Eagles Slip Past Central On Scott’s Buzzer-Beater

Eastern Washington University’s Karim Scott was in the right place at the right time Tuesday night at Reese Court, but the Eagles forward recognized a great escape when he saw one.

Scott’s rebound basket at the buzzer gave the Eagles a hotly-contested 84-82 non-conference victory over Central Washington in Cheney, but it also gave them notice that it’s time to put away the Christmas cookies and get back to business.

The Eagles (6-4) defeated Washington State 83-82 in overtime three days before Christmas and then, naturally, took some time off for the holiday.

“I went from practicing every day to nothing,” Scott said after Tuesday’s narrow win. “For four days, I didn’t do anything but watch TV, eat, and relax. I needed the break, but I felt like I was out of shape out there tonight.”

Indeed, the NAIA Wildcats (5-3) took EWU down to the wire - the Eagles’ first lead was 68-67 with 4:56 to play, and they trailed by four points, 79-75, with two minutes left.

Scott, who scored 21 of his game-high 28 in the second half, scored six of EWU’s next seven points to give the Eagles an 82-79 lead with 48 seconds remaining, but Grady Fallon’s 3-pointer with 24 seconds left tied it for the last time.

Eastern called timeout with 15 seconds left and coach Steve Aggers designed a play against Central’s man-to-man defense - only to see the Wildcats come out in zone.

Lightning-quick point guard Deon Williams drove the middle and dished to Michael Lewis on the wing. Lewis drove to the hoop, but his shot was deflected by CWU’s Leon Johnson. The basketball landed in Scott’s hands deep in the lane, and he laid it in as the clock showed zeroes.

Wildcat coach Greg Sparling wasn’t so sure that it shouldn’t have gone into overtime. “We’ll watch it on tape tonight,” he said, “but I thought the light was on and the buzzer had gone off before the ball was out of his hand.”

Aggers felt his Eagles were flat after the break. “We played poorly,” he said, but he was also quick to praise the Cats. “They played very well early, and that gave them confidence that they could play with us, and they did.”

EWU 84, Central Washington 82

CENTRAL WASHINGTON (5-3) - Nasinec 9-14 0-0 21, Fraker 3-7 3-4 11, Johnson 11-18 4-9 26, Bursch 2-4 1-2 7, Fallon 2-7 3-3 9, Hennig 0-2 0-0 0, Dubiel 2-7 0-1 6, Easley 0-0 0-0 0, Sackmann 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 30-61 11-19 82.

EASTERN WASHINGTON (6-4) - Sims 0-2 0-0 0, Scott 11-14 5-6 28, Humbert 0-3 0-0 0, Williams 5-10 6-8 16, M. Lewis 1-8 5-6 7, Stone 0-0 0-0 0, McGee 3-6 1-1 7, Claus 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 6-9 2-3 15, K. Lewis 3-4 0-0 6, White 2-5 1-2 5. Totals 31-61 20-26 84.

Halftime-Cent. Washington 45, E. Washington 37. 3-Point goals-Cent. Washington 11-28 (Nasinec 3-6, Fraker 2-5, Johnson 0-1, Bursch 2-3, Fallon 2-6, Hennig 0-1, Dubiel 2-6), E. Washington 2-5 (Scott 1-2, Williams 0-1, Taylor 1-2). Fouled out- Cent. Washington, Bursch. Rebounds-Cent. Washington 32 (Johnson 10), E. Washington 39 (Scott 7). Assists-Cent. Washington 23 (Bursch, Fallon 5), E. Washington 10 (Williams, Stone, Taylor 2). Total fouls-Cent. Washington 22, E. Washington 18. A-908.

, DataTimes