Olson Paces Ewu Over Idaho St.

Aaron Olson scored 18 points as Eastern Washington beat Idaho State 87-64 Thursday night to retain first place in the Big Sky Conference basketball race.

Eastern (12-9, 9-2 in Big Sky) posted its fourth consecutive victory to stay a half-game ahead of Montana.

Idaho State (7-17, 2-11) was led by Doug Silva with 16 points. Cedric Robinson had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Stephen Brown had 13 points.

Trailing 22-21 at 8:55 left in the first half, Eastern went on a 13-2 run over the next 4 minutes en route to a 40-32 halftime lead.

Idaho State came within 44-40 with 16:25 left in the game. But Eastern went on a 16-0 run to finish the Bengals. Dennis Fitzgerald and Jamal Jones hit back-to-back 3-pointers during that run.

Ryan Hansen added 13 points for Eastern, while Deon Williams had 12, Chris White 11 and Kareem Hunter had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Will Levy had 12 rebounds for the Eagles.

E. Washington 87, Idaho St. 64

Idaho St. (7-17) - Johnson 2-9 1-1 5, Robinson 6-9 2-3 14, Silva 6-12 4-5 16, Brown 4-10 1-1 13, Sweetwyne 0-4 1-4 1, Sukut 0-1 0-0 0, Anderson 0-2 3-4 3, Erickson 2-11 0-1 5, Bradley 1-2 2-2 4, Nelson 0-2 2-2 2, Tracy 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 21-63 17-25 64.

E. Washington (12-9) - Olson 6-9 2-2 18, Hunter 3-6 4-6 10, White 4-6 3-4 11, Williams 5-7 1-2 12, Hansen 5-11 0-2 13, Levy 3-8 3-7 9, Quinto 1-1 0-0 3, Jones 2-5 0-0 5, Fitzgerald 1-1 1-2 4, McKie 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 31-57 14-25 87.

Halftime-E. Washington 40, Idaho St. 32. 3-Point goals-Idaho St. 5-15 (Brown 4-6, Erickson 1-2, Johnson 0-4, Sweetwyne 0-1, Sukut 0-1, Bradley 0-1), E. Washington 11-19 (Olson 4-6, Hansen 3-6, Williams 1-3, Quinto 1-1, Jones 1-2, Fitzgerald 1-1). Fouled out-Fitzgerald. Rebounds-Idaho St. 38 (Robinson 10), E. Washington 39 (Levy 12). Assists-Idaho St. 7 (Brown, Sweetwyne 2), E. Washington 19 (Williams 5). Total fouls-Idaho St. 21, E. Washington 23. T-Brown, Fitzgerald. A-1,738.