STANFORD, Calif. —Eastern Washington opened the 2026-27 season with a hard-fought 74-65 loss to Stanford on Monday night. The Eagles led by as many as 13 points and battled back to take a 65-64 lead with 2:45 remaining before the Cardinal closed the game on a 10-0 run. Alton Hamilton IV led Eastern with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Cole Scherer added 11 points. Jamil Miller and Jalen Griffith each finished with nine.
Eastern started strong, getting on the board first with a Miller layup before establishing an early advantage. Hamilton IV provided a consistent offensive presence as the Eagles built a 17-11 lead. Malachi Richmond later connected from beyond the arc before Hamilton IV scored on back-to-back possessions to give Eastern its largest lead at 28-15 with 6:08 remaining.
Stanford responded late in the half, steadily cutting into the deficit. Zach Trezvant briefly stopped the Cardinal run with a layup, but Stanford scored the final eight points to take a 34-30 advantage into halftime.
The Cardinal extended its lead to nine early in the second half before Eastern answered. Isak Homelius provided a spark, converting a four-point play before knocking down another three to tie the game at 48 with 13:23 remaining.
"I thought our effort was really good," Associate Head Coach Ryan Lundgren said. "We got a lot of valuable minutes from our guys on the bench with three major guys out with injury right now. Malachi Richmond stepped up into a great role. Isak Homelius made a couple of really good shots. We had a lot of guys step up."
Eastern continued to battle as Scherer converted a three-point play before Griffith followed with one of his own to pull the Eagles within 64-63. Miller then came up with a steal, setting up Hamilton IV for a jumper that gave Eastern a 65-64 lead with 2:45 remaining.
Stanford responded with the final 10 points, capitalizing on turnovers to pull away. The Cardinal finished with a 25-15 advantage in points off turnovers and outscored Eastern 44-22 in the paint.
"We've got to clean some of that up and execute down the stretch, but you can't fault the effort," Lundgren said. "To be right there is a testament. We'll learn from it, and we'll be better."
Eastern held a 32-26 advantage on the glass, including 13 offensive rebounds.
Up Next
Eastern heads to Eugene, Ore., to take on Oregon on Friday, Nov. 6 at 3:00 p.m.
"Oregon's a really good team, really long and athletic," Lundgren said. "If we give the effort we gave tonight and clean some stuff up, we'll have a chance."
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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