Subscribe now
Eastern Washington University Basketball

Southern Utah edges Eastern Washington 66-62 in OT

EWU’s Bogdan Bliznyuk needs two points to set the school scoring record. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

CEDAR CITY, Utah — The Big Sky Conference road sweep is an elusive beast.

With Bogdan Bliznyuk coming up just short in his quest for the school’s career scoring record, the Eastern Washington University men’s basketball team came up just short of a road sweep when the Eagles lost 66-62 in overtime to Southern Utah.

Bliznyuk finished with a team-leading 18 after entering the game needing 19 to tie and 20 to break EWU’s all-time scoring record. He played just 27 minutes because of foul trouble.

Senior Sir Washington finished with a season-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field for the Eagles. Sophomore Mason Peatling had his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“Sir played great, he is starting to step up as a senior,” Eastern head coach Shantay Legans said. “He is playing with a lot of composure and freedom and has confidence. That is what we need. He played terrific today and I am proud of him. I am really proud of how he came out today and kept us in this ball game.”

Neither team scored in the final 2:22 of regulation and the game was tied at 54 heading into overtime. The Thunderbirds hit their first two shots of overtime and were 4-of-6 in the extra period, while EWU was 3-of-7.

Coupled with Thursday’s 81-76 win at Northern Arizona, the Eagles have now split on the road six-straight times, dating back to the 2015-16 season when the Eagles swept the Southern Utah and Northern Arizona road trip. One trip earlier that season, Eastern was swept by the Montana schools.

Bliznyuk now has 1,802 career points, only one away from the all-time record of 1,803 set by his former teammate Venky Jois from 2013-16. The Eagles play at home against North Dakota on Thursday and Northern Colorado on Saturday.