Eastern Washington Eagles outlook

RECORD: 8-18 overall, 5-8 Big Sky

COMING UP: Tonight vs. Montana St., 7 (SWX); Saturday vs. Montana, 5

OUTLOOK: The Eagles, nursing hopes of not only qualifying for the Big Sky tournament but perhaps hosting a first-round game, close out their regular-season home schedule. First up is MSU, which has lost nine straight but boasts two of the Big Sky’s top scorers in senior guard Erik Rush (15.4 ppg) and senior forward Bobby Howard (14.7 ppg). In a mid-January meeting in Bozeman, the Bobcats outscored Eastern by 15 in the second half to earn a 71-59 victory. Montana has ascended to the top of the Big Sky standings, having won its last three conference games behind the play of 6-foot-11 senior center Brian Qvale (15.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and sophomore point guard Will Cherry (14.2 ppg).