Cal Poly Slo Surges By Ewu

Eastern Washington University’s three-point lead with 1 second left Thursday night materialized into a six-point loss.

Center Chris Bjorklund scored 28 points, but guard Jamaal Scott’s lone 3-pointer was the big shot as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo topped EWU 87-81 in overtime of a non-conference men’s basketball game.

Scott hit his 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to tie the game at 77 and force OT. The Mustangs (4-2) won the extra period 10-4.

EWU led 77-74 after Jamal Jones hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Jason Lewis followed with two free throws with 19 seconds left.

Bjorklund missed a 3-point attempt in the closing seconds, but the long rebound came to Watende Favors. The guard found Scott open on the left side for the tying basket.

“There’s nothing tougher than getting beat on the road in overtime,” said EWU coach Ray Giacoletti. “It’s ironic that the thing that Cal Poly does best - rebound the ball offensively - ended up the thing that beat us. All we needed was five people boxing out and then securing the basketball, and the game is done. It’s a tough lesson to learn.”

Cal Poly led 25-17 with 4:15 left in the first half, and took a three-point lead into intermission. The Eagles (4-3) opened the first 5:42 of the second half with a 13-5 run for a 40-35 lead.

Clint Hull’s 3-pointer gave EWU a 56-52 lead midway through the second half. Bjorklund and EWU’s Alvin Snow traded layups for a 72-all game with 1:39 left.

Snow finished 12 of 21 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line to score 28 for EWU. He also tied Chris White with a team-best eight rebounds.

Cal Poly had a season-high 22 turnovers, but outrebounded EWU by seven. The Mustangs had 15 offensive rebounds.