Eagles nip Anteaters at the line

IRVINE, Calif. – Junior guard Benny Valentine made two free throws with 18 seconds left Wednesday night to send Eastern Washington to a 74-69 non-conference men’s basketball win over UC Irvine.

Valentine finished 6 of 6 from the line and scored a team-best 17 points.

EWU (1-1) held off the Anteaters (0-2) in the late stages by hitting 8 of 10 free throws.

The Eagles shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half and outrebounded UC Irvine 36-22 for the night, led by Andy Genao’s 17 boards. The effort fell one rebound shy of the Bren Center record, set by Cal State Fullerton’s Cedric Ceballos in 1990.

“What can you say about anybody at any height with a rebounding effort like that?” EWU coach Kirk Earlywine said. “For a 6-10 guy 17 rebounds would be a heckuva effort, let alone for Andy at 6-3.”

Irvine trailed 69-67 with 39 seconds left after Michael Hunter scored seven consecutive points.

Genao hit two free throws with 32 seconds left for a 71-67 edge. Irvine’s Eric Wise countered with a basket with 21 seconds left, but Valentine’s two free throws and another by Gary Gibson sealed the win.

The Anteaters shot 25 of 29 from the line while EWU was 20 of 27.

Irvine led 24-23 after Ryan Staker’s jumper with 3:50 left in the first half. Genao had seven points and 12 rebounds to guide the Eagles to a 33-30 halftime lead.

Wise, a freshman forward, scored a game-high 19 points.