Tougher Eagles take wing in Sky opener
Maybe the Eastern Washington University men’s basketball team has been playing possum.
The Eagles have struggled on Reese Court, rarely showing their trademark tenacity. Wins were even more scarce.
But Thursday night marked the opening of Big Sky Conference play and a different team showed up.
This one played 40 minutes. Maybe it wasn’t always artistic, but it was effective, with the result a 65-61 win over Northern Arizona before 2,037 fans.
“It was a huge game for us because we’d struggled on our home court when we’ve been in close games,” Eastern coach Mike Burns said. “Our kids stepped up tonight down the stretch and made plays, got rebounds, got stops. NAU is a good team. For us to come out and play with the energy and toughness we had tonight is a great sign.”
A basket by freshman Jacob Beitinger, who had a game-high 13 points, on a pass from Danny Pariseau, who had seven assists, gave Eastern (4-10) a 58-52 lead with 8 minutes left. Then the Eagles had a 3-minute, 40-second dry spell until Marc Axton hit two free throws – but that increased the lead because of a defense that forced four turnovers and three misses during NAU’s 4 1/2 -minute dry spell.
“We finally showed a little nastiness, a little toughness,” Beitinger said. “That’s what it came down to. Defensively, we started getting to the spots that we’re supposed to.”
Kyle Feuerbach’s fourth 3-pointer and a basket by Kelly Golob pulled the Lumberjacks (7-7) within three with 2:28 to go, but the Eagles held up under the pressure.
Henry Bekkering followed up his miss with a putback. DeJuan Stevens answered that for NAU, but Eastern got a turnover when Pariseau tied up the ball after a miss. EWU weathered a couple of late 3-point attempts before Bekkering got one last rebound and made a free throw to ice the game.
“We had a chance to win,” NAU coach Mike Adras said. “Give Eastern credit, they held serve on their home court. We were in the ballgame until the very end. Unfortunately, we came up a little short.
“They ran a few things differently that they hadn’t run before, but I don’t think it was their sets. I just think it was Big Sky time. You’ve got to be able to raise your level of play. The games mean more.”
The biggest lead of the game was nine points, a 26-17 advantage for Eastern with 5 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Eagles used 10 players in the first half, trying to avoid foul trouble. By the end of the game, nine had played more than 10 minutes and nine had scored, giving Eastern a 20-17 advantage in bench points.
“If there is one thing this team has is depth,” Burns said. “We have some guys that are a little green on the perimeter and it has taken a little time for them to get acclimated. But they are acclimated now and without that depth tonight, we don’t win this game.”
Bekkering had 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal. He also had a thundering fast-break dunk on a long lob from Pariseau.
Beitinger had six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and no turnovers.
“I had no idea what college basketball was like,” said the 6-foot-8 forward out of South Kitsap. “I take it practice by practice, game by game. Every day I get more comfortable playing with these guys. I’m having fun out there.”
NAU shot better (44 percent to 40.7) and had a 38-30 advantage on the boards. But NAU had 22 turnovers.
Eastern Washington 65, NAU 61
Northern Arizona (7-7, 0-1) – Golob 2-10 7-7 11, Boykin 3-6 0-1 6, McCurdy 1-3 1-2 3, Stevens 4-6 3-5 12, Feuerbach 4-9 0-0 12, Hill 1-2 0-0 2, Garnett 1-1 0-0 2, Sir 2-3 0-0 5, Hooks 0-0 0-0 0, Landry 4-10 0-0 8. Totals 22-50 11-15 61.
Eastern Washington (4-10, 1-0) – Bekkering 5-11 1-2 11, Axton 2-12 6-6 12, Beitinger 5-12 3-5 13, Smith 3-5 2-2 9, Loe 0-2 0-0 0, Scheffler 1-3 0-0 2, Henkel 1-2 0-0 2, Pariseau 3-7 2-2 8, Nelson 2-2 0-1 4, Butorac 2-3 0-1 4. Totals 24-59 14-19 65.
Halftime – Eastern Washington 32, Northern Arizona 32. 3-point goals – Northern Arizona 6-14 (Feuerbach 4-8, Stevens 1-1, Sir 1-2, Golob 0-3), Eastern Washington 3-16 (Axton 2-8, Smith 1-2, Bekkering 0-1, Scheffler 0-2, Pariseau 0-3). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Northern Arizona 38 (Landry 10), Eastern Washington 30 (Bekkering 7). Assists – Northern Arizona 12 (Boykin, Stevens, Feuerbach 3), Eastern Washington 18 (Pariseau 7). Total fouls – Northern Arizona 18, Eastern Washington 18. A – 2,037.