Eagles Hand It To Pilots Late Turnovers Plague Ewu In 87-72 Defeat To Portland

No, EWU doesn’t stand for Easturnover Washington University.

It only seems that way when the Eagles play basketball.

Portland was the latest beneficiary of Eastern Washington’s generosity, using 19 turnovers to pull away for an 87-72 non-conference victory before an announced crowd of 580 Thursday night at Reese Court.

“I was disappointed with the way we took care of the basketball,” said first-year EWU (0-5) coach Steve Aggers, repeating what has become a familiar postgame refrain. “Just careless turnovers. We didn’t have the poise against their pressure. If you turn the ball over, it just leads to easy baskets for them.”

Through five games, a clear pattern has developed. The Eagles generally play well early - Adam Dean’s third straight layup put them ahead 20-10 in the first 7 minutes Thursday - before the opposing team reverses the momentum by turning up the defensive pressure.

“I was pleased with our players in the fact that we got down 20-10 and were able to crawl back into it,” second-year Portland (4-0) coach Rob Chavez said. “We kept our poise and kept our composure on the road and battled back into it. … Then I thought our guys did a good job in the second half of attacking the basket - we got a lot of good looks at the basket and a lot of shots in the paint.”

And they made most of them. Off-guard Kweemada King led the Pilots with 26 points, nine above his average, and forward Lemont Daniels added 18, hitting 9 of 11 field goals - including 6 of 6 as Portland shot 63 percent in the second half.

King scored 12 points during a 17-6 run as Portland turned the 20-10 deficit into a 27-26 lead with 6:24 left in the first half.

The Pilots led 38-34 at the half. EWU, led offensively by D’mitri Rideout and Curtis Porter, managed to stay close early in the second half.

Rideout, who finished with a career-high 21 points, and Porter, who had 20, combined to score 14 of the Eagles’ first 18 points in the second half. The left-handed Porter was particularly effective, complementing an array of twisting, driving layups with a high-arcing 3-pointer that kept the Eagles within 48-45 with 15:50 to play.

Daniels and Rideout each scored twice over the next 3 minutes before Portland, leading 60-56 with 11:57 remaining, made its decisive run. Center Greg Klosterman started it with a three-point play, and Portland used two buckets apiece from King and Daniels before Kasey Flickers uncontested 3-pointer from the left wing made it 80-62 with 6:43 to play.

EWU committed three turnovers during the critical span, leading directly to seven Portland points.

“It’s like a lapse, and that’s when all the turnovers come,” said Rideout, who committed a team-high four turnovers in 38 minutes, a total teammate Luke Egan matched in 17 fewer minutes. “It’s not that the team that we’re playing against is playing better than us, it’s that were beating ourselves.”

Lewis update

According to Aggers, the immediate status of suspended EWU center Melvin Lewis will be known on Monday, when the university will announce results of its investigation into the validity of a correspondence course Lewis took while attending junior college. The NCAA has been investigating the disputed math course since August. In the meantime, EWU suspended Lewis while it conducted its own investigation. The NCAA’s ruling is not immediately expected, Aggers said.

Portland 87, EWU 72 PORTLAND (4-0)

Anderson 4-8 2-3 10, Daniels 9-11 0-0 18, Klosterman 4-8 5-6 13, Holton 2-5 0-0 4, King 9-16 6-7 26, Metoyer 1-3 0-0 2, Slicker 1-5 0-0 3, Rainwater 4-6 0-0 9, Palumbis 0-0 0-0 0, Stonehouse 1-2 0-0 2, Collins 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-65 13-16 87.

E. WASHINGTON (0-5)

Porter 7-14 5-7 20, Groves 3-7 0-0 6, Dean 4-5 2-3 10, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Rideout 8-18 5-8 21, Carter 0-0 0-0 0, Egan 2-4 0-0 4, King 1-3 0-0 3, Sims 2-6 4-5 8. Totals 27-57 16-23 72.

Halftime-Portland 38, E. Washington 34. 3-Point goals-Portland 4-14 (Anderson 0-2, Daniels 0-1, King 2-5, Slicker 1-4, Rainwater 1-2), E. Washington 2-8 (Porter 1-2, Rideout 0-4, King 1-2). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Portland 29 (Daniels 9), E. Washington 37 (Dean 7). Assists-Portland 24 (Anderson 5), E. Washington 13 (3). Total fouls- Portland 20, E. Washington 13. Technicals-Portland, Daniels. A-1,080.

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