Eastern Washington shoots season-high from field, holds off Idaho State 88-82

Against an Idaho State team that likes to slow down games, Eastern Washington made the most of the possessions it got.

The Eagles shot a season-high 64.6% from the field, including 7 of 12 on 3-pointers, and held off the Bengals 88-82 on Thursday in a Big Sky men’s basketball game at Reese Court in Cheney.

“They’re a tough, physical team,” EWU head coach David Riley said. “They’re one of those teams where they don’t really make that many mistakes. They’re going to grind it out.”

Junior Casey Jones led that effort, scoring a career-high 26 points for the Eagles while making 7 of 9 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws, increasing his team-leading season total to 106 made free throws (in 155 attempts) . No one else has made more than 61.

“I want to be the guy that does the dirty work and adds the wow factor,” said Jones, who also had a pair of dunks. “I don’t really care about how many points I score. I just want to be aggressive and help the team win.”

Eastern improved to 17-8 overall and 11-1 in the Big Sky and ended a three-game winning streak for Idaho State (11-15, 6-7).

Jones’ play was key in the second half, when he scored 20 of his points. Eastern led nearly the entire game, but Idaho State took a 64-63 lead with 7 minutes left when AJ Burgin made a pair of free throws.

Yet the Eagles answered. LeJuan Watts scored inside to retake the lead, Jones made a free throw and then Jake Kyman drained a 3 from the top – his only 3 of the game – to extend Eastern’s edge to 69-64.

The Eagles led by at least three points the rest of the game.

EWU’s Cedric Coward capped the game in the final seconds when he chased down a long inbound pass at the free-throw line and threw down the ball for a dunk. He finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

Idaho State’s 82 points were the most Eastern has given up to a Big Sky team this season. The Bengals shot 53.8%, becoming just the fourth team this year that has made more than half its shots against the Eagles.

“We were giving them open looks from 3. That was on us,” Jones said. “We gave them too many second chances in the second half.”

But the Eagles were even more efficient themselves on offense, making 31 of 48 shots and assisting on 19 of the baskets. Senior Ellis Magnuson scored a season-high 11 points – making 2 of 3 3-pointers – and had seven assists.

EWU junior Ethan Price added 11 points, redshirt freshman Watts had nine off the bench, and junior Dane Erikstup scored eight points before he fouled out with 4 minutes left.

Fifth-year senior Brayden Parker led the Bengals with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, and junior Kiree Huie had 18 points while making 8 of 11 shots.

But the Bengals – who are one of the three Big Sky teams to beat the Eagles since the start of last season – didn’t have a good answer for Jones, who was content to attack the basket, drawing 10 fouls. He also matched his season high with three steals.

“He brought an edge,” Riley said of the 6-foot-6 Jones. “That’s what we needed.”

Eastern Washington hosts Weber State (17-9, 8-5) at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Women

Eastern Washington 59, Idaho State 56: Aaliyah Alexander made three free throws in the final minute, including two with 3 seconds left, to help the Eagles (20-5, 10-2 Big Sky) edge the Bengals (10-14, 6-7) at Reed Gym in Pocatello, Idaho.

Eastern trailed by three points going into the fourth quarter, before Jaleesa Lawrence hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 42-all. It was Lawrence’s first field goal of the game (1 of 9 shooting).

Alexander and Jamie Loera led EWU with 15 points apiece.

The Eagles moved into a tie for first place in the Big Sky after Northern Arizona lost to Sacramento State 82-66 Thursday.

EWU has won 20 games for the fifth time in program history and is one away from matching its record of 21 wins (1985, 2015).

The Eagles travel to Weber State (7-19, 4-9) Saturday. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.