EWU must keep its Central focus

It may be an exhibition game, but Eastern Washington University men’s basketball coach Mike Burns is taking tonight’s game with Central Washington seriously.

“We’re going to approach it like we would a regular-season game,” the first-year coach said. “We’ll scout it. We’ll go through our regular routine. They’re going to be tough.”

Tipoff is at 8:05 at Reese Court.

If the Eagles were just going to test drive the new model, that plan changed when Burns saw the results of other exhibition games. Albertson College beat Boise State, Carroll College beat Idaho State, and Northwest Nazarene beat Weber State.

“These teams and the kids that play on them take great pride in these games,” said Burns, a former player and assistant at Central. “If the guys don’t come ready, Central will get after us. I’ve been there before. I know the staff, I know the kids. I was on a Central team that came here and played Eastern and lost at the final buzzer. We need to come with a focus and some intensity and coach this like a regular-season contest.”

The Eagles return three starters from the team that won the Big Sky Conference championship last season and played Oklahoma State in the NCAA Tournament. That trio is senior forward and captain Marc Axton, junior point guard Danny Pariseau and sophomore forward Matt Nelson.

The wing positions are in question, with a number of options available.

“We are going to try to play a lot of people at different times,” Burns said. “The game needs to serve that purpose as well. You want to go out and compete, but at the same time you’re doing that, there are questions that need to be answered: rotations, personnel and how they mesh together.”

The only EWU player not expected to play is junior college transfer Tim Scheffler, a sophomore wing who injured a knee in practice.

Kyle Boast, a senior guard/forward, is one of the leaders for CWU. Lance Den Boer, a Class B star and the state’s all-time leading prep scorer, is a sophomore transfer from Washington State.

Eastern opens the season next Saturday at Wichita State. The Eagles’ first game at Reese Court is Dec. 1 against Cascade.