Who's Bret Vandergard and what's he done for us lately? [DDSCB3]

[PointGuard 70]

Meaghan Kriley, KSPK TV investigative report

 

In a surprise development, Boswell Havrisham, who recently resigned as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Washington, has resurfaced politically, declaring his candidacy for the upcoming race for U.S. Senator. Havrisham deflected all questions about why he stepped down previously and why he now has returned to politics other than saying he was the best person for the job. 

But this reporter has learned from a well-placed unnamed source that his actions to leave politics were prompted by threats from the now deceased local politician, Christine Rozniak. Havrisham refused to comment on this.

[PointGuard 70]

Ron Stuart, EWU student

 

Game #25, Feb. 14, 2016: Eastern Washington Eagles (17-7, 10-3) at Idaho Vandals (9-15, 5-8)

Me and my buds piled into a van and drove the 72 miles to Moscow, Idaho for tonight’s game. We made it in record time! That way we got here early enough to go have a couple beers each before the game.

We’re sitting right behind the basket on one end of the court. Not bad, close to the court…and more importantly, right behind our cheerleaders.
With Colin Goode still on the injured list and Odie Joseph and Travis Dawson joining him for tonight’s game, the Eagles bench is a little short. My friend, Ben, says that means Vandergard should play his starters more and that’s good. Good because we didn’t beat the Vandals by much when they played on our court earlier this year. 

Our first 3 possessions resulted in 3 turnovers and we trailed 7-0. Ugh! Danya Lawson then sunk two consecutive 3’s to narrow the gap to 7-6. Tim Dove drove the lane to score then hit a 3 to give us the lead, then we stole the ball the next 2 possessions for 2 driving layups by Shawn Jackson and we were up 17-11 with 13 minutes left in the half. The half ends with the Eagles on top 39-33. Danya Lawson’s 13 points led our scoring.

The Vandals scored the first 7 points of the 2nd half as we were held scoreless for 4-1/2 minutes. We went on a 9-0 run midway through the half to take a 7 point lead. The Eagles held onto a small lead and with a minute to go were ahead 72-66. Idaho hit a 3 with 40 seconds to go. Instead of running the clock down, Danya Lawson got free and put up a jumper that didn’t fall. Idaho brought the ball down court and hit another 3 with 4 seconds to go to tie it up 72-72 and send the game into overtime.

OT: We hit the first basket but then the lead swung back and forth. With 20 seconds on the clock and Idaho leading 82-81, the Vandals rebounded and we fouled immediately. The Vandals missed both shots and we rebounded and took a time out. Dove missed a shot and the Vandals rebounded and ran out the clock. A very disappointing loss, particularly since the Vandals won by getting to the line 15 more times and scoring 7 more points on free throws than the Eagles.

In addition, I have a good friend who goes to Idaho and now I'm going to get a ration of you know what. I hope the two teams meet up in the Conference Tournament and we kick their ass.

Final Score: Idaho—82, Eastern Washington (17-8, 10-4, 1st place)—81 (OT)

Leading players for Eastern Washington: SF/SG Danya Lawson-21 pts, 3 reb, 4 assists, 3 steals; PG Tim Dove-20 pts, 1 reb, 3 assists; SG Shawn Jackson-10 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal; C Cory Davis-10 pts, 3 reb, 1 assist.

Player of the Game: Idaho’s C Henry Jeffries-16 pts, 5 reb, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block.

Another injury: Darryl Bailey sustained a mild concussion so will be held out of the next game for precautionary reasons. Travis Dawson will be ready to play in the next game, but Colin Goode’s and Odie Joseph’s injuries will keep them out of that game.

[PointGuard 70]

Phone Conversation Between Bermie Miller and Tom Gordon

 

BM: So Dawes Johnson confessed to being Rozniak's killer?

 

TG: Yes, Bernie, but off the record, Johnson has also confessed to being the Unabomber, the Statue of Liberty, and the color green. He's been sent to a mental institution for psychiatric evaluation. My gut instinct tells me it was a false confession.
Have you and your brain trust come up with anything yet?

 

BM: No, but it is mighty strange that there have been ransom demands yet, for either Ms. Parker, or Olaffsen's grandson. Johannsen went to the federal prison to iinterrogate Tony Carpelli, but when he got there he found just that morning Carpelli had either tried to commit suicide, or someone else was making it look like suicide. Carpelli is alive, but in a coma in the prison infirmary. Brannigan's sources are telling him that Fred Parkington has been telling some wild stories in prison. Johannsen may go talk to him next. He may try to lean on that bastard Hauser too and see if he knows anything. Hauser is likely to be paroled soon though probably won't be very cooperative. Meaghan Kriley has been trying to get in good with his dumb wife though hoping she might let something slip that would help. Gina likely knows something, but is too dumb to know that she knows.

 

[Copied from post by CoachC in the Wolverine Studios forums]

[PointGuard 70]

Bud Springfield, Eagles’ Wings Fan Club President and owner of Springfield Ford

 

Game #26, Feb. 17, 2016: Northern Colorado Bears (10-15, 5-9) at Eastern Washington Eagles (17-8, 10-4)

This is the final home game of the season. When we played the Bears earlier this season in their gym, we lost in overtime.

It took the Eagles 4-1/2 minutes to score and by then they were behind 6-0. EWU then kicked it into gear and scored the next 10 points. At the midpoint of the 1st half, the Eagles led 16-9. EWU applied a staunch defense, holding the Bears shooting to 40% and forcing 12 turnovers. At the half, the Eagles led 37-28. Byron Crawford led our scoring with 10 points.

This was the final “Sink the Shot For a Ford” contest this season. Since no one had made the shot, two students were selected. The girl’s hot was long enough but hit the left side of the backboard. The guy then shot…it was on target arcing down and in? No, it was just a couple inches long and hitting the back of the hoop, bouncing up…and then hitting the front edge of the rim and falling away.

Another slow start with the Eagles not scoring for the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half…and not hitting a FG in the first 8-1/2 minutes of the half. But fortunately, Northern Colorado wasn’t doing much better and the Eagles still held a 7 point lead. While EWU then began hitting some shots, they just couldn’t get untracked and with 1 minute to play, led only by 5 points. The Bears missed a 3 from the corner and then fouled Tim Dove. Dove dropped in both free throws making it a 3-possession game at 64-57 with 30 seconds to play. The Bears hit 2 3-pointers but it wasn’t enough. The primary difference for the Eagles was a 21-12 turnover advantage.

Following the game, there was a lot of talk among Eagles Wings Fan Club members of how EWU is playing rather uninspired ball lately and often letting opponents come back against them late in the game. The consensus was that they need to turn things around if they want to win the conference tournament. Insiders say that as good as Byron Crawford is, he is a cancer in the locker room and that Coach Vandergard’s efforts to improve his attitude and relationship with teammates have failed.

Final Score: Eastern Washington (18-8, 11-5, 1st place)—66, Northern Colorado—63.

Leading players for Eastern Washington: SG Shawn Jackson-12 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals; SF/SG Danya Lawson-11 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 4 steals; PF Byron Crawford-10 pts, 1 reb, 1 assist, 2 steals; PG Harvey Manning-10 pts, 2 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal; C Cory Davis-8 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: SF/SG Danya Lawson-11 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 4 steals.

For Northern Colorado: SG Doylan Abraham scored 17 points.

Award: Danya Lawson was awarded the Big Sky Freshman Player of the Week for the 8th straight week and 9th time this season.

While our RPI improved to #39 in the country, we dropped to 52nd on the “Who’s In” list of the Bubble Watch.

[PointGuard 70]

Austin Nathaniel, 2nd Asst Coach

 

Game #27, Feb. 24, 2016: Eastern Washington Eagles (18-8, 11-4) at Weber State Wildcats (9-17, 7-8)

For the first time in over 2 months, we have everyone healthy and ready to play. We lambasted Weber State earlier this season, but we haven’t played at all on the road. We’re starting Colin Goode at center and hope to give him as much court time as possible to get him ready for the conference tournament.

Early in the game our shooting was as cold as the February weather in Utah. We finally gained a small lead and held onto it but could never break away from the Wildcats. We went to the locker room up 26-29. PG Darryl Bailey came off the bench to score 13 points in 9 minutes of play.

In the 2nd half we kept building a double digit lead only to let Weber State back into the game. Finally in the latter half of the 2nd half we took control to go ahead by as much as 20 points. The margin would even have been larger had not refs continually called fouls on us, awarding the Wildcats 34 trips to the line.

Final Score: Eastern Washington (19-8, 12-4, 1st place)—85, Weber State—67.

Leading players for Eastern Washington: PG Darryl Bailey-21 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists; C Cory Davis-15 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 3 steals; SF/SG Danya Lawson-11 pts, 1 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals; PF Byron Crawford-8 pts, 2 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: PG Darryl Bailey-21 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists.

Injury: PG Tim Dove injured his shoulder and will miss practice for about a half-week but should be ready to go for our first tournament game.

Our RPI jumped up to 30th best in the nation.

[PointGuard 70]

Big Sky Conference Final Standings

 

Here are the final Big Sky Conference standings for the 2015-2016 season:

[PointGuard 70]

Big Sky Tournament—Day 1

 

Montana State Bobcats-51, Northern Arizona Lumberjacks-41 (Montana led 24-18 at the half and expanded their lead in the 2nd half. Both teams shot poorly (34% for Montana and 29% for Northern Arizona). Montana was led by Tim Crosby with 10 points and 8 rebounds and Leon Blossom with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Marcus Brown had 13 points for Northern Arizona.

Northern Colorado Bears-66, Idaho Vandals-38 (Northern Colorado upset the Vandals by building a 29-17 halftime lead and then cruising to an easy win. Northern Colorado won with a real team effort by both starters and reserves. The Bears were led by William Edwards 12 points and Doylan Abrahams 10 points. As a team they hit 57% of their shots. On the other hand, Idaho hit just 23% of their shots and no player scored in double figures.)

Sacramento State Hornets-66, Weber State Wildcats-40 (Sacramento State was in control throughout the game. At the half they led 36-15 and built up as much as a 29 point lead in the 2nd half. Kendric Chambers scored 12 points and Rashard Wise added 10 for the Hornets. Criaq Moore had 10 points for Weber State.)

Montana Grizzlies-55, North Dakota Fightin’ Sioux-52 (This game was close all the way with 10 lead changes and 7 ties. Montana held a 21-17 halftime edge. John Woolum dropped in 19 points, Jake Anderson had 13, and Jason Kleiner added 10 for Montana. No players scored in double figures for North Dakota.)

[PointGuard 70]

Big Sky Tournament—Day 2

 

Sacramento State Hornets-57, Portland State Vikings-44 (Sacramento State jumped out early and never looked back again. By the half the Hornets led 34-18. Sacramento State’s Ben Williamson scored 16 and grabbed 7 rebounds and Michael Respert chipped in 20 points. Matthew Grandison scored 10 and pulled down 7 boards for Portland State.)

Northern Colorado Bears-49, Southern Utah Thunderbirds-36 (Northern Colorado led the entire game. After building a 27-15 advantage at the half, they simply hung on for an easy victory. James Grant of Northern Colorado and Gary Williams of Southern Utah each scored 14 points.)

Montana State Bobcats-80, Idaho State Bengals-57 (Another win from start to finish. Montana State’s halftime lead was 45-23. Wesley Akins poured in 40 points (hitting 14 of 17 from the field including 8 of 11 from 3 point distance) and Leon Blossom added 13 and Dwayne Vines another 12 for Montana State. For Idaho State, Tori Washington had 15 points and Matt Vaughn scored 12.)


Corky Branigan, KSPK Radio

Game #28, Mar. 4, 2016: Montana Grizzlies (13-15, 7-9) vs Eastern Washington Eagles (19-8, 12-4)

Following the lower seeds winning each of the 3 earlier games today, the Eagles of Eastern Washington could well have been nervous when they took the court against Montana, even though they had beaten the Grizzlies on Montana’s home court earlier this year. But the win was only by 6 points.

But they didn’t show any nerves as they played lock-down defense early and opened leads of 6-0 and then 12-3 after 4 minutes of play. The Grizzlies then clawed their way back into the game, cutting the Eagles lead to 17-15 with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. EWU responded by quickly opening a 10 point lead 2 minutes later, as Colin Goode scored 7 of the Eagles 12 points during that 2 minute run. Then another run behind the scoring of Danya Lawson opened a 43-23 lead for the Eagles with just 2 minutes to go in the half. The half ended with EWU on top 49-27. The Grizzlies turned the ball over 15 times while EWU made just 3 turnovers. Danya Lawson scored 12, Odie Joseph added 10, and Colin Goode dropped in 9 for the Eagles.

Eastern Washington stayed in control throughout the 2nd half and won easily. Colin Goode led the Eagles in the 2nd half and played his best game of the year.

Final Score: Eastern Washington (20-8)—89, Montana—73.

Leading players for Eastern Washington: C Colin Goode-24 pts, 7 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal; SF/SG Danya Lawson-17 pts, 1 reb, 4 assists; C Odie Joseph-14 pts, 4 reb, 2 steals; C Cory Davis-11 pts, 3 reb, 3 steals.

Player of the Game: C Colin Goode-24 pts, 7 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

For Montana: SF Robert Colter-13 pts; PF Jason Reiner-12 pts, 6 reb; and Jon Woolum-10 pts.

In last year’s Big Sky Conference tournament, Northern Arizona won the championship after being a bottom dweller during regular season conference play. This year Northern Coloradohas scored two surprising upsets after finishing next to last in conference play. Can they emulate Northern Arizona’s series of upsets and go to the Big Dance?

[PointGuard 70]

Big Sky Tournament—Day 3

 

Northern Colorado Bears-59, Sacramento State Hornets-47 (The Bears record upset #3. They took a 36-20 lead at halftime, then held on without being seriously challenged in the 2nd half. Doylan Abraham scored 13 points and James Grant added 12 while pulling down 7 rebounds for Northern Colorado. David Porter was high point man for Sacramento State with 13 points.)


Jamal Smith, 1st Asst. Coach

Game #29, Mar. 5, 2016: Montana State Bobcats (18-11, 9-7) at Eastern Washington Eagles (20-8, 12-4)

In the only previous meeting this season, Montana State edged EWU 69-67 in Bozeman, MT. Wesley Akins not only has averaged 17.0 ppg for the entire season but had his best game of the season, scoring 40 points in the previous tournament game, so we have a big challenge to contain him. Our players enter this game with a chip on their shoulders, not only because they lost the previous game against the Bobcats, but also because of how Montana State’s fans treated Coach Vandergard. While this can stimulate the players, it also can backfire if their irritation overrides smart play.

We came out tight and fell behind 23-9 at the midpoint of the first half, shooting poorly and rebounding not at all. We didn’t improve our shooting, hitting just 35% of our FG attempts while the Bobcats dropped in 48% of theirs. We also were out-rebounded 16-11. That resulted in a 34-23 deficit at the half. Colin Goode led our scoring with 9 points. 

Montana State decimated our defense early in the 2nd half and led by 17 with 12 minutes to play. We made a run to cut their lead to 7 with 7-1/2 minutes left in the game. But Montana State outplayed us in the last stages of the game and we slipped further behind. Yet another disappointing conference tournament for us.

Final Score: Montana State—76, Eastern Washington (20-9)—65.

Leading players for Eastern Washington: C Colin Goode-19 pts, 6 reb; SF/SG Danya Lawson-12 pts, 1 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal; PG Tim Dove-11 pts, 1 reb, 7 assists.

Player of the Game: Montana State’s SG Wesley Akins-18 pts, 2 reb, 1 assist, 3 steals.

Also for Montana: SF Dwayne Vines-18 pts, 1 assist; C Jeremy Granville-10 pts, 4 reb, 1 block; C Anthony King-10 pts, 5 reb, 2 steals.

[PointGuard 70]

Back at the Hotel

 

Bret gets a call from an unidentified caller. He almost answers without activating Alec's app, but remembers in time. The caller is apparently using an electronic voice modulator to disguise their voice: "Watched you tank it in the championship game Vandergard. What a shame. Your boys shaving points again? *maniacal laughter". Just thought you might like to know that we are allowing Ms. Parker to take good care of your nephew .... for now. He's even started calling her "Mommy". We'll be in touch." Before Bret can say anything, the caller ends the conversation.

 

[Copied from post by CoachC in the Wolverine Studios forums]

[PointGuard 70]

Alec Johanssen

 

(Phone call from Bret Vandergard, after listening to Bret vent

AJ: Hey now, Coach, relax. My app is working on this as we speak. It’s really good you activated it for that call.

BV: My sister is going crazy. Unless Tommy is returned safely and soon, you just never know what Annika will do. Her mother-protector instinct has always been high and it’s into the stratosphere right now.

AJ: That’s perfectly understandable. But, Coach, think of this like a basketball game. We may have trailed most of the game, but we’re closing the score, our defense will be shutting them down, and our offense is just beginning to click. Don’t worry, we’ll come out on top by the end of this game.

[PointGuard 70]

Big Sky Tournament—Day 4

 

Northern Colorado Bears-55, Montana State Bobcats-53 (Amazing! Yet another year where a big underdog comes out of nowhere to win the conference tournament and represent the Big Sky in the NCAA Tournament. This game stayed close throughout with 11 lead changes and 6 ties. Montana State held a 26-25 halftime lead, but Northern Colorado was not to be deterred. They parlayed control of the boards (33-25) plus got to the line 19 more times than the Bobcats and scored 10 more points on free throws. William Edwards led Northern Colorado with 12 points. Wesley Akins was high point man for Montana State with 15 points.)

[PointGuard 70]

Alec returns call to Bret

 

"It seems that the call you received was from a disposable cell, so there is no way to track cell records to find the owner. The cell tower triangulation routines in the phone app were however able to provide GPS coordinates for where the call was placed. It was within 3 blocks of the hotel. I was able to locate the discarded cell in a trash receptacle. When I get back to Cheney, I"ll give it to Gordon and see if there are any prints on it, and go from there. Meanwhile I'm going to canvass the area for leads."

 

[Copied from post by CoachC in Wolverine Studios forums]

[PointGuard 70]

EWU Eagles Player Stats

 

Final Player Statistics for the Eastern Washington Eagles for the 2015-2016 season:

NAME.................GP--GS---MIN---PTS---REB--AST---STL--BLK--TO--ATO
Tim Dove.............29-- 29----24.4----7.7----1.7----2.8---0.6---0.1---3.1--0.9
Darryl Bailey........28-- 00----10.5----5.6----0.6----1.3---0.4---0.0---1.4--0.9
Harvey Manning....21---00-----5.5----2.2----0.3----0.6---0.2---0.0---0.5--1.2
Danya Lawson......29---14----24.4---13.9----2.5----1.8---1.6---0.1---0.9--1.9
Shawn Jackson.....29---28----23.3----8.0----2.2----1.8---1.4---0.0---1.7--1.1
Will Davis............29----1-----8.8-----3.5----1.0----0.7---0.5---0.4---1.5--1.1
Joe Blackwell........29---15---20.3----5.4----2.6----1.1---1.1----0.0---1.4--0.8
Travis Dawson......16---00-----4.8----0.8----0.2----0.1---0.0----0.3---0.8--0.4
Byron Crawford.....28---03----12.0---5.0----1.5----0.6---0.6----0.0---0.9--0.7
Brian Dearman......28---11----16.9---3.7----3.0----1.0---1.1----0.3---0.8--1.3
Terence Hillier......26---03-----9.2----2.0----1.6----0.5---0.3----0.2---0.5--1.1
Odie Joseph..........27---02----14.8---5.6----3.3----0.7---0.6----0.1---0.5--1.5
Cory Davis...........29---28----21.7---8.9----4.6----1.1---1.2----0.3---1.3--0.8
Colin Goode..........13---11----17.2--10.8----3.4----0.8---0.8----0.1---1.2--0.7

[PointGuard 70]

Eastern Washington Team Statistics

 

PPG: 74.8 (3rd in nation); Opponents: 66.9 (339th in nation)

APG: 14.0 (27th in nation); Opponents: 12.5 (211th in nation)

RPG: 26.2 (160th in nation); Opponents: 24.0 (62nd in nation)

BPG: Opponents: 1.2 (214th in nation); Opponents: 1.8 (302nd in nation)

TOPG: 13.7 (55th in nation); Opponents: 17.0 (27th in nation)

SPG: 9.8 (14th in nation); Opponents: 7.7 (166th in nation)

FG%: 50.7% (3rd in nation); Opponents: 49.9% (350th in nation)

3P%: 39.3% (38th in nation); Opponents: 34.9% (196th in nation)

FT%: 79.6% (8th in nation); Opponents: 68.4% (13th in nation)

[PointGuard 70]

NCAA Tournament Selection Show

 

Northern Colorado selected for a play-in game against Utah Valley State

#1 Seeds: UCLA, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky

[PointGuard 70]

CIT

 

Idaho State is the 2nd seed in the West and will play #7 seed Hawaii.

[PointGuard 70]

NIT

 

Eastern Washington was selected as the #3 seed in the Midwest and will play #6 seed Chicago State (20-9)

[PointGuard 70]

Meaghan Kriley

 

(Talking to Alec Johanssen)

Alec, I finally was able to speak with Gina Carpelli Hauser, on premise that I was trying to do a story that might clear her husband, Matt Hauser. Gina brought out all these home-made Italian desserts while I was there. She’s nice, but seems to have an IQ lower than a chimpanzee.

I asked her about her family and she said she grew up in a very nice neighborhood in New York. When I asked about her father, Luigi, she said “daddy” was the best father any girl could have, was an excellent business man (but she didn’t really know anything about his business), and a great man. She said she was devastated when he disappeared on the cruise about 5 years ago. 

I asked about her mother, Florence. Gina said Tony was the apple of her mother’s eye. Florence never had much time for Gina. She said her mother likes her husband, Matt, more than she does Gina. I said I heard that Florence had a rather distinctive voice and laugh. Gina laughed (which also is sort of a weird laugh) and said when her mother gets excited, her voice gets really high, shrill, and loud (she likened it to a cross between Roseanne Barr’s and fingernails on a chalk board) and that if you’ve heard Fran Drescher’s laugh, you sort of have an idea of what her mother’s laugh is like.
I asked what her mother did now. She doesn’t really know but she said she takes frequent trips to Italy and Denmark. She mentioned that her mother is incensed about Tony being imprisoned.

Gina misses her husband Matt, thinks he was framed, and hopes he will be paroled soon.

[PointGuard 70]

NIT Round 1

 

Austin Nathaniel, 2nd Asst Coach

Mar. 13, 2016: #6 seed Chicago State Cougars (20-9) vs #3 seed Eastern Washington Eagles (20-9)

We may be a higher seed, but analysts feel that whereas our inside players are stronger, the Cougars have an advantage on the perimeter and that their bench is stronger also. 

Less than 2 minutes from tip-off, the refs had called a foul against every one of our starters. After a slow start, we caught fire as Shawn Jackson and Odie Johnson both hammered the Cougars. With 9:17 to go in the first half, we led 24-14. But the Cougars made 13 of 14 from the free throw line to climb back into the game. By the end of the half our lead was down to 31-29. Odie Joseph led our scoring with 10 points and Shawn Jackson was just behind him with 9 points.

Chicago State pulled ahead early in the 2nd half as we continued to get tagged with fouls. But we stayed close and throughout the middle portion of the 2nd half the lead shifted back and forth. With 2-1/2 minutes to play, we had opened a 69-64 lead. We held on to win and move on to the 2nd round. Our victory rested on our ability to control the boards (33-21) and shoot better than the Cougars (52% to 42%).

Final Score: Eastern Washington (21-9)—78, Chicago State-74.

Leading players for Eastern Washington: C Cory Davis-12 pts, 6 reb, SF/SG Danya Lawson-14 pts, 2 assists, 1 steal; SG Shawn Jackson-12 pts, 1 reb, 2 assists; C Odie Joseph-10 pts, 3 reb; C Colin Goode-7 pts, 9 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: SF/SG Danya Lawson-14 pts, 2 assists, 1 steal.

For Chicago State: PG Ricky Roberts scored 17 and SF Jeff Rayner added 14.

[PointGuard 70]

NCAA Play-in Game

 

Northern Colorado (15-16)—59, Utah Valley State (20-10)—56 (Northern Colorado continued to surprise as they took a 35-26 halftime lead and then held on to edge Utah Valley State. Rashard Arthurs scored 10 points and William Edwards popped in 11 points for Northern Colorado. Utah Valley State was led by Maurice Hamilton’s 13 points.

[PointGuard 70]

CIT Tournament--Round 1

 

#7 seed Hawaii (17-11)—65, #2 seed Idaho State (18-10)—48 (Hawaii clamped down defensively (holding Idaho State’s shooting to 38% and force 23 turnovers) to take a 27-22 halftime lead and then pulled away in the second half to win easily. David Howard scored 11 points, Brett Vining 10 points, and Greg Pryce 10 points for Hawaii. Matt Vaughn and Tori Washington both scored 10 points for Idaho State.

[PointGuard 70]

Corky Brannigan goes to the nut house

 

Since Corky had had a professional relationship with Dawes Johnson while he was head coach and had interviewed him many times in that capacity, the EWU "Think Tank" naturally agreed that it made most sense for Corky to see if he can get any info out of Johnson. The shrink in residence agrees to a supervised interview.

CB: Hello, Dawes. How are you feeling?
DJ: I'm doing fine, Toto. "looks confused for a moment" I"d be doing a lot better if they'd give me back my ruby slippers.
CB: Dawes, do you know who I am?
DJ: Sure! I loved you in Viva Las Vegas, King!
CB: No Dawes, I"m Corky Brannigan. Remember? I interviewed you many times while you were head basketball coach at Eastern Washington UNiversity.
DJ: (Pauses and shows a moment of clarity) Oh yeah. How you been, Corky?
CB: I've been better, Dawes. Listen, I need to ask you some questions connected to the the EWU basketball program. 
DJ: (eyes glaze over again) Wha? Who took my soup?
CB: Concentrate Dawes. Do you know anything about the suspicious problems that have plagued the EWU basketball program for the last 3 seasons?
DJ: Silly man. What would I know about sportsballing? I've been a stewardess for Delta ever since I graduated high school. You know that, silly. You were always my favorite pilot.
CB: *sigh* Do you know anything about Nancy Parker?
DJ: *frowns* She took my shoes. She was always jealous that you liked me better.
CB: Meaghan Kriley.
DJ: (Brightens) Oh yeah!
CB: What do you know?
DJ: About what?
CB: Meaghan Kriley?
DJ: (eyes glaze over again) I used to weatherproof my boat with that. Finest shellac money can buy!
CB: Dawes, focus. Why did you confess to the murder of Christine Rozniak? DId you do it?
DJ: (Jumps out of his chair and runs around the room flapping his wings like a bird saying "nevermore, nevermore!" then collapses in a corner in a catatonic state sucking his thumb)

At that point the resident shrink declares the inteview over.

 

[Copied from post by CoachC in Wolverine Studios forums]

[PointGuard 70]

Torbern “Swede” Olaffson, Athletic Director

 

(After hearing Corky’s report, Swede exclaims to Catherine, his wife)

“That SOB! Dawes has gone from being WORTHless when he was coaching for us to being WITless now. It looks like the gates are down and the lights are flashing, but the train isn’t coming.”

[PointGuard 70]

NIT 2nd Round

 

Potato-Pickin’-Paul, “Eagle Flight” blog: 

Mar. 15, 2016: #3 seed Eastern Washington Eagles (21-9) vs #2 seed Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (16-13)

Tulsa played a much tougher schedule than did EWU, but lost their last 4 games before beating Central Michigan 68-58 in the first round of the NIT. 
The Eagles started Tim Dove at PG, Shawn Jackson at SG, Danya Lawson at SF, Cory Davis at PF, and Colin Goode at C.

Danya Lawson was sent to the bench with 2 fouls at the 16:30 mark of the first half. EWU pulled ahead 13-3 with 13 minutes left in the half. The Eagles held a 6-12 point lead the rest of the way and went to the locker room on top 36-29. Will Davis came off the bench to toss in 10 points.

The Eagles went ahead by 14 with 17-1/2 minutes left in the game. But Tulsa came back as EWU’s shooting went ice cold and with 5-1/2 minutes to go the game was tied 52-52. With 2-1/2 minutes left, Tulsa led 59-52 as the Eagles continued to be unable to buy a basket. EWU pulled within 3 points with 30 seconds to play and fouled immediately. Tulsa dropped in both free throws. EWU missed two final 3 point shots.

Final Score: Tulsa—64, Eastern Washington (21-10)—59.

Leading players for Eastern Washington: C Cory Davis-10 pts, 7 reb, 2 steals; SG Will Davis-10 pts, 3 assists, 2 steals; SF Joe Blackwell-8 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Player of the Game: Tulsa’s PG Jermaine Murray-13 pts, 1 assist.