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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Williams, Eagles Start On Right Foot Young Point Guard Takes Over As Eastern’s Men Win Opener

Understandably, Deon Williams showed no sense of doom Sunday afternoon when it looked as if things were starting to unravel for Eastern Washington University’s men’s basketball team.

As a partial academic qualifier coming out of Verbum Dei High School in Los Angeles, Williams practiced with the Eagles last season but was not eligible to play. He wasn’t really a part of the disappointing 7-19 season that unfolded - or the five confidence-rattling losses by four or fewer points.

Simply put, Deon Williams is still a believer.

And he made that apparent in front of a tiny Reese Court crowd of 650 by taking over a close game in the final minutes and carrying the Eagles to an 80-77 non-conference win over Sam Houston State in the season-opener for both schools.

“He really stepped up and made some big plays,” Eastern coach Steve Aggers said of his 6-foot-2 sophomore point guard. “He penetrated off the dribble, made a couple of shots in the paint and took care of the ball when they were double-teaming us. For (the equivalent of) a redshirt freshman, he was very poised.”

Williams finished with 17 points, seven assists and four steals, but was at his most productive in the crucial moments after the Bearkats fought back from an 11-point first-half deficit to take a 72-71 lead with 3:21 remaining.

From that point on, Williams scored seven of his team’s last nine points, picked off two rebounds and came up with a pair of crucial steals that helped seal the victory.

“This will go a long way toward helping us down the road,” Aggers said of the close win over a decent Bearkats team that should be a factor in the Southland Conference title race.

“Rather than playing a non-Division I team and winning easily, I like the fact that we played a good team that showed us a lot of things.”

Sam Houston used four different defenses during the game, but seldom seemed to confuse the Eagles, who were near-perfect down the stretch.

“We had no breakdowns in last minute and 10 seconds,” Aggers said. “It was a great way to start the year. Hopefully, we can build on this.”

Along with Williams’ 17, the Eagles got a career-high 20 points, along with a splendid defensive effort, from small forward Karim Scott. The slight, 6-6 senior made 9 of 14 shots from various sectors of the floor and pulled down five rebounds. He also had three steals and shut down Bearkats’ scoring leader Mike Dillard in the final 5 minutes.

Dillard finished with a game-high 22 points.

EWU 80, Sam Houston St. 77

SAM HOUSTON STATE (0-1) - Dillard 7-17 5-7 22, Naihe 0-0 0-0 0, Amaya 6-10 5-6 17, Watson 3-6 2-2 9, Winn 2-4 5-6 9, Abdus-Salaam 0-0 0-0 0, Bracken 2-4 0-0 4, Burkhalper 0-2 0-0 0, Grein 4-6 0-0 10, Gritz 3-11 0-1 6. Totals 27-60 17-22 77.

E. WASHINGTON (1-0) - Berger 2-6 0-1 4, Scott 9-14, 2-5 20, Humbert 4-5 1-2 9, Williams 6-13 5-8 17, Taylor 2-9 2-3 7, McGee 1-1 0-0 3, Claus 0-0 0-0 0, Sims 1-1 1-2 3, M. Lewis 3-6 0-0 7, K. Lewis 1-2 0-0 2, White 4-4 0-1 8. Totals 33-61 11-22 80.

Halftime-E. Washington 40, Sam Houston St. 34. 3-Point goals-SHS 6-21 (Dillard 3-9, Watson 1-4, Winn 0-2, Grein 2-2, Gritz 0-4), E. Washington 3-13 (Scott 0-3, Williams 0-1, Taylor 1-6, McGee 1-1, M. Lewis 1-2). Fouled out-Winn. Rebounds-SHS 41 (Grein 8), EWU 31 (Scott, Williams 5). Assists-SHS 14 (Watson 7), EWU 19 (Williams, Taylor 7). Total fouls-SHS 21, EWU 18. Technicals-None. A-650.

, DataTimes