Eastern falls short
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – It will go down as another double-digit loss for the Eastern Washington University men’s basketball team, but the final score didn’t completely reflect what took place over the final 20 minutes.
The Eagles, who trailed by 15 in the first half, stubbornly pursued Virginia Tech, pulling within seven midway through the second half and forcing the Hokies to earn a 69-52 victory late Wednesday night at Sullivan Arena in the Great Alaska Shootout. The Hokies (2-0) went on a 16-7 run over the last 5:30 to close out the Eagles (1-4).
EWU coach Kirk Earlywine took no comfort from the loss, but pointed out several positives.
“We certainly did a better job offensively in the second half,” he said. “We shot over 50 percent, which has been difficult to do for us this season. But we also allowed 58 (percent shooting by Virginia Tech) and I didn’t think there was a lack of effort defensively. We had a terrific rotation off a ball screen and two guys there to intercept a pass and somehow it went right through them and ended up in zero’s hands (Jeff Allen) and he lays it in.”
EWU made 11 of 21 second-half shots, including 5 of 8 3-pointers. Trey Gross was 3 of 3 beyond the arc as he scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half.
The problem was too often EWU merely traded baskets with the Hokies, who relied on freshmen guards Malcolm Delaney and Hank Thorns for six 3-pointers and 32 combined points. Allen, a burly 6-foot-7, 258-pound freshman, was kept in check until scoring seven points in the closing minutes.
“The two point guards jumped up and dinged us with 6 of 9 from the arc,” Earlywine said. “If they don’t do that, maybe we could have squeezed the score a little more.”
The Eagles play Michigan today at 1 p.m. Butler buried a tournament record 17 3-pointers in a 79-65 win over the Wolverines (2-2).
Wade’s world
Gonzaga’s last trip to the Great Alaska Shootout was in 2001. The Bulldogs defeated St. John’s 65-58 and Texas 67-64 before falling to tournament most outstanding player Dwyane Wade and Marquette 72-63.
“We saw him in two games prior to ours and I remember he made a big impression on the assistant coaches,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “He led them to a Final Four and he’s moved on to be one of the greatest players in the NBA right now. I can’t say I would have predicted that, but you could sure tell he was something special.”
Western Kentucky head coach Darrin Horn was an assistant coach with Marquette in 2001.
GU’s Dan Dickau and Zach Gourde made the All-Tournament team.
North to Alaska
Few tries to make an annual fishing trip to Alaska. Senior forward David Pendergraft hopes to do the same in the future.
“My younger brother the next three years is going to bush-pilot (in Alaska) so hopefully I’ll get to spend some time fishing,” Pendergraft said. “He’s in the aviation program at Central Washington and that’s what he’s doing for his hours. Next year will be his first in Alaska and I’m looking forward to maybe getting dropped off somewhere.”
Nothing free about it
The Eagles came into Wednesday’s game with an impressive 79.7 percent accuracy rate at the free-throw line, but they made just 9 of 17 attempts against the Hokies. The Eagles missed the front half of one-and-ones three times.
“We don’t have the margin of error to give away baskets or shoot 50 percent from the line in a game against a team of that caliber,” Earlywine said.
Secret of his success
For the umpteenth time, Few was asked by a beat writer from an opposing school how GU has sustained success since bursting onto the national scene in 1999.
“Seventeen hundred sixty-four times in the last six or seven years,” joked Few of the number of times he’s heard the question. “It’s a lot. Every situation is unique and what’s worked at Gonzaga doesn’t necessarily transfer over to wherever. I think they’re doing a great job at Western Kentucky. Whatever they’re doing is working so I wouldn’t copy anybody else.”