Victories Not Free For Eagles Missed Late Free Throws Send Ewu To Another Defeat, 56-55

Like a debilitating hangover, Eastern Washington’s losing mentality can apparently be overcome only with time - although a couple of Melvin Lewis free throws certainly wouldn’t have hurt Friday night.

After expending tremendous energy to overcome a lethargic start against Idaho State University, the Eagles did just enough to ensure their 19th consecutive Division I men’s basketball defeat, a 56-55 heartbreaker that sunk EWU to 0-8 in the Big Sky Conference and 2-17 overall.

Nate Green’s layup with 1 second left let the Bengals (8-11, 4-4) escape Reese Court with a victory that EWU might consider writing off as a charitable deduction. Lewis had a chance to make things significantly more difficult, but the Eagles’ senior center missed the first foul shot in a one-and-one situation with 9 seconds left.

Lewis finished 0 of 5 from the foul line, having missed two with EWU holding a 53-52 lead with 2:23 remaining.

“I thought about it too much,” said Lewis, who helped the Eagles overcome a 33-22 halftime deficit with four steals and two blocked shots in the second half. “When the pressure builds up, we have a tendency to play not to lose instead of to win.”

Curtis Porter was an exception to that rule in the closing seconds, aggressively converting a reverse layup to put EWU ahead 55-54 with 44 seconds left. The Eagles appeared headed to victory when they rebounded an ISU miss with 12 seconds to play. But EWU, coming off a 71-70 loss at Montana in which it led with 6 seconds left, found yet another way to lose.

“They played an excellent, excellent second half,” Bengals coach Herb Williams said. “We were lucky to win. They win the ballgame if they make the one-and-ones at the end. You look at it, they did everything they had to do to win. They got more free throws, they outrebounded us, they played with very good control.

“And unfortunately, I’ve been down that way before. You scuffle, scuffle, scuffle, and you think sometime it’s going to come. And it’s going to come for them. I’m just glad it didn’t come tonight.”

EWU had trouble getting into an offensive rhythm as point guard Travis King was shut down by Ron Harwell’s unrelenting defensive pressure. King, an effective player for EWU in recent games, managed just two points while committing more turnovers (seven) than assists (five). “Ron is an excellent defensive player,” Williams said. “For a perimeter player, Ron is probably the best defensive player in the league.”

Adam Dean led EWU with 18 points, making 8 of 9 from the field.

Green led ISU with 14 points, seven rebounds and five steals. And while the junior center finished just 7 for 17 from the field, he found a way to score when it mattered.

Idaho St. 56, E. Washington 55

Idaho St. (8-11) - Preston 5-9 0-0 10, Brown 1-5 2-2 4, Green 7-17 0-0 14, Harwell 4-7 5-7 13, Tarver 3-5 0-0 8, Artis 2-5 0-0 4, Lee 1-4 0-0 3, McArthur 0-0 0-0 0, Maxwell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 7-9 56.

E. Washington (2-17) - Sims 1-1 1-1 3, Porter 4-9 3-4 11, Dean 8-9 2-4 18, Rideout 5-14 0-0 10, King 1-6 0-0 2, Lewis 2-6 0-5 4, Carter 0-2 0-0 0, Egan 1-2 2-2 5, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Groves 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 22-49 10-18 55.

Halftime-Idaho St. 33, E. Washington 22. 3-Point goals-Idaho St. 3-7 (Preston 0-1, Tarver 2-3, Lee 1-3), E. Washington 1-8 (Porter 0-1, Rideout 0-2, King 0-3, Carter 0-1, Egan 1-1). Fouled out- Idaho St., Preston. Rebounds-Idaho St. 25 (Green 7), E. Washington 37 (Lewis 7). Assists-Idaho St. 14 (Brown 4), E. Washington 14 (King 5). Total fouls-Idaho St. 17, E. Washington 14. A-1,404.

, DataTimes