Eagles’ rally not enough

PORTLAND – The rally by Eastern Washington University was impressive, but not even a 16-0 run was enough to overcome Portland State.

The Eagles overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to take the lead with their big run early in the second half, but Portland State used its hot shooting to pull away from EWU for an 89-80 Big Sky Conference men’s basketball victory Monday.

“We came back down 11 at the half, and we went and got the lead,” said Eastern coach Jim Hayford. “We showed some real positive things in that stretch, but we didn’t get the win …

PORTLAND – The rally by Eastern Washington University was impressive, but not even a 16-0 run was enough to overcome Portland State.

The Eagles overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to take the lead with their big run early in the second half, but Portland State used its hot shooting to pull away from EWU for an 89-80 Big Sky Conference men’s basketball victory Monday.

“We came back down 11 at the half, and we went and got the lead,” said Eastern coach Jim Hayford. “We showed some real positive things in that stretch, but we didn’t get the win.”

The loss leaves the Eagles (8-18, 6-10 Big Sky) one game behind the four-way tie for fifth place in the conference. The top seven teams get into the conference tournament.

Redshirt freshman Tyler Harvey fueled EWU’s comeback with a career-high 23 points, including 17 in the second half. True freshman Venky Jois and sophomore Martin Seiferth each had near double-doubles, with Jois scoring 17 points and grabbing nine rebounds, and Seiferth finishing with 16 points and nine boards.

Renado Parker scored 20 points, leading four players in double figuers for Portland State (7-16, 5-11).