Idaho Slaps Ewu Takes 21st Straight Win Over Eagles, 75-53

In a surprising development, Idaho men’s basketball coach Joe Cravens didn’t threaten to kick Eastern Washington’s posterior before the Vandals and Eagles tipped off Friday night at Reese Court.

In a routine development, Idaho did it anyway.

The Vandals (7-7) beat the Eagles (2-12) for the 21st straight time, picking up their first Big Sky victory of the season, a 75-53 trampling that left the Eagles short on confidence and 0-3 in the conference. By making 20 of its first 27 shots and 31 of 47 overall, Idaho was able to overcome 20 turnovers, many of which were unprovoked.

Cravens had elevated a few eyebrows around the Big Sky after last weekend’s losses at Idaho State and Boise State, brazenly guaranteeing retaliatory tail-kickings when the Bengals and Broncos visit Moscow later this season. After Friday night’s win over EWU Cravens’ fifth - the third-year coach was more analytical than antagonistic.

“Our defense got our fastbreak going,” Cravens said. “And inside, we had them a little overmatched.”

First-year Eagles coach Steve Aggers was more blunt: “Our defense was terrible and our transition defense was the most disappointing thing for me. They got such easy shots in the first half.”

And the Vandals made 74.1 percent of them. Forward Harry Harrison and guard Eddie Turner each went 5-for-5 in the first half - Harrison without leaving the key - and Vandals guard Kris Baumann was perfect on three attempts, including two 3-pointers. Point guard Reggie Rose “suffered” through a relatively off half, hitting on only 4 of 7 attempts.

Rose was far more valuable on the defensive end, leading all players with four steals and helping break the game open late in the first half.

EWU managed to keep pace through the first 16 minutes, making 16 of its first 27 shots as the teams battled to a 37-37 deadlock. That’s when Rose turned up the defensive pressure, turning a steal into a Turner layup as the Vandals went on an 8-0 run to close the half.

By the time Aggers could get a timeout, his Eagles trailed 45-37 with 58 seconds left in the half. The trend continued in the second half, with Shawn Dirden’s 3-pointer from the left wing stretching it to 48-37.

Five straight points brought the Eagles within six, but Idaho answered with a seven-point flurry that seemed to demoralize EWU.

The Eagles scored just 16 points in the game’s final 23 minutes.

“I don’t think we quit,” contended EWU junior point guard Travis King, who scored 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting in the first half, but didn’t score again. “It was just a matter of us getting behind and taking it one-on-one instead of coming together as a team.”

Sims matched King with 10 points and led the Eagles with seven rebounds. Harrison had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Idaho as the Vandals outrebounded EWU 35-27.

Idaho 75, E. Washington 53

Idaho (7-7) - Turner 6-6 0-0 12, Jackman 3-5 0-0 6, Harrison 6-7 3-7 15, Rose 6-10 2-2 14, Dirden 4-8 2-2 13, Baumann 4-5 0-1 11, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Gardner 0-0 0-2 0, Jones 2-5 0-2 4, Sturing 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-47 7-16 75.

Eastern Washington (2-12) - Sims 5-12 0-0 10, Porter 2-9 5-5 9, Dean 0-2 0-0 0, Rideout 3-9 0-0 6, King 4-6 1-1 10, Lewis 1-5 1-2 3, Carter 3-6 0-0 8, Egan 2-8 1-1 5, Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Groves 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 21-61 8-9 53.

Halftime-Idaho 45, E. Washington 37. 3-Point goals-Idaho 6-14 (Rose 0-2, Dirden 3-7, Baumann 3-4, Thomas 0-1), E. Washington 3-14 (Porter 0-2, Rideout 0-2, King 1-3, Carter 2-4, Egan 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Idaho 35 (Harrison 10), E. Washington 27 (Sims 7). Assists-Idaho 17 (Turner 5), E. Washington 10 (King, Egan 2). Total fouls-Idaho 14, E. Washington 16. A-2,023.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo