PointGuard

Game 25: UCLA (L1/L9/L17) vs Georgetown (L5/L13/L21): Winner places 15th and Loser places 16th Who will finish last in the tournament? The answer is: whoever loses this game. UCLA rode hot shooting to maintain a small 1-3 point lead throughout most of the first half. But Georgetown doggedly hung in and occasionally took a single point lead only to have UCLA strike back and retake the lead immediately. UCLA increased their lead to 6 points at one point late in the first half. But at the end of the half the score was close again, 36-33 in favor of the Bruins. UCLA hit 63% of their shots. Their scoring was led by C Dan Davis with 10 points. While Georgetown didn’t shoot as well, they slammed in enough 2nd chance points to keep pace. PF Bryant Nooner was their top scorer with 8 points. UCLA’s shooting failed them early in the 2nd half as they were unable to score for nearly the first 4 minutes of the half. Midway through the 2nd half, UCLA regained their momentum to build a 5 point lead only to see it evaporate when then turned the ball over repeatedly. Then with about 2 minutes to play, UCLA pulled ahead by 8 points forcing Georgetown to foul repeatedly to try to get the ball back. The Bruins converted their foul shots to expand their lead. UCLA escaped the cellar by beating Georgetown 70-57. UCLA outshot Georgetown 50% to 41% and took control of the boards in the 2nd half to achieve a 35-29 rebounding advantage. For UCLA C Dan Davis scored 16, pulled down 9 boards, and had 1 assist, 4 steals and 1 block. PG Russ Eidson added 12 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. SF Ronnie Bailey and reserve PF Reginald Cox both scored 10 points. Georgetown was led offensively by reserve PG Gene Ward with 11 points and C Byron Charity with 10 points.

Big Sky Conference Tournament—Day 2 Besides the Eastern Washington vs Northern Colorado game, here's the results of other games from the 2nd day of the Big Sky Conference Tournament: Southern Utah (15-13, 8-8) vs Idaho (17-10, 10-6) [idaho quickly took command and built a 16 point lead at the half. They then expanded their lead n the 2nd half.Idaho-68, Southern Utah-47. PoG: Idaho SF Edem McCuthison-16 pts, 3 reb, 1 assist, 1 block.] Northern Arizona (8-20, 5-11) vs Weber State (18-9, 10-6) [The first half was closely contended until Northern Arizona moved out to a 6 point advantage at the break. The game remained close throughout the 2nd half, but Northern Arizona achieved a big upset. Northern Arizona-68, Weber State-63. PoG: Northern Arizona SF Marcus Brown-13 pts, 7 reb. PG Ed Jones scored 20 for Weber State.] Montana State (9-19, 5-11) vs Idaho State (16-11, 9-7) [idaho State pulled away midway through the 1st half to take a 14 point advantage into the 2nd stanza. They then held on to win easily. Idaho State-66, Montana State-52. PoG: Idaho State PG Odie Garrett-18 pts, 5 reb, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block.] Northern Arizona continues to surprise, but unlike Day 1, that was the only upset on Day 2.

Spokane Spokesman-Review article Game #28, Mar. 4, 2015: Northern Colorado Bears (10-18, 6-10) vs Eastern Washington Eagles (18-9, 11-5) Eastern Washington won both regular season games, 93-84 and 82-80 (OT). The Bears out-hustled the Eagles early to take an 11-7 lead. Joseph Palmer scored the first 9 points for the Eagles. The score remained close until Eastern Washington took advantage of 5 straight turnovers by Northern Colorado to run off 11 unanswered points and take a 29-18 lead with 5-1/2 minutes left in the half. At the half, the Eagles led 38-31 due to controlling the boards (12-5) and a 10-7 turnover advantage. Joseph Palmer’s 9 points led the scoring for the Eagles. Eastern Washington opened a big double digit lead and held onto it throughout most of the 2nd half. The Eagles out-rebounded the Bears 24-17 and forced Northern Colorado to make 23 turnovers. Eagles’ coach Bret Vandergard said, “It took us a while to get going, but once we did the guys did a great job of building a lead and holding onto it.” Final Score: Eastern Washington (19-9)-73, Northern Colorado-54. Leading players for Eastern Washington: SF Joe Blackwell-15 pts, 1 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals; PG Tim Dove-13 pts, 4 reb, 3 assists, 1 steal; C Joseph Palmer-12 pts, 6 reb, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block; SF/SG Delawn West-11 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists, 4 steals. Player of the Game: SF Joe Blackwell-15 pts, 1 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals.

OMG, who is it?!?!? [Copied from posting by EMark in the Wolverine Studios forums]

Swede's hotel room Sure enough the flash drive contains surveillance video from the night of the bus incident and has a clear view of the bus. After fast-forwarding through several hours of footage, a man in a trench coat appears. He is wearing a floppy fedora low over his brow that hides his features...at first. He can clearly be seen pouring something into the gas tank of the bus. As he finishes, a gust of wind blows the hat off his head, and as he whirls around he, for a moment, looks directly into the security camera. Swede pauses the video and is able to zoom in. Although pixellated, Swede recognizes the face immediately. "Oh, my God! I don't believe this. I've got to tell Bret." [Copied from posting by CoachC in the Wolverine Studios forums]

Torbern “Swede” Olaffson, Athletic Director Goes to his hotel door and Bret Vandergard is standing there. Bret extends his hand to place a FedEx envelope in Swede’s hand, saying “Swede, I just had this delivered to me. I have to focus on our tournament game and can’t check on what's on this and let it divert my attention from what’s most important right now. Please look it over. We can discuss it later if there's anything on it that’s important.” Swede: "Sure Bret, you just go and get the team ready to beat Northern Colorado." (Swede closes the door and returns to his scotch and soda while firing up his computer to be able to play the flash drive.)

Round 4 Matchups Game 25: UCLA (L1/L9/L17) vs Georgetown (L5/L13/L21): Winner places 15th and Loser places 16th Game 26: Indiana (L3/L10/W17) vs Stanford (L7/L14/W21): Winner places 11th and Loser places 14th Game 27: Syracuse (L2/W9/L18) vs LSU (L8/W14/L22): Winner places 10th and Loser places 13th Game 28: Louisville (W1/L11/L19) vs Duke (W5/L15/L23): Winner places 9th and Loser places 12th Game 29: North Carolina (L4/W10/W18) vs Oklahoma State (L8/W14/W22): Winner places 5th and Loser places 8th Game 30: UConn W3/L12/W19) vs Michigan State (W7/L16/W23): Winner places 4th and Loser places 7th Game 31: Kentucky (W2/W11/L20) vs Arizona (W6/W15/L24): Winner places 3rd and Loser places 6th Game 32: Florida (W4/W12/W20) vs Kansas (W8/W16/W24): Winner places 1st and Loser places 2nd

Fed Ex overnight delivery to Bret whille at the tourney note from Nancy: Is this what you were looking for Bret? It came this morning. the envelope contains a flash drive. [Copied from posting by CoachC in the Wolverine Studios forums]

Big Sky Conference Tournament—Day 1 Montana State (8-19, 5-11) vs North Dakota (15-12, 9-7) [After trailing by 6 at the half, Montana State came back in the 2nd half to pull off an upset victory. Montana State-64, North Dakota-61. PoG: Montana State PF Questin Knight-20 pts, 4 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block.] Northern Arizona (7-20, 5-11) vs Sacramento State (11-16, 9-7) [sacramento State led by 4 at the half, but Northern Arizona roared back to win over favored Sac State. Northern Arizona-63, Sacramento State-58. PoG: Northern Arizona PG Shannon Isenhour-19 pts, 6 reb, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block. Sacramento State PF Ben Williamson-18 pts, 9 reb.] Portland State (10-17, 6-10) vs Southern University (14-13, 8-8) [southern Utah held an 18 point lead at the half and coasted to an easy win. Southern Utah-69, Portland State-53. PoG: Southern Utah C David Thomas-20 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal.] Northern Colorado (9-18, 6-10) vs Montana (14-13, 8-8) [Northern Colorado held a small lead throughout most of the 1st half and then quickly built a 20 point lead in the 2nd half before Montana State reduced the difference late in the game. Northern Colorado-69, Montana-59. PoG: Northern Colorado SG Robert jackson-13 pts, 3 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block.] 3 of the 4 games were won by lower seeds. Bye: Eastern Washington, Idaho, Weber State, Idaho State

Top Individual Performances in Round 3 Indiana PG Kwadjo Branch: 24 pts North Carolina C Bryan Erwin: 27 pts, 9 reb Kentucky PF Delawn Bond: 20 pts, 10 reb, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block Stanford C Grant Everett: 21 pts, 10 reb, 3 blocks Stanford SG Anthony Brown: 17 pts, 10 reb, 8 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks Michigan State SF Michael Manning: 10 pts, 9 reb, 3 assists, 6 steals Arizona C Stromile Moore: 21 pts, 7 reb, 2 assists, 2 blocks Arizona SF Brendan McIntosh: 20 pts, 6 reb, 1 assist, 1 block Kansas SG Jim Wilkerson: 46 pts, 7 reb, 1 assist, 2 steals

Big Sky Conference Final Standings2014-2015 Big Sky Conference Final Standings:

Potato-Pickin’-Paul, “Eagle Flight” blog Game #27, Feb. 25, 2015: Weber State Wildcats (17-9, 9-6) at Eastern Washington Eagles (18-8, 11-4) The Wildcats beat the Eagles earlier this season, 77-65. PG Ed Jones burned EWU for 22 in that game and is averaging 16.5 ppg this season while connecting on 47% of his FG attempts and 52% of his 3’s. The Eagles need to contain him tonight. Weber State has won their last 3 games and they’re contending for 2nd place in the conference. Coach Vandergard started an all-senior lineup in the final home game of the season. Trailing 5-1, he brought in his regular starters after 2 minutes of play. The Wildcats’ Ed Jones scored their first 8 points, but we finally tied the game at 11-11 with 13-1/2 minutes left in the half. Weber State was hot from outside the arc and scored the next 9 points. In the half, the Wildcats dropped in 8 from 3-point land and simply out-played us in all aspects of the game. We trailed 48-33 at the half. Coach V jumped all over the guys at the half about their defense. Our leading scorer was Cory Davis with 12 points. 3 guards for Weber State combined for 32 points. The second half was a continuing disaster. Since they were already assured of winning the Big Sky, the team played as if they didn’t care. The Eagles have shown a basic inconsistency that calls into question whether they can string 3 good games together in the Big Sky Tournament against the best teams in the conference. If they don’t there will be no NCAA appearance. Final Score: Weber State-77, Eastern Washington (18-9, 11-5, 1st place)—57. Leading players for Eastern Washington: PF Cory Davis-18 pts, 5 reb; SF Delawn West-14 pts, 2 reb, 1 steal; C Joseph Palmer-11 pts, 2 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block. Player of the Game: Weber State’s SG Sam Ireland-22 pts, 1 assist, 1 steal. Odie Joseph fell hard on his hip but we have enough time off that he should be ready for tournament play.

Round 3 Recap Gm 17: Indiana-76, UCLA-66 Gm 18: North Carolina-81, Syracuse-48 Gm 19: UConn-86, Louisville-66 Gm 20: Florida 67, Kentucky-53 Gm 21: Stanford-79, Georgetown-58 Gm 22: Oklahoma State-75, LSU-73 Gm 23: Michigan State-63, Duke-48 Gm 24: Kansas-83, Arizona-70

Round 3, Game 24 (W6/W15 vs W8/W16): Arizona vs Kansas The final battle to get into the Championship game. Thus far C Stromile Moore has been the star for Arizona and SG Jim Wilkerson has been the stand-out for Kansas. The game was close in the first half until Kansas made a run just after the midpoint of the half and quickly opened a 12 point lead. Arizona cut into the lead in the last few minutes of the half and narrowed the gap to 41-34 at the break. The stars shone in the first half as SG Jim Wilkerson scored 19 for Kansas and C Stromile Moore dropped in 15 for Arizona. Kansas ran away from the Wildcats to open a 24 point lead early in the 2nd half. Arizona fought back to cut the lead to 10 (64-54) midway through the half. The Jayhawks held the Wildcats at bay thereon though. Kansas put away Arizona 83-70 to advance to the championship game. Kansas got to the line 14 more times and scored 11 more points on free throws than did Arizona. For Kansas SG Jim Wilkerson blitzed the Wildcats for 46 points while hauling down 7 rebounds. PF Jarvis Holmer added 14 points. Arizona’s C Stromile Moore scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds and SF Brendan McIntosh added 20 points with 6 rebounds.

Torbern “Swede” Olaffson, Athletic Director When I got word that we almost had to forfeit the game because of the bus breakdown, I immediately contacted the bus company to find out what had happened. It turns out they found a foreign substance in one of the two fuel tanks and thought it was sugar. Since that would have meant someone intentionally sabotaged the bus we were to take, I demanded that the company provide us with any video they had of the bus before it left their facility. They said they have a couple cameras in their yard and would check them for views of that bus and provide a copy to me. I hope they get it to me quickly. With all that’s been happening around here I just don’t trust anyone or anything anymore. Is that the definition of paranoia? (Hollering toward the adjacent office of his secretary): "Nancy! If a package comes in for me from Colorado, make sure I get it RIGHT AWAY!"

Jamal Smith, 1st Asst Coach Game #26, Feb. 18, 2015: Eastern Washington Eagles (17-8, 10-4) at Northern Colorado Bears (9-16, 6-8) Our flight to Denver was late arriving due to bad weather in the Denver area. We boarded a charter bus for the 90 minute drive to Greeley, Colorado. We got about half way there and the bus suddenly lost power and the engine died. The driver checked things out but was unable to restart the bus. The blowing show meant there was no traffic to flag down for assistance. We were out in the middle of no-where and cell phone coverage was hampered by the inclement weather. By the time a call finally got through for help and a bus arrived to transfer the players and continue our journey, we were so late that we were in jeopardy of having to forfeit the game. Coach V was really upset and demanded the bus company let us know what caused the problem. The bus driver drove as fast as he could given the poor road conditions. In fact, there were times when I got concerned he was pushing it too hard, the bus would slide off the road, and we’d not make it at all. We finally got to Greeley and to the Northern Colorado’s Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion in the nick of time to avoid the forfeit. We took the court with absolutely no warm up. Because of the bad weather the crowd was small which was fortunate since those who were there hooted us lustily for our tardiness. Surprisingly though, the players didn’t rallied from being cold while waiting in the bus that had broken down, dressing hurriedly, and not getting any warmup time. We connected on our shots, but so did Northern Colorado and the score remained close with frequent ties and lead changes throughout the first half. But our 12 turnovers allowed the Bears to keep up with us and the score was tied at 40-40 at the halftime break. Joseph Palmer led our scoring with 10 points. We jumped out quickly in the 2nd half and took a 7 point lead. But the Bears reeled us back in and by the midpoint the game was back to being a toss-up with the lead flipping frequently. Shawn Jackson who got into early foul trouble in the first half, picked up his 5th foul after playing just 9 minutes, but he did score 7 points in his short time on the court. The refs sent the Bears to the line frequently and they sank all but one of their FT attempts. With 11 seconds the Bears dropped in two more free throws to take a 76-74 lead. We called a time out and set up to isolate Delawn West. The play worked as designed and Delawn got free to drop in a 14 foot jumper to take us to overtime. OT: Defense was the name of the game throughout the entire overtime period. We finally scored with 2:58 remaining, but Northern Colorado tied us when their center Anthony Grizzard used his hip to clear our defender and drop in a 6 footer. Then after a steal, Tim Dove drove and cleared the ball into the corner to Joe Blackwell, who put up a 3 that found its mark to put us ahead by 81-78 with 0:44 remaining. Northern Colorado tried to tie it with a 3 of their own, but it was off target. The Bears got the rebound and put it back up and in to cut our lead to 81-80. Northern Colorado fouled Robbie Taflinger who could only make one of two free throws. We applied a rock solid defense that prevented the Bears from getting a good shot. Their final attempt just before the buzzer barely missed after being tipped by Michael Taylor. Final Score: Eastern Washington (18-8, 11-4, 1st place)-82, Northern Colorado-80 (OT). Leading players for Eastern Washington: Delawn West-14 pts, 1 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block; SF Joe Blackwell-13 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 3 steals; C Joseph Palmer-13 pts, 3 reb; PF Cory Davis-12 pts, 4 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals; PG Tim Dove-5 pts, 4 reb, 8 assists, 5 steals. Player of the Game: SF Joe Blackwell-13 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 3 steals.

Michael Jackson, parent of player Shawn Jackson Game #25, Feb. 15, 2015: Idaho Vandals (16-8, 9-4) at Eastern Washington Eagles (16-8, 9-4) The Vandals ripped the Eagles in the earlier this season, 78-47. Coach V didn’t prepare the team adequately for that game and they were completely embarrassed by Idaho. My son Shawn says the team really wants to beat the Vandals to regain a measure of respect (and regain sole possession of 1st place in the conference). I just hope Coach V has figured out how to compete with Idaho this time. Reese Court is packed with our fans but also with a large contingent from nearby Idaho. It’s raucous in here even before the game begins as fans from both teams try to intimidate their counterparts. Shawn is completely recovered from his recent back pain, but my boy played well even when he was experiencing the pain. Even though Coach V took him out of the starting lineup a couple games ago, Shawn showed his abilities when he came in off the bench and played just about as much as he normally does and led the team in scoring. He was named the Player of the Game for that performance. Coach V just needs to unleash him and the team would benefit. The rotten refs took Shawn out of the game after just 2-1/2 minutes with a bad call charging him with an offensive foul that was his 2nd personal. Brian Dearman came off the bench to score a quick 6 points and pull us ahead at 14-8 with 13 minutes left in the first half. But Idaho rallied to take a 4 point lead. Shawn came back into the game with about 6 minutes left in the half and hit a quick 3 and then two free throws to cut the Vandals’ lead to 27-26. He then forced the guy he was defending to travel. He then hit a jumper to put the Eagles on top. Later he drove the lane and put up reverse layup to give us a 2 point lead. The half ended with the Eagles on top 36-33. Shawn (in just 9 minutes of court time) and Brian Dearman both had 9 points to lead our scoring. The two teams slugged it out evenly for 3-4 minutes but then Shawn drove in for another successful layup and was fouled on the shot, converting the free throw to put Eastern Washington ahead 43-36. Sloppy play allowed Idaho to close within 3, but then Shawn hit another jumper to put us ahead 45-40 with 14 minutes remaining. The Eagles took advantage of a series of turnovers by Idaho to forge a 53-44 lead at the 9:20 mark. The Vandals closed to within 3 points but with a minute to play we led 61-55, but Idaho had control of the ball. The refs call us for a foul with 50 seconds left and Idaho converted both shots to cut our lead to 4. The Vandals purposely fouled Joseph Palmer who missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Then with 20 seconds left, the refs again tagged us with a foul, but Idaho hit just 1 of 2 to make the score 61-58. Idaho needed to foul but made a mistake by fouling my boy. Shawn sunk both shots. Idaho was left with a 5 point deficit with 12 seconds remaining. They hit a 3 but we ran out the final 3 seconds to win and move one game ahead of Idaho in the battle for 1st place in the Big Sky. The difference in this game (and this isn't just his father bragging): Shawn Jackson. Final Score: Eastern Washington (17-8, 10-4, 1st place)-63, Idaho-61. Leading players for Eastern Washington: SG Shawn Jackson-16 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 1 steal; SF Joe Blackwell-12 pts, 5 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal; PF Cory Davis-12 pts, 2 reb, 2 steals; PF Brian Dearman-11 pts, 1 block. Player of the Game: SG Shawn Jackson-16 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 1 steal.

Round 3, Game 23 (W5/L15 vs W7/L16): Duke vs Michigan State Following a strong win in round 1, Duke lost a squeaker to Arizona in round 2. Michigan State’s 1st round OT win was followed by a blowout loss to Kansas in round 2, but SF Michael Manning has had 2 big games thus far. Duke scored the first 8 points in less than 2 minutes of play. But then Michigan State’s defense cranked into gear. In the next 14 minutes, Duke could only score 4 points and by then the Spartans led 16-12. At that point Duke caught fire again and finished the half with a 26-18 lead. Neither team shot well (Duke hit 35% and Michigan State hit just 24%). Duke’s P LeDarion Campbell and SG Dekker Evans both scored 6 points. For Michigan State, Tim Walker came off the bench to drop in 6 points. Michigan State slowly chipped away at Duke’s lead in the 2nd half and with 12 minutes to go, regained the lead at 35-34. From there Michigan State took control and expanded their lead to win going away. The final score favored Michigan State 63-48. The Spartans' strong 2nd half put them in control of all team stats, outshooting the Blue Devils 40% to 32%, out-rebounding Duke 30-24, scoring 13 more points from the foul line, and holding a 14-11 turnover advantage. Michigan State’s SG Craig Durham popped in 16 points. SF Michael Manning scored 10 points, hauled down 9 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and accounted for 6 steals. PG Adam Betts added 10 points. Duke’s top scorer was PG LeDarion Campbell scored 11 points and C Tim Emery grabbed 12 boards and had 4 blocks.

Torbern “Swede” Olaffson, Athletic Director (Swede is sitting in his living room watching the latest thrilling episode of “Dancing With The Stars”) (Phone rings) TO: Damn! Just when they were gonna announce who was gonna get their ass kicked off this week. (answers phone) TO: SPEAK! MM: Hey Mr. Olaffson, this is Malcolm the Marauder. I needs your help. I was just doing my job over at Bret’s house tonight. You knows watching what was going on outside. Anyways, I noticed this dark car drive by real slow like. The windows were dark so’s I couldn’t make out who might be in it. I crept around to the big bushes of the house next door so’s I could look better. It’s March in Cheney so’s you gotta knows I was freezing my ass off. Anyways, this car drove by again and again...each time real slow and almost stopping. I finally’s was able to see there were two guys in the car, but those dark windows kept me from being able to identify’s them. I finally’s decided that the next time they drives by I’m gonna go out there and confronts them. But then, a cop car comes up the street. I figure’s well, maybe they’re checking out that car also. But they stops and gets out and shines their flashlights around. Finally one of them shines the light in the very bush I’m hiding in and sees me. Both of them comes over and you knows what? They arrests me for being a peeping tom. I guess the woman next door must have called them. Hey, you knows I’m no peeping tom...trust me, I never saw her takes her blouse off. Anyways, they gots me down at the police station and I needs for you to talks to the sergeant here and vouch for me that I was hired by you and was just doings what you wanted me to do. TO: Damn it, Malcolm, you went on too long! I missed the announcement of who got booted outta the Dancing program. OK, OK, Malcolm. Put the sergeant on the line. Another voice comes on the line: This is Sergeant Riley. Who is this? TO: Hello Sergeant. This is Swede Olaffson, the AD at EWU. Riley: Oh, hello Swede. Sure I know you. So what’s up with this guy here? TO: Sergeant, he’s OK. I hired him to do some security work for the athletic department. Tonight he was just doing as he was told and I guess he saw something suspicious and was using the bush to get closer to the street so he could check it more closely. Riley: Well, since it’s you, I’m going to accept that and let this guy go. But be sure he doesn’t go creeping around anyone else’s bushes. TO: Sure, Sergeant. While Malcolm was talking to me, you didn’t happen to catch the end of Dancing With the Stars did you and see who was tossed off? Riley: You damned right I was! It was that 4th rate actor guy who none of have ever heard of who doesn’t know his left foot from his right foot and who is getting close to the official age of senility. You know, the guy with the hot woman professional...err, dancer I mean. I don’t know his name, but he broke down and cried when they announced he was done on the show. Real theater!

Austin Nathaniel, 2nd Assistant Coach Game #24, Feb. 11, 2015: Eastern Washington Eagles (16-7, 9-3) at Sacramento State Hornets (8-15, 6-6) Playing on the friendly confines of Reese Court, Eastern Washington easily prevailed 62-49 earlier this season. While they’ve played horribly on the road, the Hornets have acquitted themselves well at home, winning 6 of 9 home contests. The Eagles are riding a 6-game win streak coming into tonight’s game, but Sac State has won all 5 of their conference home games. The Eagles will initially double up on SG Noel Johnson and also try to control the inside game. Sacramento State showed why playing at home is good. They hit their first 6 shots (including 2 from 3 point distance) as well as getting repeated foul calls in their favor and they led 21-9 with 12:13 to play in the first half. The rest of the half was no better for us. The Hornets hit 83% of their shots (including 67% of their 3’s), hit 88% of their FT’s, and out-rebounded us 9-4. Even though we double-teamed him, SG Noel Johnson scored 15 points for Sacramento State and they left the court with a huge 48-30 advantage. Worst of all were down so much after hitting 53% of our shots. Tim Dove was our leading scorer with 8 points. Midway through the 2nd half we mounted a comeback but it was gradual rather than thunderous. We cut their lead to 7 points with about 8 minutes remaining. But no matter what we did from there on, we could not shave more points of the Hornets’ lead. The loss tumbled us back down into a tie for the conference lead. We knocked down 49% of our shots, but Sacramento State hit a crazy 69% of their FG attempts. The Hornets also hit 83% of their FT’s. And we simply could not stop Noel Johnson. Final Score: Sacramento State-80, Eastern Washington (16-8, 9-4, 1st place tie)-68. Leading players for Eastern Washington: C Joseph Palmer-11 pts, 5 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal; PG Tim Dove-11 pts, 1 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal. Player of the Game: Sacramento State’s SG Noel Johnson-25 pts, 3 reb, 1 assist, 2 steals. Bubble Watch: Idaho’s RPI ranking is 104 and ours Is 76. Both teams have identical season and conference records. But Idaho is #60 on the Who’s In list and we are neither on the Who’s In or the Who’s Out list. I post that in the locker room, hoping it will light a fire under our guys for our upcoming game against Idaho.

LOL, CoachC Ccould it have been the TV episode of: "Welcome Back, Kotter"----Horshack vs. Carvelli ????

Swede's bedroom 2:45 am Swede wakes up with a start, Half awake and fumbling for the phone he finally calls Bret's home phone. BV: (half asleep) don't wanna go to school today, ma! TO: Bret wake up, I know who is causing all the trouble for us! BV: wha? whozzat? TO: John Carpelli, head coach at Kentucky, that cheating sumabitch! BV: Swede? That's Calpari, John Calpari. TO: Who's that? BV: The head coach at Kentucky. TO: Then who's John Carpelli? BV; I have no idea. TO: Dammit, Bret! Next time before you wake me up at this hour make sure you've got your facts straight! (slams down phone) [Copied from posting by CoachC in the Wolverine Studios forum]

Bret Vandergard’s office after the game against North Dakota Swede Olaffson walks in: Hey Coach, great win tonight! Bit too exciting for my old ticker, but loved it nonetheless. That was a huge victory for us. The crowd went wild. And hopefully it will help mollify the students and stop their damned protesting. You know, I still haven’t been able to get the Carpelli name out of my mind. I’ve been mulling it over ever since we were with Tony the Tuna and looking at the newspaper clipping. But damn! Ever since my heart attack I’ve been having problems quickly recalling things. I think some synapses got muddled. I definitely WILL remember the Carpelli connection though…it’s just going to take me a little more time I guess. Now get out of here and celebrate...you're the #1 team in the Big Sky.

Excerpts from play-by-play broadcast on KSPK Radio Game #23, Feb. 8, 2015: North Dakota Fightin’ Sioux (12-10, 6-5) at Eastern Washington Eagles (15-7, 8-3) Hey there Eagles sports fans. I’m Ryan Vaughan and I’m here with Jerry Broadstone as we bring you tonights game against the North Dakota Fightin’ Sioux. The stands are full of EWU students festooned with tshirts, hats, and painted faces disparaging the school’s administration. Eastern Washington beat the Fightin’ Sioux by a score of 64-58 earlier this year. It was a tough game, but a satisfying win for the Eagles who lost to North Dakota in last year’s conference tournament championship game. Since that loss in this year’s conference opener, North Dakota has played decent ball though. They get good production throughout their starting lineup, but C Andrew Everett is their go-to guy. For the Eagles tonight, Delawn West will be starting at the 2 position in place of injured Shawn Jackson. Jackson is still nursing a sore back, but is suited up. Coach Vandergard has indicated that Jackson will get playing time and they’ll see how the back holds up for him. West gives the Eagles some real height outside though and has shown good offensive production occasionally. *** With 18:17 on the clock, Delawn West picks up his 2nd personal. That will bring Shawn Jackson into the game much earlier than the Eagles’ coaching staff planned. Vandergard is up off the bench jawing away at the zebras already...it might be a long night. *** Jackson makes his 2nd straight pass into the hands of a Fightin’ Sioux player who flies down court and stuffs the ball to give North Dakota an 8-6 lead. Vandergard signals to his players to settle down. *** Everett puts up a shot from under the basket that drops in and he’s fouled by Michael Taylor. That’s Taylor’s 2nd foul and Joseph Palmer returns to take his spot. The referee gives Eagles' coach, Vandergard, a stern look. Vandergard must have expressed his feelings about that foul a bit strongly. Everett goes to the line...and he sinks the free throw putting the Eagles behind 14-8. Thus far Everett and PF Rod Graham each have 7 points so the two players have accounted for all of the points for North Dakota. *** After trailing 19-10 with just 8 minutes to play in the half, the Eagles mounted enough of a comeback to go to the locker room with just a 27-23 deficit and the chance to overcome North Dakota in the 2nd half if they can get their turnovers and fouling under control. At the half 3 Eagles’ players (Shawn Jackson, Joseph Palmer and Terence Hillier) share to scoring honors with 6 points apiece. But Andrew Everett has scored 10 points and pulled down 5 rebounds for North Dakota. *** With just under 18 minutes to play in the second half North Dakota opens a 10 point lead at 34-24. The Fightin' Sioux are taking away Eastern Washington's home court advantage. *** Joseph Palmer takes a pass along the right hand baseline, works he way to the basket and muscles up a shot. The shot fails to drop but he was fouled on the play. Palmer hits both shots to cut the lead to 34-31 with 15:37 to play. That’s 11 points for Palmer. *** North Dakota patiently works the ball around outside. Everett’s pass is intercepted by Tim Dove. Dove shoots the outlet pass to Joe Blackwell who streaks down the court and throws down a jam to make it 34-33. Time out, North Dakota! *** West’s shot is off the rim. Hillier grabs the board and feeds it right back out to West who steps outside his man and puts up a shot that rattles around but falls to give Eastern Washington a 40-39 lead with 11:43 remaining. *** The long 3 by Shawn Jackson makes the score 48-44 in favor of the Eagles. North Dakota works the ball around the perimeter. Palmer steals an errant North Dakota pass meant for Everett. Palmer quickly sends the ball up court to Michael Taylor and Taylor slams down a shot to put the Eagles ahead 50-44 with about 6 minutes left to play. Reese Court is jumping. *** Blackwell takes the pass and dumps it into Terence Hillier. Hillier slides by his man and drives to the bucket. He lays it up to put Eastern up 56-52 with 3:37 remaining. That’s Hillier’s 10th point. Someone must have given him a jolt for tonight’s game. *** The Eagles work the ball inside and out, but can’t find a free man. Ervin Smith surveys the defense then feeds it out to Tim Dove who take a long 3…and it’s IN! The Eagles lead 59-53. North Dakota’s ball with 2:46 to play. North Dakota takes their time. The ball comes into Bohm, he turns and puts up a shot over the head of Palmer. The shot drops and he was fouled. That’s Palmer’s 4th personal. Palmer expresses his displeasure but cooler heads prevail. Bohm toes the line and drops in the foul shot to make it 59-56 with just 2:24 to go. ** With the score 61-59, the Eagles work down the shot clock. Davis out to Dove who brings it back into Davis. 2 seconds on the shot clock. Davis forces up a shot that rims out. Davis grabs his own rebound and puts it right back up and in to give the Eagles a 4 point lead with 48 seconds left. North Dakota takes a time out. Eagles players and coaching staff pound on Davis back congratulating him for his second effort. Now's the time to head on over to Springfield Ford in Cheney. They're having their Valentines Day Sale this week. No better time to buy your honey a new car than now. Great deals on all models and financing offers you just won't believe. Tell Bud Springfield that Ryan and Jerry sent you and you'll get an extra bonus. *** Back in play...Eastern Washington employs a full court press, but North Dakota is able to break it. Jermaine Ilver brings it across midcourt and immediately fires up a 3 that is off the mark. Joe Blackwell rebounds and feeds it to Tim Dove who brings it up court. He’s fouled by North Dakota. The Eagles inbound and are fouled again, but that’s just 5 team fouls against the Fightin’ Sioux. The refs piling on of fouls against Eastern Washington while calling few against North Dakota has come back to haunt the Fightin’ Sioux. Another quick foul. Jackson inbounds to Dove who is fouled yet again and with 32 seconds on the clock, he will finally go to the line. Swish. Swish. Dove gives Eastern Washington a 65-59 lead. North Dakota can’t get off a quick shot as the Eagles tighten their defense. The ball goes into Everett. He tosses it out to Joe Nurse on the left wing. Nurse drills the 3 and its 65-62 with 15 seconds to go. A long inbounds pass to Dove who quickly gets beyond midcourt trying to avoid the foul. He passes to his left to Jackson but it’s off Jackson’s hands and out of play. The home crowd groans. But…there was a whistle on the play. Jackson was fouled just as he attempted to catch the pass. The Eagles get a big break. Shawn Jackson will go to the line with 6 seconds on the clock for a one-and-one. He needs this first one to ice the game. It’s up….and IN! Now the bonus shot and he drops that one through the silks also. The Eagles escape with a narrow victory. *** The difference in this game were the hot hands of the Eagles who hit 53% of their FG attempts. That overrode Andrew Everett’s 18 points and North Dakota scoring more points from the foul line. Even though the Eagles won both contests against North Dakota, both games were extremely close and I am sure that Eastern Washington’s coaching staff is hoping to avoid a 3rd meeting in the conference tournament. Tonight’s win coupled with Idaho’s loss at Montana State earlier today, pops Eastern Washington up into sole possession of 1st place in the Big Sky Conference. Eastern Washington’s fans go home mighty happy tonight. Final Score: Eastern Washington (16-7, 9-3, 1st place)-67, North Dakota-62 Leading players for Eastern Washington: SG Shawn Jackson-11 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal; C Joseph Palmer-11 pts, 6 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals; SF Terence Hillier-10 pts, 4 reb. Player of the Game: SG Shawn Jackson-11 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Assistant Coaches, Jamal Smith, Austin Nathaniel and Larry Montgomery JS: I know I’m the strictest disciplinarian on this entire staff, but it sounds like you all feel Hillier’s wings need to be clipped. So we’re all agreed that Hillier needs to be disciplined for what he said during the student protest? AN: Yes, the guy went too far. That video of him made us all looks like schmucks. If it were me I’d suspend him the rest of the season. We can get along fine without him anyway. At the least Coach V needs to suspend him for a couple games. LM: He’s been having problems with teammates anyway, so this is just another nail in his coffin. JS: OK, let’s go talk with Coach V then. JS: (Knocking on Coach V’s door)…Hey Bret, can we talk with you a few minutes? BV: Sure, come in my office. (The 3 assistants lay out their case against Terence Hillier and tell Coach Vandergard that they feel he needs to come down hard on Hillier.) BV: (He rises out of his chair, turning his back to them and ponders the situation. Finally he turns back around and says as he looks into the faces of each of his assistants) Yes, I agree that Terence made a fool of himself out there. But look, there were all kinds of students out there saying any manner of things, some making sense, others being foolish. To be honest, I’m less concerned about Terence riding me and the entire coaching staff than him being all boozed up. But he’s a good kid over all. He’s got a good personality. Yeah, I know he’s had some recent problems with teammates, especially Delawn West, but he’s a hard worker. He’s just upset his minutes have been reduced this year and holds other players responsible. I think that is better handled by my counseling him. And I don’t want to get into censoring students for what they say during a protest. AN: But, there’s no excuse for one of our players reaming us in public. BV: I don’t think anyone other than us even remembers that. With as much as Terence probably drank, HE probably doesn’t even remember. He just got carried away with the overall student frenzy and let his frustrations get the best of him. He’s only 20 years old. I’m sure we all did a few things when we were 20 that we now realize were imprudent (or worse). I appreciate your concern and that you've expressed your feelings to me. But I’m not going to suspend him. I WILL talk with him about his drinking and also the need to keep his frustrations in check and to get along better with his teammates. Now let’s all just focus on getting this team prepared to win the next game.