Eastern Washington University Athletics

Shantay Legans on Griciunas: “Benas is a versatile 7-footer with extensive NCAA Division I and international experience. He is mature, smart, and extremely skilled for his size. Coupled with a traditional back-to-the-basket game, his ability to extend the floor on the offensive end will make him a tough matchup as a 4-5 man. Benas is an excellent addition to our team, university, and the community. We are excited to welcome Benas to Cheney.”

2017-18: Griciunas will play his senior season as a graduate transfer. He comes to Eastern with 59 games of NCAA Division I experience, including 12 as a starter. He’s made nearly 50 percent of his field goal attempts in his career, including 8-of-22 three-pointers (36.4 percent). He also played on the Lithuania U-18, U-19 and U-20 national teams, and was a high school player at national prep power Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada.

UNC Charlotte: In the 2016-17 season, Griciunas started seven of 20 games he played and averaged 9.5 minutes, 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds while making 46.2 percent of his shots from the field and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the free throw line. He scored in double figures twice, including 10 versus UTEP and 12 against Maryland when he made 6-of-8 shots and had a season-high five rebounds. The 49ers finished 13-17 overall and 7-11 in Conference USA. He appeared in 27 games as a sophomore in the 2015-16 season, recording three double-digit scoring games and averaging 9.4 minutes per game. He averaged 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds while making 49.4 percent of his field goal attempts, 7-of-14 3-pointers and 57.9 percent of his free throws (11-of-19). He started his first game in the 49ers season opener against Elon (11/13/15) and six days later had the first double-figure scoring game in his career with 10 points. His first career double-figure rebounding game was against Campbell (12/9/15) with 12 boards. The best game of his two-year career was against Appalachian State (12/19/15) when he scored 14 points. Later in the year, he had the school-record tying 17th three-point field goal against Rice (2/11/15).

Auburn: Prior to sitting out the 2014-15 season because of NCAA transfer rules, he saw action in the first 12 games of his freshman season at Auburn. He had one start against Illinois (12/8/13), and then he missed the rest of the season due to an injury. He averaged 2.0 points and 1.8 rebounds per game, with a season-high eight points and three rebounds against Jacksonville State (11/11/13). He grabbed a season-high five rebounds against Arkansas Pine Bluff (12/30/13).

High School: Graduated from Findlay Prep in 2013. He also played three years of basketball for the national prep power in Henderson, Nevada. He was a three-star prospect prior to signing with Auburn.

International Experience: In the summer of 2014, Griciunas played for the Lithuanian U-20 National Team. He also played for the Lithuanian U-18 and U-19 national teams. In spring 2013, he scored a team-high 27 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting to lead a National All-Star squad in a 119-109 loss to Team Memphis in the fourth annual Jack Jones Shootout in Memphis. He won the three-point shooting contest prior to the All-Star game, making 14 treys in the first round followed by 13 in the second round and 13 in the championship.
 
Personal: Will work toward his master’s degree in business administration while a graduate student at EWU. Born July 27, 1994, in Silute, Lithuania. His parents are Romas Griciunas and Audra Griciuniene. His last name is pronounced "greh-see-own-us" and his first name rhymes with Dennis. He becomes Eastern’s third seven-foot player, with Frederik Jorg (2012-13 & 2014-15 seasons) the tallest at 7-1. Eastern has had several 6-11 players in its history as a NCAA Division I member (since 1983-84), with the most recent being Jeremy McCulloch (2002-05). The only other former Eagle a seven feet was Uli Sledtz from Geisenkirchen, West Germany. Sledtz transferred from the University of Washington and played for Eastern in the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons.