrebounding the Grizzlies 33–26, and dominated the paint with a 40–28 scoring advantage inside.
After a choppy opening stretch, Eastern settled in and trailed 33–28 at halftime in a physical, defense-driven first half. Huie provided an early spark with a three-point play and strong finishes in the paint, while Moses kept the Eagles within striking distance with timely shot-making. Late triples from
Tyler Powell and Moses trimmed the deficit before the break.
Eastern came out of the locker room with renewed energy, as Moses drilled a stepback three just 23 seconds into the second half. Hamilton attacked the rim and finished through contact, and Marquardt delivered a critical spark off the bench, knocking down three straight shots from distance to briefly give EWU the lead. Despite Montana pushing the margin to nine midway through the half, the Eagles stayed connected defensively.
Associate head coach
Ryan Lundgren pointed to the turning point at the six-minute mark, when Montana went to the free-throw line with a nine-point lead. "It looked like a repeat of Montana State," Lundgren said. "But they dug in, and we ended the game with eight stops in a row. Credit to them—that's the kind of game we needed to get our belief back."
Down seven with under eight minutes to play, Eastern responded with poise. Marquardt completed a three-point play, Huie punctuated the rally with a powerful dunk, and Moses buried a fast-break three to pull the Eagles within one. Hamilton finished at the rim in the final minute, then calmly knocked down two free throws with four seconds remaining to give EWU the lead. Lundgren praised Hamilton's response down the stretch, saying, "He really made some huge plays late and got his confidence going."
Eastern's defense sealed the win on the final possession, switching every screen and denying anything at the rim. "We wanted to keep it in front and not allow anything inside," Lundgren said. "Once we saw there was only half a second left, we put Alton on the ball and made the pass tough." The Eagles forced Montana into a turnover without a shot, closing out a resilient win that Lundgren called "the kind of break the unluckiest team in America finally needed" heading into a tough road trip.
Up Next
Eastern Washington heads back on the road to face Weber State on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. (PST), followed by Idaho State on Saturday at 3 p.m. (PST).
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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