Eastern shows up in overtime
Mike Burns wasn’t real happy with his team, but in the big picture he was delighted.
Eastern Washington struggled on offense for the first 40 minutes against the last-place team in the Big Sky Conference, then poured in 17 in overtime to defeat Portland State 72-64 Saturday night at Reese Court.
“I was pretty unhappy with the guys after the game; we’ve been through some adversity this season and we’ve overcome it,” Burns, EWU’s second-year head coach, said. “We were on our home court with the ability to put us in a great position going into the postseason, and then we just started looking lethargic out there, and the tell-tale sign is the overtime because we came out with the victory.”
The third consecutive win, before 2,366 fans, coupled with other results, lifted Eastern (11-12, 6-4) into a tie for third-place, two games clear of fifth place in the race for a home game or bye in the conference tournament.
Matt Penoncello and Kellen Williams, each with only one basket in regulation, came up with big shots in overtime. Penoncello opened the extra session with a 3-pointer from the left wing, and after the Eagles made six straight free throws, Williams dribbled into the lane to knock down a short shot that pushed the lead to eight.
“They both take big shots and make big shots; they’ve done that the last few weeks a lot,” Burns said. “That’s comforting as we head down the stretch.”
Rodney Stuckey hit 5 of 6 free throws in overtime and led the Eagles in scoring for the 20th straight game with 22. Eastern had four players in double figures. Foul-plagued Paul Butorac scored six of his 10 points in OT, including the breakaway capper with 22 seconds left for a 10-point lead, the biggest of the game.
“We just got a second wind, that’s what happened,” said lone Eagles senior Deuce Smith, who had all 11 of his points in the second half. “This will teach these guys anything is possible when things are going bad.”
The defense, which was stellar all game, remained strong in overtime, limiting PSU (8-15, 1-9) to a lone field goal with just 8 seconds left. However, once Penoncello produced the lead, EWU fouls sent the Vikings to the line four times. Though they made 6 of 8, the Eagles answered with clutch baskets.
The Eagles were somewhat lucky to get to the extra session, despite blowing a nine-point lead and never trailing in the second half. Juma Kamara hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to tie the game at 55 with 52 seconds left,and then Jake Beitinger, who had 11 points off the bench, was called for dragging his pivot foot at 27.4 seconds.
Ryan Summer missed an open 10-footer from the right of the lane with a couple seconds left, and 6-foot-11 Scott Morrison, who led PSU with 14 points off the bench, had a decent tip attempt before the buzzer.
EWU 72, PSU 64 (OT)
Portland State (8-15, 1-9)—Kamara 2-5 0-0 6, Hollist 2-5 2-2 6, Washington 4-5 2-4 10, Sommer 2-6 3-4 8, Schroeder 1-7 5-6 8, Neeley 0-3 1-4 1, Locke 0-0 2-2 2, Mara 4-4 0-0 9, Morrison 6-10 2-2 14. Totals 21-45 17-24 64.
Eastern Washington (11-12, 6-4)—Penoncello 2-7 0-0 5, Williams 2-5 1-2 5, Butorac 4-5 2-2 10, Stuckey 8-12 5-9 22, Smith 2-11 7-8 11, Humphrey 0-1 2-2 2, Zumwalt 1-1 0-0 3, Beitinger 5-7 0-0 11, Risper 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 25-51 18-25 72.
Halftime—Eastern Washington 26, Portland State 24. Regulation—Portland State 55, Eastern Washington 55. 3-point goals—Portland State 5-18 (Kamara 2-4, Mara 1-1, Sommer 1-3, Schroeder 1-6, Hollist 0-2, Neeley 0-2), Eastern Washington 4-12 (Zumwalt 1-1, Stuckey 1-2, Beitinger 1-2, Penoncello 1-3, Humphrey 0-1, Smith 0-3). Fouled out—Mara, Penoncello. Rebounds—Portland State 31 (Morrison 6), Eastern Washington 37 (Williams, Butorac 5). Assists—Portland State 11 (Kamara, Hollist, Sommer, Mara 2), EWU 15 (Stuckey 5). Total fouls—Portland State 27, EWU 22. A—2,366.