UW Stops Hard-Working Eagles

It wasn’t pretty, but Eastern Washington kept Tuesday night’s home opener against Washington from getting too ugly.

Helped along by the Eagles’ school record-tying 31 turnovers, the Huskies eventually pulled away for a predictable 74-55 victory in their first basketball game of the 1995-96 season.

Undersized at every position, EWU managed to hang around by consistently beating UW to loose balls. Playing without suspended leading rebounder Melvin Lewis, the Eagles somehow outrebounded the Huskies 44-21.

That effort was a remarkable turnaround for the Eagles, who were outrebounded 44-26 in Sunday night’s 90-58 pounding at Washington State. And it was especially surprising considering Tuesday night’s opponent - the Huskies are led up front by 6-foot-9, 260-pound forward Mike Amos.

The line on Amos: eight points and zero rebounds in 18 minutes.

“I was really proud of our effort,” first-year EWU coach Steve Aggers said. “I thought we showed great improvement over our game on Sunday. We played real hard and competed really well. We’re learning how to play together and we’re getting better.

“If we’re going to be a good team, because of the turnover factor, we’re going to have to do something to offset that. So defense and rebounding are really critical for us. We were disappointed in our rebounding effort at Washington State and felt we stood and watched a lot. Tonight our guys were real quick to the ball.”

The difference was clearly in the backcourts. UW starters Jason Hamilton and Bryant Boston incessantly harassed EWU guards Travis King and Brett Thompson, with Hamilton making a school-record nine steals. Boston, meanwhile, hit 6 of 9 from the field, had three blocked shots and led all scorers with 17 points. King and Thompson combined for two points and eight turnovers.

“We take pride in playing pressure defense,” said Hamilton, a 6-foot senior off-guard. “That’s one of the things we stress. We came up with some steals tonight, forced some turnovers and we played hard.”

Hamilton and Boston helped the Huskies force four turnovers on the Eagles first five possessions, and Boston hit two 3-pointers as UW jumped to a 12-6 lead in the games first 8 minutes.

The Eagles didn’t fold, however, riding the scoring of off-guard D’mitri Rideout to forge an 18-18 tie with 6:16 left before halftime. Rideout scored six of his 12 points during the span, punctuating the rally with an impressive reverse layup against heavy defensive pressure.

The Huskies took control midway through the second half, turning a 43-38 edge into a 52-38 cushion by holding the Eagles scoreless during a 5-minute, 28-second span that ended with Rideout’s jumper at the 6:45 mark. Sophomore Mark Sanford scored six of his 13 points during the UW run.

The Eagles clearly benefitted from the return of Rideout, who missed the opener in Pullman while serving a one-game suspension for his role in a Thanksgiving night altercation with his girlfriend. Rideout was cleared to return against UW after it was determined no charges would be filed in the case.

Rideout pulled down seven rebounds, and hit 6 of 11 field goals to match Curtis Porter with a team-leading 12 points. Mike Sims added eight points and 11 boards for the Eagles.

Washington 74, E. Washington 55

WASHINGTON (1-0)

Booker 4-8 0-0 8, Hartman 4-7 1-2 9, Amos 3-5 2-3 8, Hamilton 2-5 1-3 5, Boston 6-9 2-2 17, Sanford 5-11 3-8 13, Watts 3-6 1-2 8, Thompson 1-1 2-2 4, Roberson 0-0 0-0 0, Femerling 0-1 0-0 0, Lopez 1-2 0-0 2, MacCulloch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-55 12-22 74.

EASTERN WASHINGTON (0-2)

Porter 5-9 2-3 12, Groves 0-1 4-8 4, Dean 5-5 0-0 10, Thompson 0-3 0-0 0, Rideout 6-11 0-0 12, Carter 2-7 0-1 5, Egan 1-5 0-0 2, King 1-4 0-0 2, Sims 3-6 2-2 8. Totals 23-51 8-14 55.

Halftime-Washington 29, E. Washington 22. 3-Point goals- Washington 4-13 (Boston 3-5, Watts 1-3, Booker 0-1, Hartman 0-1, Hamilton 0-1, Sanford 0-2), E. Washington 1-10 (Carter 1-4, Porter 0-1, Thompson 0-1, Rideout 0-1, Egan 0-1, King 0-2). Fouled out-Dean. Rebounds-Washington 21 (Sanford 6), E.Washington 44 (Sims 11). Assists-Washington 14 (Hamilton, Watts 3), E.Washington 11 (King 3). Total fouls-Washington 14, E.Washington 20. A-2,100.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo