Eastern Washington continues Big Sky win steak, rolls Idaho 95-74
Building a lead hasn’t been so much the issue for Eastern Washington this season.
Keeping one has been a much bigger problem.
But it wasn’t a problem Saturday.
Eastern’s men’s basketball team shot 61% from the field – including 29 of 40 inside the arc – and cruised to its fifth Big Sky victory in as many games, defeating rival Idaho 95-74 at Reese Court in Cheney.
The win gave Eastern a sweep on the day after the women’s team beat Idaho 74-59.
“I think it helped that we went into the half and we weren’t up by 25 or 20 like we have been in previous games,” said EWU sophomore Ethan Price, who scored 14 points in 21 minutes. “I think we came into that second half trying to build off that, and every timeout was just reset, 0-0, let’s win this next segment.”
That’s just what the Eagles did after halftime. Senior Angelo Allegri found Tyreese Davis in mismatches underneath the basket for back-to-back scores, and Allegri found his own room for a basket soon after.
EWU sophomore Casey Jones dunked and was fouled, and he capped the 9-0 run with the ensuing free throw that made it 50-32.
Price picked up his third foul on the next possession and sat much of the second half. But the Eagles didn’t need him, such is their depth, even against Idaho’s 6-foot-9 junior Isaac Jones, the Big Sky’s leading scorer.
“I think we have really, really good big guys in our program,” EWU coach David Riley said. “They heard all the talk. They saw all the highlights. They took that challenge on their own and they did an amazing job.”
Jones has averaged 19.5 points per game this season, but the Eagles held him to 14 on 3-of-8 shooting from the field with a combination of inside defense from Dane Erikstrup, Jones and Price, among others.
Fifth-year senior Divant’e Moffitt scored 29 points for the Vandals, hitting 9 of 16 shots overall and 3 of 4 on 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Yusef Salih added 13 points and senior Rashad Smith had 10.
But no other player for the Vandals (6-12, 0-5 Big Sky) had more than four points.
The Eagles (11-7, 5-0) had no trouble finding scorers. Allegri scored 18 on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor. Davis added 15 while shooting 6 of 10 overall and 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Price scored 14, Cedric Coward added 13 off the bench, and Steele Venters was quiet but efficient, making 4 of 7 shots (1 of 2 on 3s) and scoring 13 points.
“I think we’re starting to understand where guys can get their shots, where guys can make their plays,” Riley said. “There’s a lot of freedom in this offense … guys are starting to understand where they are successful.”
The Eagles continued to build their lead throughout the second half. A 3-pointer by Davis lifted it to its zenith of 26 points with 5:14 to go.
The exclamation points came in the final 2 minutes when senior Deon Stroud windmilled back-to-back dunks – the first over a defender and the second all alone – that led to an eruption on the Eastern sideline. Allegri shuffled in front of his teammates to keep them off the court, lest they earn a second sideline technical after being assessed one after a similar celebration 4 minutes earlier.
Eastern finished with a 50-20 advantage on points in the paint and committed 10 turnovers, its fewest in 10 games. The only game in which the Eagles shot better from the field this season was when they made 63% in a 130-54 win over Northwest Indian College.
Idaho made 19 of 50 shots overall – 8 of 21 on 3-pointers – and went 28 for 31 at the free-throw line.
The Vandals’ five assists marked a season low.
Eastern’s comfortable victory over Idaho came after the Eagles squandered a 26-point lead against Sacramento State and a 16-point advantage against Portland State in games they rallied to win last week.
The Eagles are the only Big Sky team that hasn’t lost a conference game, although the Montana State Bobcats – whose only loss came in Bozeman against Eastern – are 5-1.
Montana, which Eastern beat earlier this year , visits the Eagles on Monday night. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Reese Court.