Around the Big Sky

Obviously, facing ranked teams helps, as Eastern jumped from 180 to 128 in the RPI after playing UW. … Weber State beat Southern Utah Tuesday, ending a six-game losing streak, the longest of the Joe Cravens’ era. The skid included an 80-54 loss at BYU. Weber’s Wildcats are last in the league in scoring (62.2 ppg) and shooting (39.6 percent). … Sacramento State guard DaShawn Freeman moved into third on the career steals list with 226, passing Eastern’s Ronn McMahan (225). … Preseason favorite Montana State is now 2-5 against D-I teams after edging Portland on Monday, but it took a half-court buzzer beater by Casey Durham, the coach’s son, to pull out the 70-68 win. The Cats are averaging more than nine 3s a game. … Montana had 110 points against NAIA Montana-Western, one short of the school record set against Idaho State 40 seasons ago. The Griz are off to their best start since going 13-0 in 1993-94.