Eastern Washington executes in crunch time to beat North Dakota 87-81
During shootaround on Wednesday, Dan Monson pointed out to the Eastern Washington men’s basketball team just how close they’ve been this season to winning more games.
The Eagles had been within three points at halftime in three of their past six games, and they’d lost them all. And in none had they played their best half in the second half.
“I said today we’re going to change both those things,” Monson said, “and they did that.
“And, Vice (Zanki) was a big part of that.”
Zanki, a sophomore, scored a career-high 13 points, including two key baskets in the last 75 seconds to help Eastern close out an 87-81 victory over North Dakota at Reese Court, helping the Big Sky earn a point in this week’s Big Sky-Summit League Challenge.
After North Dakota pulled back within 80-79, Zanki put back teammate Andrew Cook’s miss to increase Eastern’s lead to three.
After a UND miss and with the shot clock down to 3 seconds on the next possession, Zanki lofted a 3-pointer from the top of the key that bounced off the front of the rim, off the backboard and then into the cylinder for his third 3-pointer of the game, giving Eastern an 85-79 lead with 27 seconds left.
“My thought is, if (my shot) is high,” Zanki said, “I can get the lucky bounce.”
Zanki finished 5 of 8 from the floor. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. That was also a career high for the sophomore, whose average minutes have increased to 23 compared to 7 last year when he was a role player off the bench.
“I thought if I stayed, I could earn the coach’s trust,” Zanki said.
Zanki’s rebounds were particularly important in helping the Eagles (2-7 ) finish with a 35-33 edge over the Fighting Hawks (3-5), who came in averaging a Summit League-best 13.9 offensive rebounds per game. They finished with 13 on Wednesday; Eastern finished with two more.
“I told them we couldn’t win that game without winning the rebounds,” Monson said.
“We didn’t do great. We gave them 13 (offensive rebounds). But two rebounds (more) is a big difference in a game like that.”
For almost all of the game, the Eagles and Fighting Hawks were within one possession of each other. There were 15 lead changes, nine ties, and neither team led by more than eight.
UND’s best run came late in the first half and into the second, when it opened up a 47-40 lead after a basket by Treysen Eaglestaff, who finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting.
Eastern led most of the second half but couldn’t wiggle away from UND until the final 2 minutes.
But after halftime, the Eagles were efficient: They made 17 of 32 second-half shots, including 7 of 10 3-pointers, and they also made 6 of 8 free throws over that span.
The Fighting Hawks struggled from 3-point range after halftime (2 of 8) and made just 9 of 16 second-half free throws. They finished 19 of 28 at the line and made 50% of their field goals (28 of 56).
Eastern also finished 50% from the field (31 of 62) but made 13 of 18 free throws and also hit a season-high 12 3-pointers on 22 attempts.
Senior Andrew Cook scored a team-high 20 points for Eastern, and redshirt freshman Emmett Marquardt finished with a season-high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.
Redshirt junior Nic McClain added 15 points and sophomore Sebastian Hartmann had 14.
Eastern’s victory gave the Big Sky one point (for a home win) in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge. On the night, the Summit won six of 10 men’s basketball games in the challenge. The Big Sky won five of the nine women’s games.
Eastern plays at South Dakota State on Saturday.
Women
South Dakota State 81, Eastern Washington 58: The Jackrabbits (6-2) outscored the Eagles 28-8 in the third quarter to surge ahead and score a victory for the Summit League in a game in Brookings, South Dakota.
SDSU made 31 of 62 shots from the field (50%). EWU (2-6) made 23 of 65 (35%).
Senior Peyton Howard led the Eagles with 15 points. Junior Ella Gallatin added 12 points, and freshman Kourtney Grossman came off the bench to score a career-high 13.