Eastern Washington looks to contain Weber State’s Dillon Jones in second meeting with Wildcats

One victory away from clinching the top seed in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, Eastern Washington’s men’s basketball team launches a stretch of three games in five days with a game at Weber State on Thursday.

With matchups at Idaho State (on Saturday) and home against Montana State on Monday, not only will the schedule test the Eagles’ ability to maintain their energy, it will pit them against at least two teams that gave them a good run once already during this 17-game winning streak.

“I think it’s great to play competitive games this late in the season,” EWU coach David Riley said on Tuesday. “It’s exciting to go play a great team on Thursday.”

Weber State (15-13 overall, 10-5 Big Sky) is third in the conference standings and has won three of its past four games, including a victory on Feb. 9 over second-place Montana State (19-9, 12-3). Eastern beat Montana State 70-67 earlier this year in Bozeman.

The Eagles (21-7, 15-0) beat the Wildcats 75-71 on Jan. 28 in Cheney, but Eastern never led by double digits. Sophomore Dillon Jones – the conference’s eighth-leading scorer (16.0 points per game), top rebounder (10.9 per game) and reigning player of the week – had 18 points and seven rebounds against the Eagles. He also had four assists.

“(Jones has) the ability to affect the game in multiple ways,” Riley said, noting Jones’ passing and play-making. “He can win you a game without scoring.”

Jones is a likely candidate for some of the Big Sky’s individual honors, along with top scorers Dalton Knecht of Northern Colorado, who scored 23 points against Eastern on Saturday; Idaho’s Isaac Jones (19.9 ppg) and Divant’e Moffitt (18.6 ppg); and Portland State guard Cameron Parker (17.5 ppg, 6.2 assists per game).

Riley said he also hoped that EWU senior Angelo Allegri (13.4 ppg) and redshirt sophomore Steele Venters (14.8) – whose scoring numbers don’t pop as much – will also be considered.

“This year in particular, we just have more guys who have stepped up, and teams have thrown more wrinkles at some of our better scorers,” Riley said. “But I think the league also understands that our guys are doing pretty elite things at a high level.”

In addition to Jones, Weber State leans on junior guard Steven Verplancken, who averages 12.7 points per game, and also a big home-court crowd: No other Big Sky team has averaged more fans per game this year than the Wildcats (4,993).

“They have great fan support, and (Dee Events Center is) a big arena, one of the cooler ones in the conference,” Riley said. “It’s always a great atmosphere. They’ve got a great tradition.”

Last season, Eastern was scheduled to play at Weber State in mid-January, but that game and EWU’s matchup at Idaho State were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

Rescheduling those contests led to the Eagles playing six games in a span of 12 days. The matchup at Weber State came at the end of that run and Eastern lost 90-84.

This year’s Weber State team ranks second in the Big Sky in scoring defense (66.9 ppg) and fifth in opponent field-goal percentage (45.0). Eastern’s offense leads the conference in both offensive categories, at 77.1 points per game and a shooting percentage of 49.1.

With a victory Thursday, Eastern would tie the 1979-80 Weber State team for the conference’s longest single-season winning streak. No team has started a Big Sky season better than Eastern’s mark of 15-0.

Montana State hosts Sacramento State (13-15, 6-9) on Thursday. A loss by the Bobcats would also clinch the top seed for Eastern.

Sacramento State ended a six-game losing streak with a win against Idaho State on Saturday.