Stuckey leads Eagles past Griz
A mathematician would have stopped short of calling it a must-win game.
The Eastern Washington University men’s basketball team was cognizant enough to know otherwise.
The Eagles avoided a 0-2 start to their Big Sky Conference schedule Saturday night as Rodney Stuckey fired in 28 points to lead EWU to a 74-71 victory over Montana at Reese Court.
Rebounding from a last-second loss at home to Montana State on Thursday, Eastern leveled its record at 7-7 overall and 1-1 in the Big Sky. The Grizzlies, the Big Sky’s representative in the NCAA tournament last year, fell to 7-8 and 1-1.
“For us, this was a must-win game,” Stuckey said. “We didn’t want to be down 0-2. We had to dig deep at the end of the game to pull it out.”
Added EWU coach Mike Burns: “We needed it badly, there’s no question about it. You can’t afford to get swept at home. What you saw tonight was the defensive effort and intensity where it needed to be.”
That digging began after Montana rode a torrid shooting stretch in the first half to control a 37-33 lead at intermission. EWU battled back to tie the game at 50 on Kellen Williams’ tip-in with 10 minutes left. The teams traded the lead seven times in the second half, but EWU finally took control with an 8-0 spurt to take a 70-64 lead on Stuckey’s two free throws with 56 seconds left.
Stuckey scored 17 points after halftime to keep EWU in contention, but the Eagles’ bench production spurred the comeback. Paced by Williams and Brandon Moore, EWU’s reserves outscored the Grizzlies’ bench 35-14. Williams and Moore scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, and backup guard Rhett Humphrey’s lone 3-pointer gave the Eagles their first lead in the second half (55-54).
“Our bench play was gigantic,” Burns said. “Our bench gave us tremendous energy. Matt Penoncello, Kellen Williams, Rhett Humphrey, Brandon Moore – those kids were phenomenal.”
Moore entered the game in the first half after starting center Paul Butorac picked up his second foul, and his seven points during that 5-minute stretch prevented the Grizzlies from blowing the game open.
Montana erupted for an 11-0 run early in the first half to seize the lead, and the Grizzlies stretched their advantage to 27-14 with Matt Martin’s 3-pointer 11 minutes into the game. Stuckey sandwiched a Penoncello 3-pointer with two free throws and a layin to spearhead a 7-0 run that trimmed the Eagles’ deficit to six.
Martin made four 3-pointers and scored all of his 16 points in the first half. He helped the Grizzlies make 14 of 25 shots (56 percent) from the floor before halftime. Martin cooled off considerably in the second half (0 for 5), and his teammates followed suit. The Grizzlies made just 12 of 31 attempts (38 percent) after halftime.
The Eagles face eight of their next 10 games on the road, beginning with Northern Colorado (Thursday) and Northern Arizona (Saturday). EWU is 1-6 on the road, although Burns attributed that mark to the quality of competition his team has faced.
EWU 74, Montana 71
Montana (7-8, 1-1)—Hasquet 6-12 2-4 14, Dlouhy 2-9 1-2 5, Strait 6-9 3-5 15, Rundles 3-5 0-0 7, Martin 5-12 2-2 16, Chase 0-0 0-0 0, Ellis 0-0 2-2 2, Mayes 2-5 1-2 6, Sharp 2-4 2-2 6. Totals 26-56 13-19 71.
Eastern Washington (7-7, 1-1)—Risper 1-3 2-3 4, Butorac 3-7 1-4 7, Krayem 0-2 0-0 0, Stuckey 7-16 12-13 28, Taylor 0-1 0-0 0, Hinton 0-1 0-0 0, Penoncello 2-6 0-0 5, Humphrey 1-2 2-2 5, Williams 4-7 4-4 13, Moore 5-7 2-3 12. Totals 23-52 23-29 74.
Halftime—Montana 37, Eastern Washington 33. 3-point goals—Montana 6-19 (Martin 4-8, Mayes 1-2, Rundles 1-2, Sharp 0-1, Dlouhy 0-3, Hasquet 0-3), Eastern Washington 5-16 (Stuckey 2-7, Humphrey 1-2, Williams 1-2, Penoncello 1-4, Krayem 0-1). Fouled out—Dlouhy, Strait. Rebounds—Montana 32 (Hasquet, Strait 8), Eastern Washington 35 (Williams 9). Assists—Montana 16 (Martin 5), Eastern Washington 12 (Stuckey 7). Total fouls—Montana 23, Eastern Washington 20. A—2,611.