PointGuard

Brian Robisch, player Tonight Coach V had all over to watch Duke take on North Carolina on TV. The coaches BBQ’d some steaks before the game. Since it was snowing we had a big snowball fight in his back yard. Then we gathered around Coach’s big-ass screen TV to watch the game. Those ACC players are damned good. There were lots of comments about the slick moves, the sharp passing, and the well-executed plays. We have one more practice before our next game so hopefully some of that rubs off on us. We have been playing terrible ball the last few games, so we have to do something to turn things around. Oh, you want to know who won the game? North Carolina came back in the second half to upset Duke 77-75.

Round 3 matchups Game 17 (L1/L9 vs L3/L10): UCLA vs Indiana Game 18 (L2/W9 vs L4/W10): Syracuse vs North Carolina Game 19 (W1/L11 vs W3/ L12): Louisville vs UConn Game 20 (W2/W11 vs W4/W12): Kentucky vs Florida Game 21 (L5/L13 vs L7/L14): Georgetown vs Stanford Game 22 (L6/W13 vs L8/W14): Oklahoma State vs LSU Game 23 (W5/L15 vs W7/L16): Duke vs Michigan State Game 24 (W6/W15 vs W8/W16): Arizona vs Kansas

Site redux Again the Atlanta location of the tournament led to teams which are nearer the south and east winning 5 of 7 games. The 8th game was between two teams from the same state (Kentucky). Teams countering the trend and winning in spite of being further from Atlanta were Oklahoma State and Arizona.

Quote: Originally Posted by mpejkrm Just read through this. Good stuff. I like the off-court stuff and the basketball stuff from other perspectives. Really good. Can't wait for more. Thanks! It's been fun and a bit of a challenge at times, particularly not knowing WHERE CoachC (and occasionally someone else) is taking things and then having to create responses (that hopefully are somewhat plausible) to off the wall situations. And not having the head coach (or a single outside voice) comment on games, etc creates additional hurdles to clear that keeps this fun for me to develop.

"Just read through this. Good stuff. I like the off-court stuff and the basketball stuff from other perspectives. Really good. Can't wait for more." [Copies from posting by mpejkrm in the Wolverine Studios forum]

"Ugh. UCONN couldn't get it done. I think Kansas wins. We'll see." [Copied from posting by mpejkrm in Wolverine Studios forum]

Who do you think? Just 4 teams left with a chance to be the champion. So who do you think will take it all? Kentucky? Florida? Arizona? Kansas? And who will be the cellar rat? Just 4 teams that have that possibility... UCLA? Indiana? Georgetown? Stanford?

Christine Rozniak, City Council member and realtor It’s been nearly a half-year since Bret and I have been together. He had excuse after excuse of why we couldn't do things together. Harumphh! His loss! I’ve gone on to bigger and better things. My real estate practice is booming. Even though I wasn’t elected to the legislature, I’m still on the city council which enables me to be a major player in Cheney. Knowing where things are going to happen in town really makes it possible to be a step ahead working on big real estate deals. And two weeks ago, the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Washington was in our area for some fund raising. He really liked how I got a lot of big money people to parlay up some major bucks for his upcoming campaign for either Governor or Senator. Afterwards he and I got a little private time together which turned out to be a bigger “raiser” than the fund-raiser. If I play this right, this should work at getting me into the inside track for bigger and better political positions in the future. So, Bret, you had your chance and you blew it, buddy. I hope you enjoy your coaching job with a minor collegiate program. And now you’re team’s in a slump...ha! Too bad for you. Maybe this just isn’t your year....heh, heh, heh.

Michael Jackson, player’s parent Game #17, Jan. 18, 2015: Montana Grizzlies (8-8, 2-3) at Eastern Washington Eagles (10-6, 3-2) It took a while for the Eagles to get untracked but by the midpoint of the first half they led 26-12. They held onto a double digit lead and finished the half with a 39-28 lead. They held an advantage in all team statistical areas. Delawn West led our scoring with 14 points, but I think the team could be even further ahead if Coach V would unleash my son, Shawn Jackson. EWU came out flat in the 2nd half and Montana cut their lead to 43-41 with 16 at the 15:51 mark. Michael Taylor came off the bench and spurred a run that took the Eagles to a 57-44 lead with 10 minutes left in the game. But Montana came right back and tied the game at 59-59 with 5:12 to go. The refs then called foul after foul against our guys and with 3:48 remaining the Eagles trailed 64-59. My boy then hit a baseline jumper and was fouled. He converted the 3 point play to make it 64-62. Following a turnover by the Grizzlies, Delawn West took a pass down low and was fouled. He hit both free throws and the game was tied at 64-64 with 2:52 left on the clock. Montana then hit a 3 and stole the ball and converted a driving layup to go ahead 69-64. Robbie Taflinger hit a jumper to make the score 69-66, but the Grizzlies hit a shot, were fouled and converted to give them a 6 point lead with just 58 seconds left. With Tim Dove on the bench with 5 fouls, Vandergard moved my son to PG. Vandergard called a time out but didn’t call my son’s number like he should have. Others on the team missed two 3’s but Joseph Palmer rebounded the 2nd miss and put it back up and in to make it 72-68. The Eagles intentionally fouled the Grizzlies’ worst foul shooter…but he dropped in both free throws. Joseph Palmer put in another basket, but it was too little, too late. The primary difference in the game was that Montana got 9 more free throws and scored 7 more points at the line than us. Well that and Vandergard still not taking advantage of the skills of my son. I hope he could hear the comments I directed at him from the stands. Vandergard needs to go. If he doesn’t get fired at the end of this season, I think Shawn should transfer. I’ve been encouraging Shawn to do just that, but he says he likes it here. Final Score: Montana-74, Eastern Washington (10-7, 3-3, 4th place tie)-70. Eastern Washington’s leading players: Delawn West-16 pts, 2 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal; C Michael Taylor-13 pts, 8 reb, 1 block; C Joseph Palmer-13 pts, 5 reb, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block; PG Robbie Taflinger-9 pts, 1 reb, 5 assists. Player of the Game: Montana’s SF Marc McIntosh-13 pts, 5 reb, 1 assist, 3 steals.

Top Individual Performances in Round 2 Syracuse PG Chris Roberts: 17 pts, 8 reb, 3 assists, 1 block UCLA C Reginald Cox: 12 pts, 11 reb UCLA PF Dan Davis: 11 pts, 10 reb North Carolina PG Ray Cameron: 23 pts, 6 assists North Carolina C Bryan Erwin: 19 pts Kentucky PF Delawn Bond: 28 pts, 8 reb Florida PG Steve Vinson: 23 pts Florida C David Jackson: 16 pts, 11 reb, 2 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks Oklahoma State PF Jason Scott: 24 pts, 11 reb, 4 assists and 4 blocks Georgetown SF Stephan Garner: 18 pts, 9 reb Stanford C Grant Everett: 24 pts, 7 reb LSU SF Marvin Felder: 15 pts, 7 reb, 3 assists, 3 steals Arizona C Stromile Moore: 16 pts, 7 reb, 1 steal, 5 blocks Duke PF Darryl Thompson: 20 pts, 8 reb, 3 assists, 1 block Kansas SF Marques Dement: 23 points, 5 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks Kansas SG Jim Wilkerson: 23 points, 8 reb, 1 block Kansas PG Marcus Conrad: 11 points, 1 reb, 12 assists, 2 steals Kansas PF Jarvis Holmer: 17 points, 9 reb, 1 block Michigan State SF Michael Manning: 16 pts, 11 reb, 3 assists, 4 steals Michigan State C Matt Grigsby: 11 pts, 13 reb, 2 assists, 2 blocks

Round 2 Recap Gm 9: Syracuse-70, UCLA-62 Gm 10: North Carolina-89, Indiana-81 Gm 11: Kentucky-75, Louisville-59 Gm 12: Florida-74, UConn-50 Gm 13: Oklahoma State-85, Georgetown-66 Gm 14: LSU-77, Stanford-68 Gm 15: Arizona-64, Duke-63 Gm 16: Kansas-102, Michigan State-79

Jack Cooper, barber Game #16, Jan. 14, 2015: Eastern Washington Eagles (10-5, 3-1) at Weber state Wildcats (11-4, 3-1) Since I was down in Salt Lake City this week, I decided to head over to Ogden to catch an away game for my favorite team and favorite coach. Coach V needs a haircut, though…it’s been a while since he’s been into my shop. I may be the only Eastern Washington fan in the stands tonight. This is a battle for sole possession of 2nd place in the Big Sky. PG Ed Jones is averaging 18.3 ppg for Weber State. Weber State’s PG Ed Jones picked up 2 fouls in the first 1:11 of the game. We jumped out to an 8-2 lead, but then the game got tight. Late in the half we opened an 8 point lead only to let Weber State come back to tie it at the half 31-31. We hit 50% of our shots compared to the Wildcats’ 39% shooting. But the refs sent Weber State to the line 10 more times where they scored 8 more points than did we. Delawn West led our scoring with 7 points. Weber State outplayed us for most of the 2nd half and led by 10 with 5 minutes left. We cut their lead to 66-61 with 3:40 to play. But we finished the game by missing shots, turning the ball over and fouling. The main reasons we lost this game: Weber State got to the line 12 more times and scored 8 more points than we did plus we turned the ball over 20 times, 7 more than Weber State. Oh yeah, and Weber State’s Ed Jones. Final Score: Weber State-77, Eastern Washington-65 (10-6, 3-2, tie for 3rd place). Leading players for Eastern Washington: PG Tim Dove-12 pts, 1 reb, 3 assists; SF/SG Delawn West-11 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists; SG Shawn Jackson-10 pts, 2 reb, 3 assists; PF Cory Davis-10 pts, 2 reb. Player of the Game: Weber State’s PG Ed Jones-22 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Round 2, Gm 16 (W7 vs W8): Michigan State vs Kansas Big question before the final game of round 2 started: Can SG Jim Wilkerson come close to equaling his impressive 34 points in the Jayhawks first game? Kansas ran off the first 14 points in this game. It took Michigan State over 4 minutes to get their first points. Michigan State battled back to cut the lead to 7 points midway through the half. But Kansas was like a scoring machine and piled up a 55-37 halftime lead. Kansas hit 48% of their shots. They also fired away at will from 3-point distance hitting 10 of 23 from beyond the arc. Kansas also had just 2 turnovers. Defensively they forced Michigan State to turn the ball over 10 times and hit just 36% of their FG attempts. Kansas was led by SF Marques Dement’s 14 points while SG Jim Wilkerson added 13 plus grabbed 6 rebounds. C Darren Curry came off the bench to lead Michigan State offensively with 9 points. Starting C Matt Grigsby scored 7 and pulled down 10 rebounds. The 2nd half was pretty much a carbon copy of the first with Kansas scoring nearly at will and gradually increasing their lead. When the buzzer sounded the final score was: Kansas-102, Michigan State-79. Kansas outdid their previous game’s 95 point performance by breaking the century mark in this game. While they shot well (51%) their conversion rate wasn’t off the charts. And they only got to the line 13 times (scoring 12 points on free throws), but they seemed fearless from outside, hitting 15 of 35 three’s. Defensively they limited the Spartans to 38% shooting (and 27% from 3-point distance) and forced Michigan State to make 16 turnovers. Michigan State’s 29 for 34 from the foul line was not enough to keep them in the game. Both Marques Dement and Jim Wilkerson scored 23 points for Kansas. Wilkerson also had 8 rebounds and 1 block, while Dement had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks to win the Player of the Game award. PF Jarvis Holmer added 17 points and 9 rebounds plus a block. PG Marcus Conrad scored 11 and dished off 12 assists (for a great double-double). Michigan State had 5 players score in double figures. SF Michael Manning led the team with 16 points, 11 rebound (his own double-double) and had 3 assists and 4 steals. C Matt Gribsby also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds plus dishing off 2 assists and blocking 2 shots. Reserve C Darren Curry scored 14 points in 10 minutes of play. SG Craig Duran added 13 points and PG Adam Betts scored 10 points and dished off 4 assists.

Sports Pages article in the Spokane Spokesman-Review Game #15, Jan. 11, 2015: Northern Colorado Bears (6-8, 3-0) at Eastern Washington Eagles (9-5, 2-1) After less than stellar pre-conference play, Northern Colorado entered the game against Eastern Washington coming off three straight wins to begin Big Sky play. That put the Bears into a tie for first place in the Big Sky Conference standings. The Eagles maintained a small lead through the first half but were unable to pull away until the final four minutes when they opened as much as a 15 point lead, finishing the half ahead 51-39. Both teams shot the lights out with the Bears converting 58% of their shots and the Eagles dropping in an amazing 72%. Northern Colorado controlled the boards 12-7, but that advantage was offset by Eastern Washington’s 12-6 advantage on turnovers. Cory Davis notched 14 points and Brian Dearman came off the bench to score 8 points in 9 minutes of play. Eastern Washington pulled away to a 20 point lead early in the 2nd half, but the Bears fought back to cut that deficit in half. The refs, who had been whistle happy all night, then totally took over the game in the latter portions of the 2nd half as the game turned into a parade by both teams to the charity stripe. But the Eagles were able to hold on to notch another win. The players on both teams shot like the basket was as big around as a Mack truck tire…EWU knocking down 62% and Northern Colorado hitting 61% of their shots. The two teams combined to go to the free throw line a total of 76 times, and there were a total of 57 fouls called. The Bears won the battle of the boards 26-16, but the Eagles forced Northern Colorado to make 17 turnovers while making just 6 themselves. Five players from Northern Colorado scored in double figures. Final Score: Eastern Washington (10-5, 3-1, 2nd place tie)-93, Northern Colorado (6-9, 3-1)-84. Eastern Washington’s leading players: PF/C Cory Davis-25 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block; PF Brian Dearman-12 pts, 4 reb, 1 assist, 2 steals; SF Joe Blackwell-9 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 1 steal. Player of the Game: PF/C Cory Davis-25 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block.

Round 2, Gm 15 (W5 vs W6): Duke vs Arizona Neither team could pull away in the early stages of the first half, but Arizona’s offense went cold and Duke opened a 10 point lead with 7 minutes left in the half. The half ended with Duke leading 30-22. Duke totally shut down Arizona on the boards, finishing the half with a 19-5 advantage. They also hit 52% while Arizona only hit 42%. Arizona was 0-8 from 3 point land. Duke’s PF Darryl Thompson dropped in 10 points while C Tim Emery scored 6 and pulled down 10 rebounds. The top scorer for Arizona was C Stromile Moore with 6 points. Arizona gradually cut into Duke’s lead in the 2nd half and tied the game 38-38 with 11:50 remaining. Duke answered the alarm bell by scoring the next 7 points. After falling behind by 9, the Wildcats slowly crept back to draw within 2 points with 5:52 left in the game and then hit a 3 with 5:09 on the clock to tie the game at 53-53. Arizona went ahead 57-56 with 3:26 to play. The Wildcats rode back-to back 3's and a breakaway dunk to take a 62-58 lead with 2:19 left. With 59 seconds to play, Duke’s PF Darryl Thompson muscled up a 6 foot jumper that found the bottom of the net. Thompson was fouled on the shot and sunk the free throw to cut Arizona’s lead to 64-63. Thompson was again fouled on a shot with 23 seconds to go, but missed both shots. The Blue Devils controlled the resulting rebound, but missed a put-back. Arizona escaped with a thrilling 64-63 victory. Duke controlled the boards 35-20, but Arizona had a 23-15 turnover advantage. Arizona got to the line 6 more times and scored 4 more points on free throws which was enough to win the game. After missing all their 3’s in the first half, the Wildcats made 5 of 10 in the 2nd half. C Stromile Moore led Arizona with 16 points plus pulled down 7 rebounds and had 1 steal and 5 blocks. SF Brendan McIntosh was high point man with 19 points. SG Dan Steward scored 15 points and had 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Duke’s PF Darryl Thompson poured in 20 points and also had 8 rebound, 3 assists, and 1 block. PG LeDarion Campbell added 13 points for the Blue Devils.

Torbern “Swede” Olaffson, Athletic Director [Later on November 8 at a table in a Denny's restaurant] T.O.—Well Bret, we meet again surreptitiously. B.V.—Yes, who would have thought that an AD and a coach would be involved in cloak and dagger activities. T.O.—I guess I should be laughing at that, but this has been going on so long and we have yet to get close to figuring out what is going on or who is involved, that my sense of humor is long gone on this one. B.V.—I guess you want to know why I wanted to meet with you today. While enduring the Idaho game footage, I noticed this guy in the stands at that game. He was dressed as an Elvis impersonator. And since Moscow, Idaho is no Las Vegas, there probably isn’t a surplus of Elvis impersonators in Moscow. You know what they say about Moscow, Idaho...what happens in Moscow, wants to get the hell out of Moscow, Idaho. Anyway, this guy was holding up and waving a sign that said “The Key is the Key!” T.O.—OK...and so? B.V.—Taken by itself, it would be inconsequential, but you remember when I got that envelope with a note from the long-missing Corky Branigan which asked if I watched the Today Show? Well, I did watch the Today Show, and certainly not because I wanted to see Matt Lauer. Well, one morning, there was a guy in the street audience behind Al Roker. And that guy also was an Elvis impersonator and he was holding up a sign that said “First Naitonal Bank of Eugene, Oregon. Bret saves!” T.O.—Two Elvis impersonators is two too many for me. B.V.—Swede, I’m now guessing that maybe these two were the same person and that person might well be Corky Branigan. T.O.—Hmm. Yeah, guess that could be. But what do you make of those two messages, Bret? B.V.—Well there is one other thing that goes along with this. There was something in the envelope from Corky that now seems to go along with these two messages. T.O.—And just what was that, Bret? B.V.—[bret reaches into his pocket and extracts a small item and drops it onto the table with a clinking sound] It was this, Swede...a key. T.O.—Aha! Not only a key, but THE key. B.V.—Yes, I’m beginning to believe that just might be and that this key needs to be inserted into a safe deposit box at the First National Bank in Eugene, Oregon. And Corky’s message was pretty clear that we both have enemies and that we needed to keep things between ourselves. But Corky was pretty clear that I should keep all information close to my vest and trust no one, other than you, that is. So this is between you and me. I think someone needs to make another trip...this time to Eugene. And since you’re still recovering from your heart attack, that someone needs to be me. T.O.—Damn! I hate to say this, but you’re right. If I went and if my heart didn’t do me in, my doctor and my wife would kill me for going. I think you may be right about the key and the bank, Bret. But what safe deposit box, Bret? And how do you get access to it?

Jan 8 Bret's Office While distressing himself watching the tape of this game for the 3rd time, immediately after pounding on his desk and cursing the basketball gods, Bret suddenly notices something he hadn't seen before. In the 3rd or 4th row behind the home bench there is an Elvis imperonator holding up a sign that says (and it takes some magnification to see it in full), "The key is the key!" [Copied from posting by CoachC in the Wolverine Studios forum]

Previously, Back in Bret's Office Tony the Tuna; The one guy was a big lummox, and the other guy was a lot smaller and had sort of a rat face. They split up, and I made the mistake of chasing the little guy who was too quick and eventually lost me. I don't know what they had planned to do with the car, but I'm glad I stayed outside at any rate before they could do anything. Otherwise they may have tried cutting the brake lines or worse. I'm pretty sure they weren't there to sell girl scout cookies! [Copied from posting by CoachC in Wolverine Studios forum]

Round 2, Gm 14 (L7 vs L8): Stanford vs LSU The final loser bracket game of round 2 pitted 2 teams that put up good battles in round 1. The first half turned out to be series of alternating runs. LSU took a 7 point lead early, then Stanford came back to go ahead by 3 midway through the half, and LSU controlled the final portion of the half building as much as a 13 point advantage. The half ended with LSU up 46-35. LSU’s lead was the result of superior shooting (63% for LSU compared to 41% by Stanford), rebounding (16 for LSU as compared to Stanford’s 12), and success at the free throw line (10 of 11 by LSU but just 6 of 10 for Stanford). PG Mark Nolan led LSU offensively with 10 points. High point honors went to Stanford’s C Grant Everett with 12 points. Stanford scored the first 6 points of the 2nd half to cut LSU’s lead to 5. Then with 13:25 to play, Stanford pulled ahead 51-50 combining a strong offense with a stingy defense. The game then became closely contested. But with 3:29 remaining, LSU forged a 70-65 lead and looked to be on their way to victory. Stanford then went stone cold sealing their demise. LSU won going away 77-68. LSU knocked down 52% of their FG attempts (46% from 3-point distance) to Stanford's 40% (21% from beyond the arc). The Tigers also controlled the boards 32-26. Four of LSU’s starters scored in double figures (C Marcus Seasons, 16 points; SF Marvin Felder, 15 points (along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals), PF Willis Leis, 12 points, and PG Mark Nolan, 12 points). For Stanford, C Grant Everett was most potent with 24 points. SG Antony Brown added 12 points, and PF/C Matt Edwards came off the bench to score 11 points.

Robbie Taflinger, player Damn! The first half of practice was pure hell. Nothing but running…running up and down the court, running up and down the bleachers, running sprint after sprint. With all our tongues hanging out, all chests heaving, and sweat pouring down our bodies, Coach V called us all together and said, “Well, boys, do you think you got the STINK out of your systems? Are you NEVER going to have a collective let-down like that again? Are you ready to COMMIT to not letting a game get away from you like that again? If you see others getting in a funk during a game, are YOU going to take the responsibility to fire everyone up? Are you ready to commit to going out and instead of getting your asses kicked again, kicking some other teams’ ASS?" "OK then, the last game is officially history and the ‘run til you die’ part of practice is done. Now let’s go out and have some good hard work the next couple days on clearing the boards, running clean plays, and playing solid defense.”

Joe Blackwell, player It’s an hour and a half bus ride back from Moscow, Idaho to Cheney, Washington. It was the quietest 90 minute bus ride I’ve ever taken. Some players sat alone, others next to each other, but no one, and I mean no one, said a freakin’ word. Coach V was up front in the bus and never looked back once. I’m sure all the other players were thinking the same thing I was: practice tomorrow is going to be a helluva killer.

Jamal Smith, 1st Asst Coach Game #14, Jan. 7, 2015: Eastern Washington Eagles (9-4, 2-0) at Idaho Vandals (9-5, 1-1) We need to throttle the Vandals’ SF Edem McCuthison, who has been hit 53% of his FG attempts and 61% of his 3’s. We hit our first 8 FG attempts, but needed every one of them since the refs were acting as Idaho’s 6th and 7th players. Turning the ball over repeatedly, we feel from a 17-14 lead to a 32-17 deficit at the 3:38 mark of the 1st half. Our poor play resulted in Idaho having a dominating 42-24 halftime advantage. We hit 63% of our shots, but only got 16 shots in the half due to 10 turnovers and being killed on the boards (14-6). Idaho shot well also (54%). Joseph Palmer scored 7 to lead us offensively. Coach V blasted the players during the intermission for their lackadaisical play. We played even worse in the 2nd half. No defense, frequent turnovers, lack of effort on the boards, too many fouls. Coach V tried to wake the team up by getting a technical, but our team failed to respond. The end could not come soon enough to this horrible game. Final Score: Idaho (10-5, 2-1)-78, Eastern Washington (9-5, 2-1, 3rd place tie)-47. Eastern Washington’s leading players: C Joseph Palmer-13 pts, 1 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal; PF Cory Davis-10 pts, 6 reb, 1 assist. Player of the Game: Idaho’s C Damon Adams-12 pts, 6 reb, 1 assist, 2 steals.

Austin Nathaniel, 2nd Asst Coach (Player Development) Game #13: Jan. 4, 2015: Sacramento State Hornets (3-9, 1-0) at Eastern Washington Eagles (8-4, 1-0) Sacramento State had a horrible start this season winning just 1 of their first 10 games. But they’ve won their last two games including winning their Big Sky opener last week. SF Noel Johnson and PF Ben Williamson have led them offensively this year. Both teams played sloppily early in the game. Turnovers abounded. So did fouls and Cory Davis went picked up two quick fouls and went to the bench just 3 minutes into the game. We slogged through this to gradually build a lead that eventually grew to as much as 10 points. We turned the ball over 10 times in the half, but fortunately Sacramento State gifted us to 11 turnovers. We got to the line 18 times and converted 16 of those shots. This allowed us to gain a 30-24 halftime lead. Michael Taylor came off the bench with a sense of purpose and dropped in 12 points. We continued to turn the ball over which allowed the Hornets to tie us at 38-38 with 11:44 to play. That seemed to wake up our team and we scored the next 9 points as our big home crowd came to life. We used that energy to clamp down defensively and pull away to extend our win streak to 4 games. We dropped in 53% of our shots while holding the Hornets shooting to 42%. We got to the line 15 more times than the Hornets and scored 12 more points on free throws. We had a very small advantage on rebounding and turnovers. Final Score: Eastern Washington-62 (9-4, 2-0, 1st place tie), Sacramento State-49 (3-10, 1-1) Leading players for Eastern Washington: C Michael Taylor-17 pts, 4 reb; SG Shawn Jackson-12 pts, 2 reb, 1 assists, 4 steals; PF Cory Davis-10 pts, 2 reb, 1 steal; SF Joe Blackwell-7 pts, 6 reb, 2 assists. Player of the Game: C Michael Taylor-17 pts, 4 reb.

Nancy Parker, Athletic Department Secretary The Associated Students of Eastern Washington University (ASEWU) and the Eagles’ Wings Fan Club sponsored a big pre-game rally. It’s apparent that our fans are excited about the Big Sky season. It’s been a long time since the basketball team created any sense of enthusiasm here in Cheney. A solid pre-conference record and winning the conference opener on the road is creating hope in their hearts. But our fans want us to take the next step and that’s coming out on top of the Big Sky standings, winning the conference tournament, and making it into the NCAA Tournament. The rally got everyone hyped up and hopefully got our players ready to roll tonight against Sacramento State

Round 2, Gm 13 (L5 vs L6): Georgetown vs Oklahoma State In this game Oklahoma State’s interior height advantage might prove difficult for Georgetown to overcome, particularly if PF Jason Scott has a second straight big game (26 pts and 8 reb in their first round contest). SG Morgan Bliss scored Georgetown’s first 6 points, scoring on drives and jumpers. As others on the team got down some shots, the Hoyas took a 10-4 lead. Oklahoma State fought back though and took a 17-15 lead with 13:10 remaining in the first half. They then expanded their lead to 8 points at the mid-point of the half. The Cowboys offense continued to click. They took a 52-30 lead with 1:55 to go in the half. And Oklahoma State’s defensive completely stymied the Hoyas in the final 10 minutes of the half. Oklahoma State took a commanding 57-31 lead to the locker room. The Cowboys hit 68% of their first half shots (and 63% of their 3’s) while shutting down Georgetown’s shooting (FG % of 36% and 0% of their 3’s). Oklahoma State’s defense caused 10 turnovers by the Hoyas compared to just 4 by Oklahoma State. PG Roy Keyes poured in 13 points and PF Jason Scott had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists for Oklahoma State. SG Morgan Bliss led Georgetown with 13 points while PG Rashad Lytle added 8. Play by both teams was ragged in the early stages of the 2nd half. Even though the Cowboys’ offense sputtered in the 2nd half, Oklahoma State easily held off Georgetown and coasted to an 85-66 win. Ultimately Oklahoma State was far more efficient than Georgetown. They outshot the Hoyas 64% to 39% from the field and 56% to 29% from beyond the arc. Oklahoma State’s PF Jason Scott was dominant again scoring 24, pulling down 11 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists and blocking 4 shots. Three other Cowboys scored in double figures (SG Michael Tice-19 points, PG Ron Keyes-15 points, and reserve C Brian Magloire-10 points. The Cowboys’ big men also shut down Georgetown’s interior game. High point man for Georgetown was SG Morgan Bliss with 19 points. But SF Stephan Garner not only scored 18 points but also grabbed 9 rebounds. PG Rashad Lytle added 13 points and had 5 assists.