Eastern Takes Target Practice On Idaho State Eagles Sink School-Record Number Of 3-Pointers

There have been plenty of nights in the past - and there will be plenty more in the future - when the offensive philosophy Eastern Washington employed against Idaho State simply won’t compute.

But the Eagles’ unlimited-range shooting approach had the scoreboards at Reese Court flashing like disco balls Saturday night.

Eastern, showing few signs of an extended layoff, scorched the Bengals with a school-record 15 3-point baskets and breezed to a 80-53 victory in the Big Sky Conference men’s basketball opener for both teams.

Deon Williams and reserve Ryan Hansen each hit four 3-pointers and combined for 36 points - 30 of which came in the second half - as the Eagles (4-7) picked up their second consecutive win in front of a small holiday-break crowd of 817.

Williams finished with a game-high 21 points, Hansen added 15 and the other nine players on coach Steve Aggers’ roster also scored as EWU broke its previous single-game 3-point record of 14, set in 1991 against Nevada.

The Eagles shot 44.4 percent from the field, but made 15 of 24 from beyond the 3-point line to hand the defenseless Bengals (2-9) their fourth consecutive loss.

First-year ISU coach Doug Oliver admitted his team had no answer for Eastern’s long-range bombs, particularly those that came in transition.

“They were very hot from the perimeter,” said Oliver, a former assistant at Stanford. “Their confidence was way up. And when a team makes 15 3-pointers, I don’t care who’s defending them, they’re probably going to win the basketball game.

“We were able to defend them somewhat in their set offense in the halfcourt, but in transition and on the move they were too much for us tonight.”

Aggers was satisfied with his team’s perimeter play and elated with its defense. But he didn’t see much that he liked offensively from his front-line guys, who combined for just 21 points.

“We need to find a little more common ground and a little more balance between the 3s and 2s,” he said. “We’ve got to find some guys who can score in the paint and we’ve got to get a little more polished in our low-post offense, because there’ll be nights when those 3s won’t go in.”

Eastern made only 14 of 34 shots from inside the 3-point line and six of its front-line points came on a pair of 3-pointers by 6-foot-8 forward Dennis Fitzgerald, who finished with eight points, as did teammates Shannon Taylor and Darrell Walker.

Still, the Eagles were hardly threatened after racing to a 20-6 lead behind early 3-pointers by Taylor, Williams, Hansen and Walker.

ISU, which got 13 points from Odell Stokes, but only seven from scoring leader Kevin Sweetwyne, made a brief run right after intermission and cut EWU’s 36-21 halftime lead to 42-35.

But Will Levy tipped in a basket with 15 minutes left, igniting a 19-2 run that decided the issue. Williams, a junior point guard, finished with four assists and four steals. Fitzgerald led all players with nine rebounds.

The Eagles play again Thursday when they travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., to take on two-time defending Big Sky champion Northern Arizona.

Eastern Washington 80, Idaho St. 53

Idaho State (2-9, 0-1) - A. Johnson 3-12 0-1 6, Hearvey 0-2 0-0 0, Stokes 5-10 3-5 13, Brown 2-5 0-0 5, Sweetwyne 3-9 0-0 7, Vaughan 0-0 0-0 0, Skinner 0-1 0-0 0, Bybee 0-1 0-0 0, Sukut 2-3 0-1 4, Anderson 4-4 0-0 9, Robinson 2-7 0-5 4, Junger 1-8 3-5 5. Totals 22-62 6-17 53.

Eastern Washington (4-7, 1-0) - Levy 2-4 1-2 5, Taylor 2-7 2-2 8, C. Johnson 1-4 1-2 3, Williams 8-10 1-2 21, McGee 0-2 1-2 1, Quinto 2-5 0-0 5, Hansen 5-7 1-2 15, Walker 3-4 0-0 8, Carcamo 1-5 0-1 2, Fitzgerald 3-5 0-0 8, White 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 29-58 7-13 80.

Halftime - Eastern Washington 36, Idaho State 21. 3-point goals - Idaho State 3-10 (Anderson 1-1, Sweetwyne 1-2, Brown 1-4, A. Johnson 0-1, Skinner 0-1, Bybee 0-1), Eastern Washington 15-24 (Williams 4-5, Hansen 4-5, Walker 2-3, Fitzgerald 2-3, Taylor 2-5, Quinto 1-2, McGee 0-1). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Idaho State 41 (Stokes 8), Eastern Washington 41 (Fitzgerald 9). Assists - Idaho State 9 (Brown, Sweetwyne, Skinner 2), Eastern Washington 17 (Williams, McGee 4). Total fouls - Idaho State 14, Eastern Washington 21. Technicals - None. A - 817.

Eagles 80 Bengals 53 Thursday: EWU at NAU