Eastern rebounds with win
TUCSON, Ariz. – The realistic goal for Eastern Washington University coming into the Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic was to leave with a split from the two-game tournament.
With the Eagles’ opener resulting in a 34-point loss to host Arizona on Tuesday, that left Thursday’s consolation game against Butler as the final chance to leave the desert Southwest with a victory.
Using the parts of its game plan that never appeared Tuesday, EWU relied on crisp passing, timely shooting and overall patient play to beat Butler 67-62.
“After the game we lost (to Arizona), we just needed to buckle down and get a W today,” said senior Marc Axton, who led all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting. “We’ve been down this whole month, we’ve struggled, but we came back and got a W, which is nice.”
In ending its seven-game losing streak, EWU (3-9) shot a season-high 68.4 percent, including 75 percent (15 of 20) in the second half to erase a 30-27 halftime deficit. After committing 24 turnovers in a 79-45 loss to Arizona, the Eagles turned over the ball over just 12 times against Butler (5-5) and only on three occasions in the final 20 minutes.
“Limiting our turnovers was definitely the biggest aid in helping us win this ballgame,” said freshman forward Jake Beitinger, who was 6 of 8 from the field for 13 points along with six assists. “We just threw the ball away way too many times against Arizona. If we can do that (limit turnovers) there’s no reason why we shouldn’t win.”
EWU shot well for all but one stretch, when it fell behind 26-24 in a 7-minute scoreless drought late in the first half. The Eagles also made only 1 of 5 free throws in the opening half and were 9 of 18 for the game.
But they made their first eight shots to open the second half, taking a 44-42 lead on Kenny Smith’s jumper with 13:06 left.
Butler, which went 0-2 for the tournament after losing 69-68 to Richmond on Tuesday, went on a 7-0 run to go up 54-50 with 5:49 to go. But the Bulldogs, who shot 46 percent but were 7 of 28 from 3-point range, made just three of their last 10 shots and enabled EWU to go on a 13-1 run to lead 63-55 with 1:41 left.
“Early in the game the (3-point attempts) that went unguarded went in, but that’s a credit to our guys because there weren’t a lot that were unguarded,” EWU coach Mike Burns said.
“They did basically whatever they wanted, and they earned it,” Butler coach Todd Lickliter said. “They went to their strengths and did it very well.”
That main strength was passing. Of its 26 field goals, 17 came off assists.
“It was the passing and it was our post kids doing a good job of sealing,” Burns said. “We couldn’t complete that pass against Arizona.”
Axton was named to the all-tournament team.
EWU returns home Sunday to host Idaho in a non-conference game.
E. Washington 67, Butler 62
Butler (5-5) – Brooks 2-5 0-0 4, Smalligan 4-8 3-3 13, Horan 2-7 0-0 6, Graves 7-13 0-0 15, Sheets 2-7 2-2 6, Polk 1-1 1-2 3, Streicher 0-0 0-0 0, Crone 4-6 3-4 13, Patterson 1-3 0-0 2, Ligon 0-0 0-0 0, Grunst 0-0-0 0. Totals 23-50 9-11 62.
E. Washington (3-9) – Bekkering 0-2 0-0 0, Axton 8-13 5-7 25, Beitinger 6-8 0-2 13, Smith 5-7 1-3 11, Pariseau 3-3 2-4 9, Butorac 4-5 1-1 9, Nicholas 0-0 0-0 0, Scheffler 0-0 0-0 0, Henkel 0-0 0-1 0, Loe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-38 9-18 67.
Halftime—Butler 30, E. Washington 27. 3-Point goals—Butler 7-28 (Crone 2-4, Smalligan 2-5, Horan 2-7, Graves 1-6, Brooks 0-1, Patterson 0-2, Sheets 0-3), E. Washington 6-9 (Axton 4-5, Beitinger 1-1, Pariseau 1-1, Bekkering 0-2). Fouled out—Crone. Rebounds—Butler 20 (Smalligan 4), E. Washington 22 (Axton 6). Assists—Butler 10 (Graves 5), E. Washington 17 (Beitinger 6). Total fouls—Butler 20, E. Washington 15. A—NA.