Eagles hang on for win

OGDEN, Utah – Eastern Washington freshman Rodney Stuckey set school records for free throws made and attempted in a single season, but 13 misses by the Eagles kept Weber State in the game before the Eagles prevailed for a rare and wild 76-73 road victory over the Wildcats Wednesday.

It was just Eastern’s third victory ever in 24 tries in Ogden, and the Eagles had to survive a Wildcat comeback from a 15-point second half deficit. But the Wildcats missed three shots in the final 17 seconds – and made a basket after the buzzer – to preserve the Eagle win.

With just three league games to play, Eastern’s win was a big step toward hosting a first-round game on March 5 in the Big Sky Conference Tournament. Eastern, 12-12 overall after its fourth-straight victory, is now in sole possession of third place in the Big Sky standings with a 7-4 record.

Eastern’s victory clinched the school’s ninth-straight berth in the conference tourney. The Nos. 3 and 4 seeds in the tournament host first-round games.

Stuckey had 25 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. He is now 147 of 190 at the free-throw line this season. He broke the previous record for makes of 145 set by Matt Piper in 1983, and equaled the attempts record of 190 set by Dick Koford in 1960.

Trailing by three, Weber (10-15, 4-8) had the ball with 14 seconds remaining. The Wildcats’ Nick Covington missed a 3-point attempt, David Patten grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it back to Covington, who missed another trey at the buzzer.

EWU 76, Weber St. 73

Eastern Washington (12-12, 7-4) – Penoncello 3-5 2-4 11, Williams 1-6 1-2 3, Risper 1-2 0-0 2, Stuckey 9-20 6-6 25, Smith 1-5 0-3 2, Bekkering 0-1 0-0 0, Humphrey 2-2 0-0 5, Zumwalt 1-1 0-0 3, Beitinger 3-5 3-4 10, Butorac 5-8 4-10 15. Totals 26-55 16-29 76.

Weber St. (10-15, 4-8) – Riggs 8-15 3-4 19, Burris 1-1 1-4 3, Pajevic 4-7 0-0 8, Cox 0-0 0-0 0, Stovall 5-9 2-2 15, Shelton 3-4 0-2 6, Covington 3-6 0-0 6, Henry 0-0 0-0 0, Patten 4-8 7-10 16. Totals 28-50 13-22 73.

Halftime–EWU 43-33. 3-Point Goals–EWU 8-19 (Penoncello 3-5, Humphrey 1-1, Beitinger 1-1, Zumwalt 1-1, Butorac 1-2, Stuckey 1-4, Bekkering 0-1, Williams 0-1, Smith 0-3), Weber St. 4-11 (Stovall 3-4, Patten 1-3, Riggs 0-1, Covington 0-3). Fouled Out–None. Rebounds–E. Washington 27 (Risper 6), Weber St. 36 (Riggs 11). Assists–EWU 17 (Stuckey 6), Weber St. 15 (Pajevic 4). Total Fouls–EWU 16, Weber St. 22. A–2,652.