Eastern men take on Vandals inside to Beat Idaho 82-57

A 9-0 run early in the second half helped open a double-digit lead they wouldn’t relinquish, and the Eastern Washington University men’s basketball team beat Idaho 82-57 Monday (Feb. 18) 82-57 in a President’s Day game at Reese Court in Cheney.

Eastern shot at a 62 percent clip in the second half to turn a seven-point advantage into a 29-point bulge in the second half. The Eagles had just seven 3-pointers, but sank 26-of-38 shots inside the stripe for 68 percent to lead in points in the paint 50-24. Eastern had a dominating 39-25 rebounding advantage, a season-best margin of 14, and led 15-4 in second-chance points, 19-6 in points off turnovers and 29-9 in bench points.

“They didn’t have an answer for us inside because of their lack of depth and some injured players,” said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans. “To be able to go at them like we did was great. I had a fun time coaching our players tonight. It’s always good to beat Idaho because they are a rival right down the street.”

Four Eagles scored in double figures for EWU, led by the double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds by Mason Peatling. Others in double figures were Kim Aiken Jr. (17), Jesse Hunt (12) and Tanner Groves (career-high 14). Hunt also had six rebounds and six assists as EWU finished with a season high 24 assists as a team. In having a 48-30 advantage after intermission, Eastern’s 48 points in the second half tied for the highest this season, also in the second half versus Idaho on Jan. 3.

Eastern has now won seven of its last 10 games in league play, and is 9-6 since starting the season 1-9. Eastern is just 1-12 on opponent home courts, but is now 9-3 at Reese Court where the Eagles have a seven-game winning streak.

Eastern suffered through a 3-of-15 shooting half from the 3-point line, but made 12-of-18 shots from 2-point range to help Eastern to a 34-27 halftime lead. The Eagles dominated on the boards 23-11, and Peatling had a double-double just 16:09 into the game. He finished the half with 11 points and 11 boards.

Eastern held a seven-point lead in the second half when Hunt scored six points and Aiken added a 3-pointer to lead EWU during the 9-0 run and give the Eagles a 50-34 lead. Eastern held the Vandals without a field goal for three minutes, and EWU eventually built its lead to 29 with 1:06 remaining.

“Today it shined through that we had a little more depth than they did,” added Legans, despite the fact EWU played without injured starter Jacob Davison and injured backup Luka Vulikic.