Berger Gives Eastern More Than Statistics

It’s easy to underestimate just how much Jon Berger means to Eastern Washington’s men’s basketball team.

At 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, he brings some obvious muscle to the party. But his other numbers - 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game - are modest at best.

Yet, with Berger in the starting lineup, the Eagles are 4-0 this season. And last Saturday, when he made his first start since breaking a foot back in late November, Eastern avenged an earlier 97-81 loss to Weber State with a 75-64 win that was much more decisive than the score indicates.

Berger, a fifth-year senior from Stockton, Calif., contributed 15 points and five rebounds to that victory, which kept the Eagles (9-8 overall, 3-4 Big Sky) in position to earn their first conference tournament berth since 1990. But more importantly, he contributed attitude.

“It’s great to have him back,” senior forward Karim Scott said of Berger after the game. “He’s mean, hard-nosed and so physical. He gives us that attitude that nobody’s going to get nothing on us.”

Berger sat out the first matchup between the teams while recovering from the early season injury that required surgery to pin the broken bone. That was one of 11 games he missed.

Eastern, which was 3-0 when Berger went down, went 5-6 while he was sidelined. Then the Eagles lost two more games while he was being worked back into the rotation.

“Having Jon back has been a big factor,” said coach Steve Aggers, who takes his Eagles to Portland this weekend for a Saturday night matchup against Portland State. ” He gives us such a physical presence in the middle. We’re more physical now, having Jon and Kevin Lewis.”

Lewis, a 6-10, 250-pound center, had been slowed by a bulky brace he was wearing to stabilize a knee injury that required off-season surgery. But he scrapped the brace prior to the Weber State game and became an active force inside, collecting eight points, five rebounds and two blocks.

Homebodies

The only bottom-line figure looking better than Montana State’s win-loss record these days is the Bobcats’ travel budget.

MSU, 15-4 overall, is 7-1 against Big Sky opposition and leads the league by a game and a half over Northern Arizona and Portland State, both 5-2. The Bobcats have benefited from a friendly schedule that has seen them play 12 of their first 19 games at home.

The drain on MSU’s travel budget begins this week. The Bobcats visit Sacramento, Calif., for tonight’s game against Cal State Sacramento before moving on to Pocatello, Idaho, for a Saturday showdown against Idaho State.

Six of MSU’s last eight games are on the road.

3-pointers

Cal State Sacramento was without the services of leading scorer and rebounder Sean Houston (bone spurs on foot) during last weekend’s road swing through Montana… . NAU’s Ross Land, MSU’s Danny Sprinkle and Weber State’s Alex Fisher - three of the Big Sky’s most accurate 3-point shooters - were a combined 5 for 28 from beyond the line last week… . Montana State’s Dante Rabb injured an ankle in last week’s win over Montana and is questionable for games this week against ISU and Sacramento State… . With just eight regular-season games and the Big Sky tournament remaining on its schedule, Montana (11-11 overall) is in jeopardy of not reaching 20 wins for the first time since 1992-93.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: AREA LEADERS Scoring Player, school FG-FGA FT-FTA 3pt Avg. Avery Curry, UI 106-244 65-90 18 18.4 Bakari Hendrix, GU 133-245 85-116 2 17.7 Karim Scott, EWU 121-216 42-63 8 17.2 Modesto Spencer, CCS 115-240 45-57 32 17.1 Carlos Daniel, WSU 111-227 82-126 1 16.9 Jovann Johnson, NIC 45-103 54-79 1 16.1 Johnny Goodman, NIC 101-198 27-37 40 15.8 Matt Santangelo, GU 114-259 52-65 44 15.4 Ben Heimerman, Whtwth 29-35 24-27 2 14.0 Jeff Mix, Whtwth 77-151 34-51 1 13.5 Nathaniel Bailey, NIC 93-219 49-78 20 13.4 Chris Crosby, WSU 85-187 34-48 33 13.2 Shannon Taylor, EWU 75-199 36-57 39 13.2 Richie Frahm, GU 81-163 34-43 45 12.1 Deon Williams, EWU 67-168 50-74 16 11.8

Rebounding Daniel, WSU, 9.9 (179); Cedrick Day, CCS, 7.3 (132); Scott, EWU, 6.9 (117); Mix, Whtwth, 6.7 (94); Spencer, CCS, 5.8 (104).

Assists Williams, EWU, 5.9 (101); Tyler Jordan, Whtwth, 4.6 (64); Bailey, UI, 4.5 (85); Blake Pengelly, WSU, 4.3 (77); Santangelo, GU, 4.0 (83).

Steals Bailey, NIC, 3.8 (73); Johnson, 3.0 (27); Johnny Goodman, NIC, 2.4 (40); Scott, EWU, 2.2 (37); Curry, UI, 2.2 (34).

SCHEDULE Thursday: San Francisco at Gonzaga, 7 p.m.; Pacific at Idaho, 7:05 p.m.; WSU at UCLA, 7:30 p.m.; Salt Lake at NIC, 7:30 p.m. Friday: Willamette at Whitworth, 8 p.m. Saturday: WSU at USC, 5 p.m.; Santa Clara at Gonzaga, 7 p.m.; Boise State at Idaho, 7:05 p.m.; EWU at Portland State, 7:05 p.m.; Utah Valley at NIC, 7:30 p.m.; Blue Mountain vs. CCS at SCC, 8 p.m.; George Fox at Whitworth, 8 p.m. Wednesday: CCS at Columbia Basin, 8 p.m.