PointGuard

Day 2, Game 15: Bowling Green Falcons (W6) at Hawaii Warriors (W5) Hawaii pulled out a thrilling 2-point victory in their first game behind the stellar performance of PG David Hamilton (20 points and 4 assists) and reserve C Gerrick Williams (17 points and 4 rebounds). In contrast Bowling Green achieved a 35-point blowout win in round 1 with interior players Chris Gentry and Jerome Bowie combining for 33 points and 9 rebounds. Starting lineups: Bowling Green: PG 6-4 Shammell Smith, SG 6-3 Michael Maybin, SF 6-7 Greg Miller, PF 6-6 Jerome Bowie, C 6-7 Chris Gentry Hawaii: PG 6-5 David Hamilton, SG 6-3 Shannon Sykes, SF 6-8 David Howard, PF 6-7 Darius Allison, C 6-8 Todd Brown Hawaii took a 7-0 lead and held Bowling Green scoreless for 5 minutes. Bowling Green’s C Chris Gentry went to the bench with 2 fouls after just 4-1/2 minutes of play. Hawaii increased their lead to 12 points with about 7 minutes remaining in the first half, but then the Falcons made a run that cut the Warriors lead to 28-27 with 3:05 left. Then Hawaii came back to lead 36-31 at the end of the half. Hawaii hit 48% of their shots while Bowling Green canned just 42% of theirs. PF Jerome Bowie led the Falcons with 12 points and 5 rebounds. Reserve big-man Wayne Duke was Hawaii’s top scorer with 8 points. Hawaii maintained a small lead, mainly by completely nullifying Bowling Green’s Princeton offense. But the Warriors shot poorly and couldn’t pull away. Bowling Green continued to deploy the Princeton offense frequently but nearly every time it resulted in a turnover or missed shot. With 5 minutes to play, Hawaii led 52-49. Hawaii shut the Falcons down from that point and drew away for a big win. Final Score: Hawaii—66, Bowling Green—50. Bowling Green: PG Shammell Smith-6/2/1, SG Michael Maybin-15/0/6, SF Greg Miller-0/2/0, PF Jerome Bowie-16*/0/9*, C Chris Gentry-8/3*/8. Falcons team stats: FG%-33%, 14 of 19 FT’s, 6 of 21 Threes, 31 Reb, 20 TO’s, 23 PF’s. Hawaii: PG David Hamilton-7/0/2, SG Shannon Sykes-6/1/4 (+4 steals), SF David Howard-7/2/4 (+4 steals), PF Darius Allison-7/0/1, C Todd Brown-7/1/6; Bench player: Gerrick Williams-11/0/0, Wayne Duke-8/0/2. Warriors team stats: FG%-41%, 25 of 29 FT’s, 5 of 18 Threes, 28 Reb, 14 TO’s, 18 PF’s. Player of the Game: Hawaii SF David Howard-7 pts, 2 assists, 4 reb, 4 steals.

Day 2, Game 14: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (L8) at Saint Louis Billikens (L7) While St. Louis is the odds-makers favorite in this game, both teams played well in their first games of the tournament, even though both lost. Western Kentucky played their first game on the road, though, while St. Louis played their first game at home. Western Kentucky has an interior height advantage but was not able to use that to their advantage in their first game of the tournament. St. Louis is hoping SG Arthur James can replicate his 20 point performance in their earlier tournament game. Starting lineups: Western Kentucky: PG 5-7 Mario Jones, SG 6-1 Aaron Taflinger, SF 6-8 Scott Reed, PF 6-10 Julius Dickel, C 6-10 Ray Melson Saint Louis: PG 6-2 Adam Blizzard, SG 6-3 Arthur James, SF 6-8 Adrian Graham, PF 6-8 John Wiel, C 6-8 Bryce Brown PF John Weil scored Saint Louis’ first 12 points as the Billikens took a 12-2 lead after 3 minutes of play. But ominously for Saint Louis, the refs called 6 fouls against the Billikens (with 2 starters on the bench with foul trouble) and no fouls against the Hilltoppers in the first 5 minutes of the game. The Billikens continued to run roughshod over Western Kentucky and at the 13:58 mark led 20-5. Chaifetz Arena was really rocking. Then ever so slowly the Hilltoppers crept back into the game. With 4:01 to play in the first half, Western Kentucky tied the game at 29-29. Western Kentucky’s rooters were now the boisterous ones. John Weil, who had scored 18 points for Saint Louis in the first 10 minutes of the game but had been on the bench for the last 5 minutes recouping his energy was brought back onto the court. But Western Kentucky was not to be denied and left the court at the half leading 37-34. Saint Louis outshot Western Kentucky 65% to 55% but the Hilltoppers got to the line 8 more times and scored 8 more points than the Billikens and Western Kentucky’s bench outscored the Saint Louis bench 16-8. Center Ray Melson scored 6 points to lead the Hilltoppers scoring, but PF John Weil torched the net for 19 points for the Billikens. Saint Louis came back onto the court and scored the first 6 points of the 2nd half. But the Hilltoppers came back to storm ahead 62-43 with 7-1/2 minutes to play. Both their offense and defense were clicking. At that point they had scored the last 21 points. Saint Louis fans were exiting the arena. Western Kentucky increased their lead to 71-50 before easing up in the final minutes allowing Saint Louis to narrow the gap to 10 points with 30 seconds left. Final Score: Western Kentucky—75, Saint Louis—65. Western Kentucky: PG Mario Jones-6/6*/0, SG Aaron Taflinger-6/4/3 (+5 steals), SF Scott Reed-6/1/1, PF Julius Dickel-13/1/4, C Ray Melson-10/2/5*; Bench Players: Starzee Brown-11/0/0, Brandon Neterville-8/0/2, Cain Cage-7/2/5*. Hilltoppers team stats: FG%-60%, 20 of 27 FT’s, 5 of 12 Threes, 21 Reb, 17 TO’s, 19 PF’s. Saint Louis: PG Adam Blizzard-0/2/3, SG Arthur James-12/1/3, SF Adrian Graham-3/1/4, PF John Wiel-24*/0/5*, C Bryce Brown-2/1/0; Bench player: Shawn Engstrom-8/2/0 Billikens team stats: FG%-55%, 12 of 21 FT’s, 9 of 15 Threes, 19 Reb, 21 TO’s, 22 PF’s. Player of the Game: Western Kentucky PF Julius Dickel-13 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 1 block.

Mike Jackson, parent of player Game #13, Jan. 2, 2017: Sacramento State Hornets (5-7, -0-1) at Eastern Washington Eagles (9-3, 1-0) OK. This is ridiculous! Vandergard is sitting Shawn again. After starting nearly every game for 3 years, he’s now coming off the bench??? What gives? There’s no excuse for doing that to the best player on this team! I’m gonna give it to Vandergard tonight. Tim Whitaker is scoring, but he’s shooting a lot to get those points. In fact, when Whitaker was starting at SF and Shawn at SG, Whitaker’s shooting was robbing Shawn of shots. Two turnovers by Whitaker and the game’s just 3 minutes old. Finally with 13:43 left in the half, Shawn gets on the floor. Shawn got only 6 minutes of playing time at the 2, but with 4-1/2 minutes left in the half, he was put in at the 1. 3 minutes before the intermission, Shawn beat his man and drove to the bucket for a nice lay-in and his first points of the night. Then with 45 seconds to go before the break, Shawn launched and connected on a beautiful 3. The half ended with the Eagles on top 44-27. Our guys dominated the Hornets it all team statistical categories. PF Donte Robinson came off the bench to lead EWU’s scoring with 15 points. Shawn got just 11 minutes of time on the court, but scored 5 and had 2 assists, 1 rebound, and 2 steals. Meanwhile, Whitaker, who started at Shawn’s position, and Reyes who started at SF where Whitaker usually starts, played a combined 28 minutes and were both held scoreless. Vandergard hopefully saw the light (and I’m sure heard me riding him), because he started Shawn at SG in the 2nd half. The Eagles came out firing and took a 59-30 lead just 7 minutes into the 2nd half. With 12 minutes left in the half, Shawn drove into the lane, put a shot up and then put back in his own rebound. Great hustle! The Eagles went on to record a lopsided win. EWU hit 55% of their shots while holding the Hornets shooting to 38%, outrebounded Sacramento State 28-21 and held a 26-11 turnover advantage. Shawn played a good game, scoring 7, dishing out 4 assists, pulling down 4 rebounds, and getting 2 steals. Nice breakout game by Donte Robinson. Final Score: Eastern Washington (10-3, 2-0, 1st place tied)—78, Sacramento State—44. Leading players for Eastern Washington: PF Donte Robinson-21 pts, 1 assist, 5 rebs, 2 steals; PF Cory Davis-15 pts, 6 rebs; C Colin Dye-12 pts, 3 rebs, 1 steal, 1 block; C Nate Dye-10 pts, 2 rebs. Player of the Game: PF Donte Robinson-21 pts, 1 assist, 5 rebs, 2 steals.

Day 2, Game 13: St. Bonaventure Bonnies (L5) at Valparaiso Crusaders (L6) St. Bonaventure is coming off a close loss while Valparaiso got stomped In their first games of this tournament. Starting lineups: St. Bonaventure: PG 6-3 Bryan Majerus, SG 6-1 Tavaras Linney, SF 6-7 LeDarion Peterson, PF 6-11 Nick Dunn, C 6-9 Sam Chouest Valparaiso: PG 6-0 Javon Thomas, SF 6-2 Jeremy Scott, SF 6-6 Jim Walker, PF 6-8 David Richardson, C 6-10 Brandon Diggs There were 10 lead changes and 3 ties in the first 14 minutes of play and neither team could gain more than a 3 point lead. But with 4 minutes left in the half, St. Bonaventure opened a 7 point lead and finished the half with a 32-37 lead. The Bonnies achieved their advantage by getting to the line 14 times where they scored 11 points while Valparaiso hit all their free throws but only got 2 attempts. C Nick Dunn scored 11 points for St. Bonaventure. Reserve C Lou Jefferson scored 10 points and pulled down 7 rebounds for the Crusaders. Valparaiso stayed close but St. Bonaventure maintained a lead until with just over 12 minutes to play, Jim Walker hit a 3 for the Crusaders to give them a 45-44 lead. Taking advantage of miscues by the Bonnies, Valparaiso expanded their lead to 5 a minute later. The Crusaders held the Bonnies off from that point on to achieve a comeback victory to the cheers of their fans. Final Score: Valparaiso—64, St. Bonaventure—57. St. Bonaventure: PG Bryan Majerus-5/3/4, SG Tavaras Linney-7/3/2, SF LeDarion Peterson-11/1/4, PF Nick Dunn-15*/1/3, C Sam Chouest-11/2/3. Bonnies team stats: FG%-51%, 13 of 18 FT’s, 2 of 4 Threes, 22 Rebs, 15 TO’s, 15 PF’s. Valparaiso: PG Javon Thomas-4/1/0, SF Jeremy Scott-14/1/4, SF Jim Walker-8/0/0, PF David Richardson-6/1/4, C Brandon Diggs-7/0/4; Bench player: Lou Jefferson-14/1/8*, Albert Yearwood-0/4*/1. Crusaders team stats: FG%-45%, 9 of 12 FT’s, 7 of 23 Threes, 22 Rebs, 9 TO’s, 17 PF’s. Player of the Game: Valparaiso C Lou Jefferson-14 pts, 1 assist, 8 rebounds, 2 steals.

Corky Branigan, KSPK,Radio Commentator Game #12, Dec. 26, 2016: Eastern Washington Eagles (8-3, 0-0) at North Dakota Fightin’ Sioux (3-8, 0-0) Cheney and Spokane can be plenty cold in the winter, but going to North Dakota in late December ain’t a picnic. But I haven’t been travelling much this season and missed most of last season, so it’s fun to go on the road with the Eagles for this game. On paper this looks like a walkover for the Eagles. The Fightin’ Sioux had a rather anemic offense in pre-conference play, but they did manage to beat a Pac-12 team, Arizona State. The Eagles definitely cannot overlook anyone on the road in the Big Sky. C Andrew Everett is back as a starter for North Dakota for the 3rd year and is leading the Fightin’ Sioux in scoring with 12.8 ppg and rebounding with 7.0 rpg. Colin Goode needs to stay out of foul trouble and use his size to control Everett. Coach Vandegard told me, “We hope to keep the ball out of Everett’s hands as much as possible.” While probably a good strategy, SG Matt Barkley, who is only averaging 7.8 ppg, is hitting over 50% of his FG attempts and 3’s and 91% of his free throws, and he scored 22 points in his last game this season. So the Eagles will need to slow him down if he catches fire. A surprise when the game began. Coach Vandergard started Tim Whitaker at SG and Derrick Reyes at SF, thus moving Shawn Jackson to the bench. Whitaker has been the Eagles top scorer and Reyes has come off the bench to repeatedly score well and hit a high percentage of his shots. Eastern Washington looked good early taking a 12-4 lead after about 5 minutes of play. But at that point, North Dakota got untracked and began to cut into the Eagles lead. With 5:40 left in the first half, the Fightin’ Sioux overtook the Eagles when SF Lavor Jones drilled a 3 to make it 22-20. That got Eastern Washington’s attention and they reeled off a 9-0 run in the next 1-1/2 minutes. The half ended with the Eagles sporting a 37-30 lead. Tim Whitaker scored 9 and Derrick Reyes had 8 for Eastern Washington. The Eagles held North Dakota scoreless for the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half and took a 43-30 lead. North Dakota cut the Eagles lead to 5 midway through the half. That spurred the Eagles back into action and they quickly re-established a double digit lead. The refs kept inserting themselves into the game and the fouls piled up on both sides. And Eastern Washington maintained momentum from there on to win going away. Eastern Washington outshot the Fightin’ Sioux 53% to 40% and held a 21-10 turnover advantage. With Tim Whitaker and Derrick Reyes combining for 35 points, the lineup change experiment worked for the Eagles. The Eagles held C Andrew Everett to 5 points and SG Matt Barkley to 4 points. Final Score: Eastern Washington (9-3, 1-0, 1st place tie)—72, North Dakota—57. Leading players for Eastern Washington: SG/SF Tim Whitaker-21 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb, 1 block; SF Derrick Reyes-14 pts, 2 assists, 4 reb, 2 steals; PF Donte Robinson-12 pts, 3 reb, 1 steal; C Colin Goode-10 pts, 3 reb, 3 steals. Player of the Game: SG/SF Tim Whitaker-21 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb, 1 block. Award: Tim Whitaker was selected as the Big Sky’s Player of the Week again.

Larry Montgomery, 2nd asst coach Oh boy! Coach V was screaming after reading today’s newspaper. He told me to find Darryl Bailey no matter where he was and get him into Coach V’s office post haste. Darryl was at the campus student union building playing pool when I found him. After closing the door to Coach V’s office after escorting Darryl there, the first thing I heard through the door was Coach V saying, “What the hell were you thinking?” The intensity level of Coach V’s voice rose after that as he lambasted Darryl for giving our upcoming opponents unnecessary ammunition. Finally Darry exited with his tail between his legs. That afternoon before practice, Coach V called a team meeting where he laid down the law about talking with the press. He said we already have been picked as conference favorites and we didn’t need to be giving the rest of the conference even more reason to play their hardest to beat us. He told the players that he was sure that the Spokesman Review article was already posted in every one of the rest of the conference’s locker rooms. He reminded the players there wasn’t one team in the conference that couldn’t beat us on any given night. While Coach V didn’t mention Darryl Bailey at all, Darryl stepped up and apologized to his teammates for “my stupid comments” and promised to work his hardest in practices and in upcoming games to make up for them. Coach V then had Austin Nathaniel run a particularly rugged practice that left the players drooping.

Day 2, Game 12: BYU Cougars (W4) at Massachusetts Minutemen (W3) Starting lineups: BYU: PG 5-7 Ben Smith, SG 6-2 John Hopkins, SF 6-8 John Angeli, PF 6-10 Coupe Fuhs, C 6-9 Matt Babul Massachusetts: PG 6-5 Michael Crenshaw, SG 6-1 David Krimmel, SF 6-6 Teremun Williams, PF 6-8 Tony Logan, 6-9 Chris Kent BYU took a 5-0 lead but UMass scored 11 of the next 13 points. Then midway through the first half, the Minutemen, led by David Krimmel’s 9 points, opened a 9 point lead at 22-13. When the half ended, Massachusetts led 39-25. The Minutemen hit 67% of their FG attempts (including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc). The Cougars hit just 42% of their shots and 27% of their 3 point attempts. BYU turned the ball over 12 times. SG David Krimmel popped in 13 points for UMass. BYU’s SG John Hopkins scored 7 to lead their scoring. BYU would have to control the ball better and tighten their defense in the 2nd half, if they wanted a chance to win this game. Massachusetts led 48-25 just 1-3/4 minutes into the 2nd half. With their guards carrying the load, BYU got within 10 points with 10 minutes to play and then 5 with 7-1/2 minutes left. But the Minutemen would let the Cougars get no closer. Final Score: Massachusetts—73, BYU—65. BYU: PG Ben Smith-12/2/0, SG John Hopkins-23/0/2, SF John Angeli-3/2/4, PF Coupe Fuhs-6/3/7, C Matt Babul-9/3/7; Bench player: Heath Cliff-7/1/1. Cougars team stats: FG%-50%, 11 of 18 FT’s, 11 of 28 Threes, 25 Rebs, 20 TO’s, 13 PF’s Massachusetts: PG Michael Crenshaw-0/3/3, SG David Krimmel-20/3/2, SF Teremun Williams-15/2/2, PF Tony Logan-10/3/1, Chris Kent-6/1/2; Bench player: Hayward Myles-5/1/4. Minutemen team stats: FG%-55%, 12 of 14 FT’s, 9 of 16 Threes, 18 Rebs, 18 TO’s, 20 PF’s Player of the Game: Massachusetts’ SG David Krimmel-20 pts, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal.

Spokane Spokesman Review sports column article Are the Eagles for Real? After years of basketball frustration in Cheney, are the Eastern Washington Eagles ready for big time this season? While positive about the team’s players and how the team has fared thus far this season, Coach Vandergard continues to brush aside questions about whether his team can finally get into March Madness a few months from now. Vandergard has said the team aspires to getting to the Big Dance but then typically gives the tried and true coach’s response of having to take it one game at a time. And while he’s definitely tugged the team up by its bootstraps in his 3-1/2 years at EWU, he has had little success in the conference tournament that decides which Big Sky team goes to the NCAA Tournament. But Darryl Bailey, the Eagles’ substitute point guard who has been playing nearly as much as starter Tim Dove, offered a different tone when asked about the team’s chances. “We’re not only ready and able, we’re set to take the Big Sky apart this season, “ said Bailey. Bailey went on to add, “We’ve been first in the regular season conference standings the past two seasons and we’re going to do it again. And this year we’re going to stomp everyone in the Big Sky tourny as well. I can’t wait until our name is called in the NCAA Selection Show this coming March.” Eastern Washington begins Big Sky conference play later this week with an away game against North Dakota.

Quote: Originally Posted by Wayne23 Go Eagles! "On a dark desert highway..." What a great song! "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device"

Go Eagles! "On a dark desert highway..." [Copied from post by Wayne23 in the Wolverine Studios forums]

Day 2, Game 11: St. Josephs Hawks (W1) at Nevada Wolfpack (W2) Starting lineups: St. Josephs: PG 6-5 Gregg Hoyer, SG 6-5 Chris Kelly, SF 6-6 Mike Hutson, PF 6-6 Dan Deverage, C 6-9 Petrick Watkins Nevada: PG 5-6 Brett Boston, SG 6-2 Rick Newman, SF 6-8 Marlo Vickers, PF 6-8 Hollis Booth, C 6-8 Donald Thornton Both of Nevada’s big men (Booth and Thornton) and their PG (Boston) got into foul trouble the first 7 minutes of play. The Hawks couldn’t capitalize, though, due to poor shooting. Nevada gradually pulled away to a 33-24 halftime advantage. Nevada hit just 38% of their shots, but St. Josephs shot a dismal 24%. Substitute C Ali Fry led the Wolfpack scoring with 7 points. On the other end of the court, C Patrick Watkins also scored 7 points to lead St. Josephs. St. Josephs could get no closer than 8 points early in the 2nd half and then Nevada got hot and opened a 65-44 lead with 5 minutes remaining. St. Josephs shooting didn’t improve much in the 2nd half (including hitting just 13% of their 3’s), giving them no chance to seriously compete with the Wolfpack. Final Score: Nevada—74, St. Josephs—57. St. Josephs: PG Gregg Hoyer-3/2/1, SG Chris Kelly-5/1/3, SF Mike Hutson-8/2/1, PF Dan Deverage-3/0/13*, C Petrick Watkins-9/0/3; Bench players: Selwyn Capel-8/0/1, Russell-7/1/3. Hawks team stats: FG%-32%, 15 of 21 FT’s, 4 of 30 Threes, 33 Rebs, 10 TO’s, 23 PF. Nevada: PG Brett Boston-0/1/2, SG Rick Newman-12/3*/6, SF Marlo Vickers-6/0/2, PF Hollis Booth-6/1/2, C Donald Thornton-11/0/3; Bench players: Jerry McKnight-15*/3*/3, Ali Fry-9/0/5 Wolfpack team stats: FG%-47%, 27 of 31 FT’s, 5 of 16 Threes, 35 Rebs, 13 TO’s, 20 PF’s. Player of the Game: Nevada SG Rick Newman-12 pts, 3 assists, 6 reb, 1 steal, 1 block.

Potato-Pickin’-Paul, “Eagle Flight” blog Eastern Washington enters conference play on a high note with a 4-game win streak and strong play in every one of their 11 pre-conference games. Their starters are playing well and they have at least one strong backup at every position. 2016 Big Sky Pre-Conference After taking on a strong pre-conference schedule, Eastern Washington came away with an excellent record and was rewarded with a very good RPI. But Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado surprised most everyone by posting great records also. Northern Arizona had wins against Kansas State and Texas Tech. Northern Colorado scored wins over Florida State and Southern Illinois and wasn’t blown out in any game. Eastern Washington’s losses were by 5, 3 and 6 points while 7 of the Eagles’ 8 wins were by big margins. After conclusion of pre-conference play, here’s the Eagles player stats: Coach Vandergard said, “I’m very pleased by our pre-conference play. The level of competition prepared us well for what turns out to be a demanding conference schedule every year. Now we just have to get keyed up for each and every game from here on out. We have to come out and play hard-nosed basketball against every opponent, no matter their record. Any letdown is likely to result in a loss. “ With respect to his players, he continued, “Our bench strength is impressive this season, particularly at the perimeter positions. Our inside reserves are a bit more raw, but improving continually. But both Cory Davis and Colin Goode have gotten into foul trouble too often and at this point, an injury to either of them would definitely weaken us.” From this blogger’s point of view, Darryl Bailey, Will Davis or Derrick Reyes could step into the starting lineup at the 1, 2 and 3 positions respectively and the team would not lose a beat. Vandegard concluded by saying, “Our goal this season is to get to the NCAA Tournament and then surprise people by how we play there, so it’s imperative we continue to improve as a team each and every game. Because by March we have to be rock solid to be able to get all the way through the Big Sky Conference Tournament. The past two seasons we’ve seen a Big Sky team come from the bottom of the standings and in the conference tournament knock the top teams out of an opportunity to get to the Big Dance.”

ESPN2 Commentary Game #11, Dec. 19, 2016: Eastern Washington Eagles (7-3) at Memphis Tigers (3-4) Tonight we’re broadcasting a team that rarely gets onto national TV, the Eastern Washington Eagles. The Eagles have played well this year. Most of their wins have been by big margins and their 3 losses have be by narrow margins. Memphis has been an up and down team this entire season. You just never know who is going to show up when the Tigers take the court this year. ***** The two teams seem to be on different trajectories the past 3 years. Memphis is led by PG Brian Settles and SF B.B. Fisher. Eastern Washington’s SF Tim Whitaker has been on fire lately and their 7-foot C Colin Goode has been become stronger as the season unfolds. ***** Darryl Bailey hits a long 3. That puts Eastern Washington up 18-13. That’s the first time either team has been able to achieve more than a 2 point lead in this game. Coach Vandergard’s frequent subbing seems to be paying off for the Eagles. ***** Greg Cleaves receives the pass just to the right of the foul line and drives to the basket to score on a driving dunk that puts the Eagles ahead 27-16 with 8:51 remaining in the first half. The defense of Memphis really broke down on that play. ***** The pass goes inside to Colin Goode. He spins around the defender and gets to the bucket for an easy basket. That’s 10 points for Goode. The Eagles are taking the Tigers to school right now and lead 40-20 with just over 4 minutes left in the half. ***** For Memphis the half mercifully ends. Trailing 53-26, they’ve been outshot 72% to 47%, out-rebounded 13-6, and turned the ball over 11 times to the Eagles 4 turnovers. Quite a half for Eastern Washington. Colin Goode leads their scoring with 10 points but 7 players have score 5 or more points. Memphis continues their run. Yet another turnover by Eastern Washington and a breakaway basket for the Tigers to cut the lead to 63-45. ***** Anthony Alston hits a baseline jumper and the Eagles win big! While Memphis played better in the 2nd half, Eastern Washington outplayed the Tigers in every aspect of the game. Memphis improved their shooting to 51% for the game, but Eastern Washington hit 63% of their shots. The Eagles dropped in 50% of their 3’s to 32% for the Tigers. EWU held a 14-12 turnover advantage. And the Eagles completely dominated the boards 30-15. An impressive showing to a national audience for a program that just 3 years ago was moribund. Not only are the Eagles’ starters strong, but they have tremendous depth. Tonight EWU got scoring and strong play from 11 players. ***** Final Score: Eastern Washington (8-3)—85, Memphis—59. Leading players for Eastern Washington: PG Darryl Bailey-15 pts, 3 assists, 5 reb, 1 steal; SF Tim Whitaker-14 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb; C Colin Goode-10 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 1 steal, 1 block; SF Derrick Reyes-9 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb; PF Cory Davis-8 pts, 4 reb; PG Tim Dove-9 pts, 1 assist; PF Donte Robinson-7 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb, 1 steal. Player of the Game: PG Darryl Bailey-15 pts, 3 assists, 5 reb, 1 steal. For Memphis: PG Brian Settles -11 pts, 6 assists, 3 reb, 2 steals. Eastern Washington’s RPI is now 31st best in the nation.

Day 2, Game #10: Ball State Cardinals (L4) at Southern Illinois Salukis (L3) Starting Lineups: Ball State: PG 6-0 Melvin Clark, SG 6-0 Bernard Jackson, SF 6-7 Dwayne Jackson, PF 6-8 Paul Smith, C 6-8 Srecko Lepinat Southern Illinois: PG 6-0 Shannon Ress, SG 6-2 Brandon Penders, SF 6-8 Tim Montross, PF 6-6 Adam Lilly, C 6-8 Mike Young Southern Illinois led 7-0 and it was 4-1/2 minutes into the game before Ball State scored. With 11-1/2 minutes to go in the first half, the Salukis led 17-4 and Ball State had already committed 8 turnovers. The Saluki fans were making the night a living hell for the Cardinals. With 7 minutes remaining in the half the score was 31-7 and Ball State had made 13 turnovers. The half ended with Southern Illinois bludgeoning Ball State by a 41-17 score. The Cardinals turned the ball over 18 times thus limiting them to just 13 FG attempts. By comparison, the Salukis had just 2 turnovers and put up 32 shots. PG Shannon Ress scored 14 points to lead Southern Illinois. Dwayne Jackson was the top scorer for Ball State with just 5 points. Ball State played better in the 2nd half, but had a tough time cutting into the Salukis’ lead. Finally with 5-1/2 minutes left in the game, they got the deficit to less than 20 points, but they never got closer than 17. Final Score: Southern Illinois-70, Ball State-52. Ball State: PG Melvin Clark-6/6*/4*, SG Bernard Jackson-2/0/1, SF Dwayne Jackson-10/0/2, PF Paul Smith-9/1/3, C Srecko Lepinat-4/1/4*; Bench player: Jared DeVone-14/1/3. Cardinals team statistics: FG%-51%, 8 of 9 FT’s, 6 of 15 Threes, 24 Rebs, 24 TO’s, 13 PF’s. Southern Illinois: PG Shannon Ress-19/2/3, SG Brandon Penders-0/3/1, SF Tim Montross-21*/3/1, PF Adam Lilly-4/1/3, C Mike Young-4/0/2; Bench player: Jamie Mueller-11/0/0. Salukis team statistics: FG%-50%, 3 of 6 FT’s, 13 of 27 Threes, 15 Rebs, 9 TO’s, 14 PF’s. Player of the Game: Southern Illinois SF Tim Montross-21 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb, 4 steals.

Day 2, Game 9: Kent State Golden Flashes (L1) at Charlotte 49ers (L2) Starting Lineups: Kent State: PG 5-8 Michael Deren, SG 6-3 Willie Baker, SF 6-7 Marco Coursey, PF 6-7 Maurice Bruton, C 6-9 Tony Dupree Charlotte: PG 5-7 Mark “Honey” Graham, SG 6-4 Craig “Swimming” Poole, SF 6-8 Dwayne Cox, PF 6-8 Greg Brumm, C 6-9 Marion Kurtz C Marion Kurtz and PG Mark Graham scored 20 of Charlottes first 26 points to forge a 12-point lead for the 49ers with 12 minutes to go in the first half. Charlotte capitalized on 64% of their shots in the first half and left the court at the break with a 45-32 advantage. Mark Graham scored 12 and Marion Kurtz had 10 for Charlotte. SG Willie Baker led Kent State’s scoring with 11 points. With 14:12 to go in the game, Charlotte opened a 20 point lead at 57-37 as their hot shooting continued. Kent State trimmed the lead a little but couldn’t overcome the 1-2 punch of Mark Graham and Marion Kurtz and never seriously challenged. Final Score: Charlotte—73, Kent State—60. Kent State: PG Michael Deren-3/6*/1, SG Willie Baker-17/2/4, SF Marco Coursey-11/1/2, PF Maurice Bruton-6/1/-0, C Tony Dupree-6/3/5; Bench player: Clark Day-12/0/3. Golden Flashes team stats: FG%-50%, 9 of 12 FT’s, 9 of 21 Threes, Rebs: 19, TO’s-21, PF’s-19. Charlotte: PG Mark Graham, SG -22*/2/1, Craig Poole-5/4/0, SF Dwayne Cox-5/5/3, PF Greg Brumm-8/1/6*, C Marion Kurtz-15/3/4; Bench players: Marc Gunn-8/0/3. 49er team stats: FG%-59%, 5 of 9 FTs, 10 of 19 Threes, 19 Rebs, 16 TO’s, 14 PF’s. Player of the Game: Charlotte PG Mark Graham-22 pts, 2 assists, 1 reb, 1 steal.

O. J. Mitchell, player Game #10, Dec. 15, 2016: Kansas State Wildcats (3-4) at Eastern Washington Eagles (6-3) Being a walk-on can get pretty frustrating. Sitting on the far end of the bench, getting few opportunities to play and then in those rare instances when put into a game being left out on the floor a very few minutes. But…I’m overjoyed to just be on this team. Great guys, great coaches, a chance to practice and play with (and against) a bunch of talented players. What more could I ask? I’ll probably have 40 minutes sitting on the bench so I figured I might as well provide perspective from the end of the bench on tonight’s game. We’re excited to have a Big Twelve team coming to take us on in Cheney. Even though they’ve had a rather slow start, we’re not taking them lightly. We’re taking the Wildcats seriously since it’s important for us to be able to prove ourselves against well-known programs. Cory Davis joins me on the bench with 2 fouls in less than 2 minutes of play. We all think the refs got it all wrong on those fouls. Cory is fuming. Donte Robinson has shown the ability to fill Cory’s shoes though. We’re a little flat early on, falling behind 12-7. Midway through the half, though, we run off 11 straight points carrying us to a 23-16 lead with 7-1/2 minutes left until the break. The Wildcats came back and took a lead, but Tim Dove drove to the basket, missed the shot, but put back up a rebound that dropped at the buzzer. We headed to the locker room locked in a 40-40 tie. Coach V jumped on us about not taking control of the game on our home court. Tim Dove and Will Davis both scored 13 for us. Kansas State came out and burned us early, but then Will Davis, Tim Whitaker and Tim Dove began hitting 3’s, and we took a 66-55 lead with 13-1/2 minutes left in the game. We on the bench were yelling and screaming as we pulled away from Kansas State. The crowd was going wild, further firing us up. Tim Whitaker launched a 3 that dropped cleanly through the silks and gave us a 20 point lead with 6 minutes left to play. At the final TV timeout with us leading 86-69, Coach V put me into the game. As part of an all-bench team, we played well although I personally didn’t put any stats up. As a team we rocked! We connected on 52% of our FG attempts (including 50% of our 3’s), held a 32-28 rebounding advantage, and a 17-10 turnover advantage. We needed all that because the refs sent the Wildcats to the foul line 20 more times than us where they scored 13 more points that did we. Final Score: Eastern Washington (7-3)—95, Kansas State—73. Leading players for Eastern Washington: SF Tim Whitaker-24 pts, 2 assists, 4 reb, 2 steals; PG Tim Dove-17 pts, 9 assists, 3 reb, 1 steal; SG Will Davis-14 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb, 1 steal; C Colin Goode-9 pts, 1 assist, 6 reb; PG Darryl Bailey-9 pts, 1 assist, 1 reb, 1 steal, PF/C Nate Dye-7 pts, 3 assists, 7 reb, 3 steals, 1 block. Player of the Game: SF Tim Whitaker-24 pts, 2 assists, 4 reb, 2 steals. For Kansas State: SG Greg Respert-16 pts, 1 assist, 6 reb, 1 steal. Award: Tim Whitaker was named Big Sky Player of the Week. Some say Dr. Yamada, his optometrist, is the one who really deserves the award.

Day 2 Matchups Game 9 (L1 vs L2): Kent State vs Charlotte Game 10 (L3 vs L4): Southern Illinois vs Ball State Game 11 (W1 vs W2) St. Josephs vs Nevada Game 12 (W3 vs W4) Massachusetts vs BYU Game 13 (L5 vs L6) St. Bonaventure vs Valparaiso Game 14 (L7 vs L8) Saint Louis vs Western Kentucky Game 15 (W5 vs W6) Hawaii vs Bowling Green Game 16 (W7 vs W8) UNLV vs Central Michigan

Article in Easterner Online (student newspaper) Game #9, Dec. 12, 2016: Ball State Cardinals (2-5) at Eastern Washington Eagles (5-3) The Eagles took on Ball State last night. Even though they came into the game with a losing record, they had played good opponents and had only 2 home games. Trailing 15-10, EWU ran off 7 unanswered points to take a 2 point lead with 13:12 remaining in the first half. Ball State was scoring at will from all over the court, but the Eagles also were hitting their shots so the score remained close. The half ended in a 44-44 tie. EWU hit 68% of their shots, but Ball State hit a sizzling 74% of theirs. SF Tim Whitaker popped in 21 points for the Eagles. Ball State opened a 6 point lead early in the 2nd half, but the Eagles finally cooled the Cardinals shooting a little while EWU continued to drain shots. With 4:39 remaining, the Eagles led 76-68. Ball State recovered to drawn within one point at 79-78 with a minute remaining. After EWU called a time out, Tim Dove cut around a Tim Whitaker’s screen to drop in a 15 footer on which he was fouled. Dove converted the 3 point play to give the Eagles a 4 point lead. Following a miss by the Cardinals, they fouled Derrick Reyes with 41 seconds remaining. Reyes sunk both free throws to make it 84-78. Ball State got away two three-point attempts but neither fell. With just 8 seconds to go, the Cardinals fouled Tim Whitaker whose two free throws swished through the net. Ball State hit a three at the buzzer but it meant nothing. Shooting was phenomenal by both teams: 72% by EWU and 64% by Ball State. The Cardinals controlled the boards 20-14 but EWU forced the Cardinals to turn the ball over 22 times while making only 14 turnovers themselves. Following the game, Coach Vandergard said, “Tim Whitaker was on fire tonight. We knew he had it in him, but this was a break out game for him. It’s fortunate because Ball State played a heckuva game and we needed every one of his points.” Vandergard also had praise for the play of PG Darryl Bailey and then finished with, “And Colin Goode had no fouls called on him, so we were able to keep him on the floor 29 minutes tonight.” When asked about his high-scoring game during which he sunk 10 of 12 shots including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc, Tim Whitaker responded, “Everyone was hitting their shots tonight, but for me, I dropped in a 3 on our first possession and then the basket looked like it had a diameter of about a yard. I got contact lenses a few days ago so maybe I wasn’t seeing the basket all that well in the past. It was a lot of fun out there tonight, but we had to play hard the entire game since the Cardinals were so hot.” Final Score: Eastern Washington (6-3)-86, Ball State-81. Leading players for Eastern Washington: SF Tim Whitaker-33 pts, 2 reb, 3 steals; C Colin Goode-10 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb, 2 steals; SF Derrick Reyes-10 pts, 1 assist, 1 steal; PG Darryl Bailey-8 pts, 5 assists, 1 reb, 1 steal; PF Cory Davis-8 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb, 1 steal. Player of the Game: SF Tim Whitaker-33 pts, 2 reb, 3 steals. For Ball State: PG Eddie Wheeler-24 pts, 6 assists, 1 reb, 3 steals; PF Paul Smith-17 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb, 1 steal.

Dr. Steve Yamada, O.D., Dec. 9, 2016 A week ago Coach Vandergard contacted me and asked that I test the vision of the entire team. He had noticed a player squinting and wondered if there might be vision problems. I scheduled each player for an exam. Several already were wearers of contact lenses. Most of the players’ vision (or their vision prescriptions) were fine. I tuned up Darryl Bailey’s contact lens prescription slightly. But one player, Tim Whitaker, had never had glasses or contacts and I found he really needs them. Today I was able to fit Tim with contacts. I think he was very surprised with how much better he can see now.

Top Round 1 Individual Player Performances C Terrence Russell, St. Josephs-10 pts, 1 assist, 8 reb PG Mark Graham, Charlotte-18 pts, 2 reb C Marion Kurtz, Charlotte-14 pts, 3 assists, 6 reb C/PF Marc Gunn, Charlotte-16 pts, 1 assist, 2 reb SF Marlo Vickers, Nevada-23 pts, 1 assist, 12 reb SG Rick Newman, Nevada-21 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb PG Shannon Ress, Southern Illinois-18 pts, 2 reb PG Jamie Mueller, Southern Illinois-18 pts, 2 reb PG Michael Crenshaw, Massachusetts-18 pts, 5 assists, 2 reb C Chris Kent, Massachusetts-10 pts, 8 reb SG Jared DeVone, Ball State-17 pts, 2 assists, 5 reb SG Julian Evans, BYU-16 pts, 3 assists, 5 reb SF SF LeDarion Peterson, St. Bonaventure-27 pts, 1 assist, 5 reb PG David Hamllton, Hawaii-27 pts, 4 assists, 1 reb C Gerrick Williams, Hawaii-17 pts, 1 assist, 4 reb C Chris Gentry, Bowling Green-18 pts, 6 reb PF Jerome Bowlie, Bowling Green-15 pts, 3 reb PF Geoff Ahern, UNLV-12 pts, 2 assists, 7 reb SG Arthur James, Saint Louis-20 pts, 2 assists, 4 reb PG Chuck Livas, Central Michigan-26 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb SG Tremaine Moore, Central Michigan-22 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb

Round 1 Results Game 1: St. Josephs-55, Kent State-54 Game 2: Nevada-89, Charlotte-66 Game 3: Massachusetts-79, Southern Illinois-65 Game 4: BYU-72, Ball State-62 Game 5: Hawaii-84, St. Bonaventure-82 Game 6: Bowling Green-80, Valparaiso-45 Game 7: UNLV-57, Saint Louis-53 Game 8: Central Michigan-81, Western Kentucky-74

Carl Broderick, JC coach of player Colin Goode Game #8, Dec. 8, 2016: Eastern Washington Eagles (4-3) at Charlotte 49ers (4-3) Colin Goode has been in touch and asked me to come see him play tonight, so I drove up from Georgia. Having Colin play for me for 2 years made an average JC team into a very good one. Colin has been concerned since he’s not been playing consistently this year. I’m hopeful that there will be something I see that can help him get on track. Charlotte’s PG Mark Graham is their leading scorer with 13.9 ppg. Colin posted up and rolled to the basket but was fouled on a shot at the 19:07 mark. The shot didn’t fall, but he dropped in both free throws to put the Eagles ahead 5-0. A minute later he stole a pass and made a nice outlet pass. A minute later he fed a nice pass to Cory Davis for an easy basket to make it 7-4. He picked up his first foul with 16:39 to go in the half when he tried poking the ball away from his man. But since they were near the corner, it would have been good if he’d backed off a little to avoid what was an unnecessary foul. He then was called for travelling and threw the ball away on the Eagles’ next two possessions. With 15 minutes to go in the half, he took a pass on the high post and drove the key, pulling up to shoot but was fouled on the shot and made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 11-4. He’s doing well at drawing fouls. A minute later he ripped down his 3rd rebound and put it back up to score his 5th point. Good effort! With 13:59 left in the half, he was called for his 2nd personal trying to stop a driving layup by one of the 49er’s big men. That sent him to the bench with the score 13-5. While this was a good foul, his earlier unnecessary foul came back to haunt him. He was kept out of action for the rest of the half which ended with Eastern Washington ahead 34-31. For Eastern Washington Darryl Bailey scored 9 points and Tim Whitaker added 8. Colin was back in the lineup at the beginning of the 2nd half, but picked up his 3rd foul with 18:58 left. His coach kept him in the game though. Colin worked his way to the basket with 17:45 remaining and put in a 5-footer to put the Eagles ahead 39-33. Then with 17 minutes to go he pulled down an offensive rebound and put up an 8 footer that dropped through for his 9th point. He blocked a shot a minute later, but was called for his 4th foul at the 15:12 mark, blocking his man who began a drive from outside. This was another foul he easily could have avoided. That put him on the bench with the Eagles leading 43-36. Colin came back into the game with 8-1/2 minutes to play and the Eagles leading 53-48. Colin hit a 12 foot jumper with 6-1/2 minutes to go which gave EWU a 59-51 lead. He dropped in another jumper less than a minute later making the score 61-53. Taking a pass inside, he was fouled but missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but he made up for it by pulling down a rebound after a succeeding miss on the other end by the 49ers. Then he stole a pass and quickly pushed it up court to Tim Whitaker for a driving layup.to give the Eagles a 10 point lead with 3-1/2 minutes to play. With 2:43 to play and the Eagles leading 67-57, Colin was called for his 5th foul as he hacked his opponent near the corner. The Eagles pulled away for a solid win on the road. I know that Colin has been frustrated by his play thus far this season. But tonight overall it was an excellent game for Colin both offensively and defensively. I caught up with him after the game and gave him a pat on the back and passed along a few tips for cutting down on fouls away from the basket. The Eagles outshot Charlotte 49% to 40% and held a 17-7 turnover advantage. Final Score: Eastern Washington (5-3)-77, Charlotte-61. Leading players: C Colin Goode-13 pts, 4 assists, 7 reb, 3 steals, 3 blocks; SF Tim Whitaker-12 pts, 3 assists, 4 reb, 2 steals; PG Tim Dove-10 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb, 1 steal; PG Darryl Bailey-11 pts, 1 reb, 1 steal; PF Donte Robinson-9 pts, 1 assist, 6 reb, 1 steal, 1 block. Player of the Game: C Colin Goode-13 pts, 4 assists, 7 reb, 3 steals, 3 blocks. For Charlotte: Reserve C Marlon Kurtz-12 pts, 12 reb. Award: Colin Goode was named Big Sky Player of the Week.

Day 1, Game 8: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Central Michigan Chippewas Starting lineups: Western Kentucky: PG 5-7 Mario Jones, SG 6-1 Aaron Taflinger, SF 6-8 Scott Reed, PF 6-10 Julius Dickel, C 6-10 Ray Melson Central Michigan: PG 6-4 Chuck Livas, SG 6-1 Tremaine Moore, SF 6-6 Jarvis Martin, PF 6-7 Joe Evans, C 6-10 Ramsey Millar Central Michigan hit the first 9 shots and streaked out to a 25-5 lead in the first 7-1/2 minutes of the game. Meanwhile Western Kentucky turned the ball over 7 times and got called for 6 team fouls in the same period of time. The Hilltoppers turned the game around in the next 6 minutes to cut the lead to 29-21 as they began to hit shots and the Chippewas had several turnovers and fouls. At the break, Central Michigan held a 43-33 lead. The Chippewas knocked down 72% of their FG attempts including 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. Western Kentucky hit 45% of their shots. PG Chuck Livas hit all of his shots including 4 three’s to score 16 points for Central Michigan. The Hilltoppers subs scored 21 of the team’s 33 points with Starzee Brown coming in to score 9 points in 7 minutes of play. Western Kentucky cut the Chippewas lead to 60-56 midway through the 2nd half. Central Michigan held the Hilltoppers off from that point. Final Score: Central Michigan-81, Western Kentucky-74. Western Kentucky: PG Mario Jones-5/2/1, SG Aaron Taflinger-12/3/1, SF Scott Reed-11/0/4, PF Julius Dickel-3/1/1, C Ray Melson-11/1/5; Bench players; Starzee Brown-12/1/2, Chad Fisher-10/7*/1, Cain Cage-7/0/1. Hilltoppers team statistics: FG%-51%, 25 of 33 FT’s, 9 of 20 Threes, 21 Reb, 15 TO’s, 22 PF’s. Central Michigan: PG Chuck Livas-26*/2/2, SG Tremaine Moore-22/2/3, SF Jarvis Martin-4/0/3, PF Joe Evans-5/2/1, C Ramsey Millar-11/2/5. Chippewas team statistics: FG%-63%, 22 of 30 FT’s, 11 of 19 Threes, 32 Reb, 14 TO’s, 25 PF’s. Player of the Game: Central Michigan PG Chuck Livas-26 pts, 2 assists, 2 reb, 1 steal.

Larry Montgomery, 2nd asst coach Game #7, Dec. 5, 2016: Eastern Washington Eagles (4-2) at #15 Cincinnati Bearcats (5-0) Taking on unbeaten Cincinnati on their home court is huge challenge for us. We’re a big underdog in this game. But we’ve played one common opponent. We both played Baylor on Baylor’s court and both won. Surprisingly the point differential for those games was in our favor. My scouting report is their roster is loaded with exceptionally talented players. Their top producer thus far is freshman SF Antony Zimmerman who is averaging 15.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.6 apg and 1.8 spg. He was the #27 nationally-ranked recruit last year. But freshman PF Derrick Lakey was the #10 nationally-ranked recruit last year and is averaging 10.2 ppg and 6.4 rpg. Coach V gave a spirited talk before the game focused on real examples of underdogs who have overcome obstacles to succeed beyond all expectations. We took a 10-3 lead 5-1/2 minutes into the contest. Cincinnati gradually came back and tied us at 17-17 with 7:45 remaining in the half and took their first lead at 26-25 with 4 minutes to go. When the buzzer sounded ending the half, we held a slim 34-33 lead. We got scoring from throughout our lineup so our leading scorer, Tim Whitaker, had just 6 points. As we approached the mid-point of the 2nd half, Cincinnati’s defense tightened and the refs began working us over. With 10:42 to go, the Bearcats led 56-46 and we were in need of an infusion of energy. With over 10 fouls called against us in the half and only 2 against Cincinnati, Coach V decided to try to light a fire by going after the refs and getting called for a technical. Our team responded by narrowing the gap to 7 and the refs actually called some fouls against the Bearcats. But then turnovers derailed our efforts and we fell behind by 12. Our guys responded with a furious run, though, that cut the lead to 62-58 with 5 minutes left. With 53 seconds to play Coach V called a time out in an effort to erase a 70-65 deficit. Shawn Jackson got free for a baseline jumper that bounced out. Cincinnati missed a shot but the ball went out of bounds off Cory Davis as he tried to rebound. We fouled with 28 seconds to go. Cincinnati hit both free throws. Tim Dove hit a 3 and we trailed by 4. We fouled on the inbounds play but again Cincinnati canned both shots. We missed a 3 pointer and our opportunity to upset a ranked team. Our guys played their hearts out. We held a 32-26 rebounding advantage but turned the ball over 16 times to Cincinnati’s 9. We outscored the Bearcats from the field, but again the refs tagged with 8 more fouls and sent Cincinnati to the line 23 more times thus us where they scored 11 more points…and that was the ballgame! Final Score: Cincinnati—74, Eastern Washington (4-3)—68. Leading players for Eastern Washington: PF Cory Davis-12 pts, 2 assists, 10 reb, 2 steals, 1 block (nice double-double); C Colin Goode-14 pts, 7 reb, 1 block; PG Tim Dove-10 pts, 3 reb, 1 steal; SF Tim Whitaker-9 pts, 2 reb. Player of the Game: Cincinnati’s C Charles Harris-22 pts, 7 reb, 1 block.

Austin Nathaniel, 1st Asst Coach Game #6, Dec. 1, 2016: Eastern Washington Eagles (3-2) at USC Trojans (1-3) Following two straight losses, Coach Vandergard decided to shake things up a little. Tonight Derrick Reyes will start at the 3 instead of Tim Whitaker. Even though Whitaker is our leading scorer (11.6 ppg), his shooting percentage is low. Reyes has subbed and hit a high percentage while giving us some quick scoring punch. On our first possession, Derrick Reyes canned a 3 pointer. With 12-1/2 minutes to go in the first half we led 18-7 as we unleashed a withering defense. But at that point our defense broke down and the Trojans got back into the game. We left the court at the half trailing 39-38. Tim Whitaker responded to being benched, but coming in to score 13 points in the half. USC opened a 7 point lead early in the 2nd half, but we stormed back to tie the game then take a 12 point lead with a 5 minutes left in the game. Our defense during the final 15 minutes simply shut down the Trojans and cut their shooting from 55% in the first half to 25% in the 2nd half (39% for the entire game). Final Score: Eastern Washington (4-2)—71, USC—55. Leading players for Eastern Washington: SF Tim Whitaker-20 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb; C Colin Goode-13 pts, 3 reb; SG Shawn Jackson-10 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb, 1 steal; SF Derrick Reyes-10 pts, 2 reb, 1 steal; PG Darryl Bailey-9 pts, 6 assists, 2 reb. Player of the Game: SF Tim Whitaker-20 pts, 1 assist, 3 reb. For USC: C O.J. Forrest-13 pts, 1 assist, 7 reb, 1 steal.