CHENEY, Wash. – Eastern Washington cruised to its eighth straight win in dominant fashion Saturday afternoon, overwhelming Northern Arizona 88–57.
Alton Hamilton IV paced the Eagles with 23 points and seven rebounds, while
Jojo Anderson added 11 and
Isaiah Moses and
Johnny Radford chipped in 10 apiece.
Tyler Powell contributed three steals on the defensive end and
Emmett Marquardt anchored the paint with two blocks as Eastern controlled both ends throughout.
Straton Rogers collected four rebounds, put him over 900 rebounds in his career.
As a team, the Eagles shot a blistering 64 percent from the field and 50 percent from three, compared to 45 percent shooting for the Lumberjacks. Eastern forced 17 turnovers while committing just 11, outrebounded NAU 34–30, and dominated inside with 46 points in the paint. "We were very efficient offensively, 21 assists, 64 percent from the field, 50 from three," associate head coach
Ryan Lundgren said. "But our offense was mainly dictated by how good we were defensively. We were able to get out and run, had 14 points in transition and 46 in the paint. A lot of that came from getting stops and creating turnovers."
Eastern Washington stormed out of the gates with a commanding first half, building a 45–25 lead behind relentless defense and efficient scoring. The Eagles opened on a 10–3 run fueled by steals from Moses and Powell that led directly to transition baskets, including a Moses fast-break layup and three-pointer. Eastern continued to stretch the margin with balanced offense as
Kiree Huie finished inside off turnovers and Moses knocked down another triple to push the lead to double digits just four minutes in.
The Eagles' defensive pressure dictated the half, forcing a string of NAU miscues that turned into quick points the other way. Hamilton ignited a mid-half surge with an and-one, a three, and a driving finish, while Stratton Rogers added interior scoring and Radford and Marquardt connected from deep in transition. Eastern shot efficiently and repeatedly capitalized on turnovers to build a 34–9 advantage before Northern Arizona briefly answered with second-chance baskets. "If they hadn't had offensive rebounds in the first half, they would've struggled to get over 10," Lundgren said. "They got most of their points on second chances and hit some threes to keep them around, but overall I thought we played a pretty sound game." The Eagles closed the half strong as Rogers scored in the final minute and Anderson buried a buzzer-beating three, sending Eastern into the break firmly in control at 45–25.
Eastern opened the second half with authority, weathering an early Northern Arizona push before methodically extending its lead. After NAU trimmed the margin to 46–30 in the opening minute, Hamilton steadied the Eagles with a second-chance layup and emphatic dunk on consecutive possessions. Powell and Huie fueled the interior attack, combining for three paint finishes in a three-minute span to push the advantage back beyond 20 at 54–35. Eastern's activity on the glass proved decisive during the surge, as multiple offensive rebounds from Huie and Hamilton created extra possessions that kept NAU from gaining traction.
The Eagles continued to dominate the middle portion of the half behind Powell's all-around burst and relentless second-chance scoring. Powell scored or assisted on four straight Eastern baskets, while Hamilton added two more interior finishes to stretch the lead to 60–35 with 13:45 remaining. Northern Arizona briefly answered with a pair of transition scores, but Radford halted any momentum with back-to-back threes, including one on the break off a turnover, restoring a 27-point cushion at 74–47. "One of the strengths of this team is our depth," Lundgren said. "When we can bring in guys like Radford and Marquardt and they produce like they did tonight, Emmett with 11, Johnny with 10, it takes us to another level because we can truly go about 10 deep."
Eastern's depth then took over down the stretch as Marquardt scored six late points and
Shaumba Ngoyi added a transition layup to maintain separation.
Cole Scherer capped the night with a late three before
Maddox Monson's jumper in the final half-minute sealed the 88–57 victory.
Up Next
Eastern closes the regular season Monday, March 2 at 6 p.m. against Idaho on Senior Night, where the program will honor seven seniors. "It's huge," Lundgren said. "Idaho is very good and there are seeding implications, but it's also big because we've got seven seniors we want to send out the right way. This group really loves each other, that's rare, and they deserve a great crowd and to go out the right way at home."
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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