Eagles unsure whether Harvey will play Thursday

Eastern Washington guard Tyler Harvey is still healing from a thigh injury and is questionable for the Eagles’ big men’s basketball game Thursday night against Sacramento State. EWU coach Jim Hayford said Monday afternoon that Harvey, the national scoring leader, will not practice today in contact drills, 10 days after suffering a bruised right quadriceps in a game against Idaho. Harvey, who averages 23.4 points per game – almost a point better than anyone else in Division I – will “possibly” practice on Wednesday, Hayford said. “Game participation Thursday is still possible,” Hayford said. Eastern (9-1 Big Sky, 18-5 overall) hosts co-leader Sacramento State (10-1, 16-6) on Thursday in a crucial Big Sky game. The winner will have the inside track toward hosting the Big Sky postseason tournament. The tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The other 10 teams are at least two games behind EWU and Sac State. Last week, Harvey stayed home while the Eagles won games at Montana and Montana State. Injuries are nothing new for the Eagles this year. Earlier, star forward Venky Jois missed four games after suffering an ankle injury at Portland State. No Eastern player has been able to play in all 23 games. “I don’t know what has happened with other teams, but I do know that our injuries have tested us a lot,” Hayford said.