Eagles Call On Taylor For Another Game-Winner

Shannon Taylor is not a big numbers guy - which might explain how he stays so cool with the heat turned up in the closing seconds of a college basketball game.

Saturday night, Eastern Washington’s jun ior shooting guard didn’t know the score, didn’t know how much time was left and didn’t realize he had missed four of the previous five shots he had taken.

All Taylor knew was that his team needed a basket. And for the second time in as many games, he stepped up and supplied it this time with a 26-footer that lifted the Eagles to a thrilling 75-73 overtime win over Cal State Sacramento.

Taylor, who beat Idaho State with a last-second 3-pointer just two nights earlier, stabbed the hard-luck Hornets with 18 sec onds left. And teammate Deon Williams made sure it was the decisive shot of the game by poking the ball away from Sedessa Fisher on Sac State’s ensuing possession.

“For the second night in a row, ol’ S. Taylor comes through with a big shot,” Eastern coach Steve Aggers shouted after watching his team run its overall record to 11-9 and its Big Sky Conference mark to 5-5. “This is big win, big win.”

“All I knew was that we were down and we needed a shot,” said Taylor. “I wanted the challenge, because last time Coach gave me the challenge I knocked it down.”

The victory came in front of a Reese Court crowd of 1,475 - the largest of the year - and gave Eastern its first 11-win season since 1991. It also all but assured the Eagles of their first Big Sky tournament berth since 1990.

In fact, Sac State coach Tom Abatemarco has already figured EWU into the Sky’s postseason mix.

“They’ll make the tournament now for sure,” he said after watching his last-place Hornets fall to 1-18 and 1-11 despite getting 32 points from Fisher and 18 rebounds from Sean Houston. “And I think they’ll do well, too.”

What impressed Abatemarco most about the Eagles was the way they maintained their composure after falling behind 70-65 in the first 2 minutes of overtime.

“I think Steve’s done a great job here,” he said. “We just didn’t make plays at the end and they did.”

Eastern, after falling behind 40-33 at halftime, caught the Hornets with an 11-3 run immediately following intermission. But they still needed help from a technical foul on Houston to hang on and force the extra period.

Houston was slapped with the technical for hanging on the rim after trying to stuff back a missed shot with 1:47 left in regulation. Sac State was up 61-60 at the time, but EWU pulled even when Michael Lewis, who finished with 14 points, hit one of the two free throws.

Houston gave the Hornets the lead again with 46 seconds remaining on a short jumper over Jason Humbert, but a pair of free throws by Eastern’s Karim Scott tied it again at 63.

Both teams had chances to win in regulation, but Fisher blew Sac State’s by forcing an off-balance jumper - his shot of choice most of the night - that missed badly with 13 seconds remaining.

Eastern’s last gasp came and went when Lewis’s 14-foot fallaway at the buzzer hit both the front and back of the rim before bouncing out.

Williams led the Eagles’ scoring with 15 points. Scott finished with 12 and also contributed five steals.

Eastern is on the road this week, with games at Cal State Northridge on Thursday and Northern Arizona on Saturday.

E. Washington 75, Sacramento St. 73 (OT)

Sacramento St. (1-19) - Wright 3-4 0-2 6, Houston 5-11 4-11 14, Clark 0-2 0-0 0, Drakeford 5-8 1-3 14, Coleman 0-2 0-0 0, Hoogenbosch 0-0 0-0 0, Fisher 14-22 1-2 32, Ranney 0-1 0-0 0, Landry 1-1 2-2 4, Jorissen 1-5 0-1 3. Totals 29-56 8-21 73.

EWU (11-9) - Berger 3-6 1-2 7, Scott 4-16 3-6 12, K. Lewis 1-6 0-0 2, Williams 6-14 1-3 15, M. Lewis 6-13 1-6 14, McGee 1-3 0-0 2, Claus 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 2-6 0-0 6, Sims 1-3 0-0 2, White 1-1 3-4 5, Humbert 3-3 4-7 10. Totals 28-71 13-28 75.

Halftime-Sacramento St. 40, E. Washington 33. 3-Point goals-Sacramento St. 7-14 (Drakeford 3-5, Fisher 3-5, Jorrisen 1-4), E. Washington 6-15 (Scott 1-3, Williams 2-4, M. Lewis 1-2, McGee 0-1, Taylor 2-5). Fouled out-Sacramento St., Houston, Jorrisen. Rebounds-Sacramento St. 46 (Houston 18), E. Washington 39 (Scott, White 6). Assists-Sacramento St. 12 (Coleman 4), E. Washington 11 (Taylor 4). Total fouls-Sacramento St. 25, E. Washington 19. Technicals- Sacramento St., Houston. A-1,475.

, DataTimes