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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Must-win Eagles beat Weber State 69-57

Whether it’s reflected in the won-lost record or not, Eastern Washington coach Kirk Earlywine believes his Eagles are “starting to grow up.”

And no Eagle more so than the one who already stands taller than the rest.

Brandon Moore wasn’t the whole show in the Eagles’ surprisingly easy 69-57 Big Sky Conference men’s basketball victory over Weber State on Thursday night at Reese Court, but the 6-foot-9 sophomore gave them the perfect place to start.

“The game is easier when you can play inside out,” said Earlywine. “At times this year we’ve lacked the ability to score the ball in the paint and tonight Brandon Moore was just terrific. It takes a lot of pressure off the perimeter guys and the perimeter shooting when you have a guy getting points in the paint.”

Pretty timely, that, considering the Eagles were coming off their worst 3-point shooting weekend of the season – and considering what’s at stake.

Eastern is still in the hunt for the sixth and final spot in the Big Sky Conference tournament next month, but just barely. At 5-8 in the league (10-17 overall), the Eagles are three games in the loss column behind Idaho State and the two Montana schools with only three games to play themselves.

“But it seems like every game lately has been like that with our backs against the wall,” said Moore. “I think we’ve approached every game like a must-win and we just have to keep playing that way.”

They did this night, after a hiccup to start the game. Down 6-0 after three straight turnovers, the Eagles found their bearings by going inside to Moore for a jump hook – the first of his eight field goals (on just 10 attempts) and 21 points. He had eight of EWU’s first 14 points and eventually drew enough attention to loosen things up for the Eagles’ long-range shooters.

And that’s where the game turned. Trailing 18-14, the Eagles made four 3-pointers on their next seven trips down the floor – two by Kellen Williams – and battened down the defense to put together a 19-3 run to finish the first half. Weber State (7-4, 12-11) made just 1 of 11 shots during that stretch and turned the ball over six times.

Eastern went back to Moore again after intermission – he had 10 points in the first 10 minutes – and then held off the Wildcats’ last real challenge, when they closed to 52-44, with back-to-back 3s by Marcus Hinton and Adris DeLeon.

Moore, who also had 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, is averaging 13.4 points and nine rebounds over his last five games – almost double his season averages.

“He’s just got a little better and a little better,” Earlywine said. “He’s had some mechanical flaws – once he had the ball in the post, he had a tendency to drop his eyes and not find the target quick enough. And maybe more than anything, Brandon’s become more aggressive – without grabbing people. He’s not getting in foul trouble and it helps to have him be able to stay in the game.”

Eastern’s defense was no afterthought in this one, either. Weber State – which shot 56 percent in a 74-64 victory a month ago – made just 39.6 percent this night, including a dreadful 3 of 21 from 3-point range. Davlin Davis, a darting small forward with just a 6.6 average, led the way with 16 points, but was silent in the final 14 minutes.

Moore had lots of support – Hinton with 12 points and DeLeon and Trey Gross with 11 apiece.

“It’s probably the most complete 40 minutes we’ve played,” Earlywine said.

The Eagles could use the momentum. Saturday’s opponent is Idaho State – probably the most likely team for them to catch since EWU was swept by both Montana schools and would lose any tiebreakers in those cases.

“This magnifies the importance of Saturday’s game,” Earlywine said. “We felt like tonight was a must-win to keep our hopes alive to get into the conference tournament.”