Eastern basketball team shaping into fine form

Barely a month ago, his confidence flagging, Bogdan Bliznyuk was leaning hard on his Eastern Washington teammates and coaches.

Now he’s returning the favor. The sophomore forward is a big reason the Eagles have won four straight. Together, they’re gaining momentum for a reprise of their NCAA Tournament run.

That notion is much more plausible than it was in the offseason, when the Eagles lost four starters, including national scoring leader Tyler Harvey. Defense and shooting were spotty at times as EWU dropped its first two conference games and fell to 6-8 overall.

At 7-4 in the conference, the Eagles already have as many losses as last year’s regular-season co-champions, who went 14-4. However, they’re only two games behind co-leaders Weber State and Montana and have won seven of their last nine headling into Thursday’s third-place showdown with North Dakota at Reese Court.

“We’re playing some good basketball right now,” coach Jim Hayford said.

Part of the reason is the 6-foot-6 Bliznyuk, last year’s Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year but a candidate for Sophomore Slumper as conference play began. By mid-January he was shooting 41 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3-point range.

Through the slump, Bliznyuk said, “I just kept thinking that I had to keep pushing, coming to practice and working hard. Even when I wasn’t playing well, the coaches and the other players were still behind me.”

Now they’re following his lead. Over the last four games, Blizynuk shooting 57 percent overall and 38 percent from beyond the arc while doing a little of everything – especially at the expense of Northern Arizona.

Last month, Bliznyuk recorded the first triple-double in school history in a 96-73 win over the Lumberjacks at Reese Court. Last week in Flagstaff, he shot 6-for-10 and had six assists and three steals as EWU won 84-73.

That isn’t to say Bliznyuk is the ultimate barometer of Eastern’s success or failure – Hayford points to their 7-2 record since transfer Julian Harrell joined the starting lineup.

However, along with power forward Venky Jois, the big men have been the key to Eastern getting back in the Big Sky race. Last year, it was Harvey and the outside shooters who opened up defenses. This year, it’s often been the other way around.

“The fear of the drive sets up the shot – that, and the versatility of our players, and giving the player the freedom,” Hayford said.

For Bliznyuk, Jois and Harrell, driving the lane has produced a new dividend: more trips to the foul line. In the last four games, the Eagles have made more free throws (80) than their opponents have attempted (77).

“When we can establish Venky, it’s great,” Blizynuk said. “You can get into the bonus with those. You can get them on their heels a little bit.”

The payoff is that Eastern leads the conference with a 50.3 percent shooting average and ranks second from 3-point range. Defensively, the Eagles are in the middle of the pack at 47 percent, but that’s an improvement from last year.

“Taking nothing away from last year’s team, we’re better offensively and defensively than we were a year ago,” Hayford said.

The record doesn’t reflect it, but that’s the damage from a pair of 0-for-2 road trips.

“All we can do is try to win out,” Bliznyuk said. “If those teams stumble, and we take care of business, that’s great. If not, we’re going into the (Big Sky) tournament on a high note.”