Eagles fly higher than they ever have before

• OK, I admit I’m not the greatest historian when it comes to the Eagles’ basketball legacy. I know who Ron Cox is, though, so that might put me a leg up on some. (And I also am familiar with Joe Folda, so there’s that.) But I find it hard to believe Eastern has posted a more impressive non-conference victory than last night’s 88-86 comeback win at Indiana. Why? There’s the venue, of course, Indiana’s Assembly Hall, home of five national championship banners and the place where Bobby Knight made history by throwing a chair. And, by the way, where more than 11,636 folks gathered yesterday, expecting to cheer their beloved Hoosiers as they moved to 5-0 on the season. Indiana had won 43 consecutive non-conference games in the place, the third-longest streak in the nation. The flip side of that is the Eagles had never won a game against a Big Ten school in 13 tries and had never won a game in front of a crowd of more than 10,000. They had had 20 attempts at that last one. But the past didn’t matter to this group. History is just that, history. To quote that great philosopher, Sarah Connor, there is no fate but what you make. And it was the Eagles’ fate to make a whole bunch of shots in the second half. Almost two-thirds of their attempts, actually, hitting 19 of 31 from the field, which powered a series of comebacks. In fact, EWU trailed from the beginning and had to show resilience all night. The Eagles fell behind 14-2 at the start and rallied for a 25-23 lead; fell behind 39-28 and rallied to within six at halftime; fell behind 54-42 and rallied to lead 64-63; and fell behind 78-75 with 2 minutes, 12 seconds left before scoring seven consecutive points, five by Parker Kelly, and then holding on for the final 26 seconds. If there were a player of the game award, it would have to go to senior point guard Drew Brandon, who not only scored a career-high 27 points, also grabbed eight rebounds – EWU outrebounded the Hoosiers by five – and handed out four assists. Wait, there’s more. Brandon was 7-of-8 from the line, had five steals and turned the ball over just three times in his 30 foul-limited minutes. Not a bad night. Tyler Harvey (25 points) and Venky Jois (20 points, 14 rebounds) also played well as the Eagles stunned the Indiana crowd – and the nation. The win was as nice as it was unexpected and the Eastern entourage did some celebrating afterward, tweeting out pictures of themselves at center court and under the scoreboard, which still displayed the final score. OK, that’s deserved. But I’m guessing this morning coach Jim Hayford and his staff are already focusing on their next opponent, Northern Kentucky, which visits Reese Court tomorrow. The win in Bloomington would be devalued some if the Eagles were to stumble against the Norse. Northern Kentucky, 2-2 overall with blowout losses at No. 3 Wisconsin and Nebraska, is spending Thanksgiving in the Inland Northwest, facing Eastern on Wednesday and Idaho on Saturday. A road win of any kind – even if it is front of 1,636 instead of 11,636 – would be big for the Atlantic Sun Conference school. Just like last night’s win was for Eastern.

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• WSU: Guess what week it is? Yep, it’s Apple Cup Week, so the blog is overflowing with Washington State items. Jacob Thorpe posted WSU’s game notes . He posted videos of interviews with coach Mike Leach and players Joe Dahl , Jeremiah Allison and Peyton Pelluer . He posted some news about Vince Mayle’s postseason plans . And he posted some links this morning . In the S-R, he had this story on Connor Halliday’s comeback as well as his first look the Huskies and a notebook of Apple Cup-related items. … ESPN.com’s Pac-12 blog takes a quick look at all of this weekend’s games . … Art Thiel looks back at some of the mayhem that’s occurred at Apple Cups.

• Gonzaga: The Zags moved into the top 10 in both polls. … BYU had its first big test and almost passed . … Santa Clara couldn’t keep up with Michigan State.

• EWU: The essence of the upset in Bloomington was captured in this game story put together from Spokane by Jim Allen. There is also the Associated Press story . … The loss doesn’t help Indiana coach Tom Crean. … The Eastern women didn’t do as well on the road last night. … Big Sky favorite (at least before the season began) Weber State earned a decent win in the Virgin Islands.

• Idaho: The Vandals are prepping for their annual basketball rivalry game with Boise State, played a “neutral” arena in the Boise area. Sean Kramer has some of coach Don Verlin’s thoughts in this blog post .

• Shock: So Spokane isn’t losing all its stars to San Jose. James Ruffin is staying. Jim Meehan has more in this blog post .

• Chiefs: A big trade highlights this WHL notebook from Everett.

• Seahawks: Now it gets tough for the Hawks. A Thanksgiving night game in the Bay Area. The 49ers and the physical nature of the rivalry. Maybe it’s appropriate the Hawks defense is starting to play like it did last season . … Pete Carroll made his media rounds yesterday and, like usual, was upbeat and positive . … I would be remiss if I didn’t have some Marshawn Lynch items to pass along. There always are . … There are still some injury concerns for the Seahawks, including last week’s only touchdown maker . … Unless the offensive line picks up its play , Russell Wilson might be the next guy on the list. … Looking back at the highly watched Arizona game , we can pass along snap counts and some grades .

• Mariners: The big news yesterday is the M’s agreeing with Kyle Seager on a reported seven-year, $100-million deal . The team is locking up the third baseman before he can even begin to think about free agency. Nothing is official yet but there are enough reports that’s it true. … If you don’t read anything else today, read this piece on hall of fame voting from Bob Dutton. It’s not to be missed. … By the way, Randy Johnson is on the ballot. He’s a first-ballot guy, right? Eddie Guardado is on the ballot as well. I wonder if even Twins fan John Blanchette would vote for him, if he had the chance.

• Sounders: After a tough , close match in Los Angeles, the Sounders are counting on their CenturyLink advantage in the second leg.

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• Only a couple more days until the (football) feast. Thanksgiving is always a great day to watch games but this year is even more special, what with the Hawks and 49ers on after the turkey is devoured. I am already prepping. For the meal, at least. Until later …