Mason Williams’ late 3-pointer lifts Eastern Washington over Sacramento State 83-80

All night, Mason Williams had made regular trips from the 3-point arc, through the lane and to the basket for any number of leaners, layups and runners.

So when Williams got the ball in the final seconds Thursday, with the game tied and 6-foot-10 Sacramento State forward Jacob Holt on him, the Eastern Washington sophomore mixed it up.

Instead of driving, he pulled up and drained a game-winning 3.

“I was getting downhill most of the day, so I think (Holt) thought I was going to the rim,” Williams said. “I tried to sell that I was going to the rim, and it ended up working out.”

Williams’ shot sailed through with 2.1 seconds left, the last of his 29 points, and Bailey Nunn’s desperation 3 fell short, giving Eastern Washington an 83-80 victory over Sacramento State, the Eagles’ second win over the Hornets this season.

“We’ve been working on 2-minute drills a lot lately,” Williams said, “and it’s not easy to sweep a team, any team, in Division 1 basketball.”

It was the second high-scoring game in the last three for Williams, who scored a career-high 35 points last week at Idaho State and then had just nine against Weber State on Saturday. In that game, a 72-49 Eagles win, Williams made just 1 of 10 shots.

But his effort against the Hornets was perhaps his most complete performance of his career so far. He had six assists, his most in a game at Eastern, and he committed just one turnover. It was the seventh time this season he had more assists than turnovers.

“The assist-to-turnover ratio was huge,” EWU associate head coach Ryan Lundgren said. “As good as he was at scoring the ball, he made a lot of plays for his teammates too, which is a big step in the right direction for him. He’s really been playing well lately, and I think this is just one more step for him.”

Williams finished 11-of-18 from the field and made 5 of 6 free-throw attempts, part of the Eagles’ 17-of-22 night at the line.

Senior Andrew Cook finished with 17 points while making 6 of 10 field goals, and redshirt freshman Emmett Marquardt had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a 2-for-2 night from 3-point range.

As a team, the Eagles made 8 of 21 from 3-point range and committed just eight turnovers while snagging nine steals. It was the first time this season they had more steals than turnovers against a Division I opponent.

“(That statistic shows) that we’re committed to being disciplined and doing our job,” Williams said, “not anything more than what’s on our business card.”

The victory was the second in a row for the Eagles, who have yet to win three in a row this year, and it boosted their Big Sky record to 4-7 (8-16 overall). The Hornets (6-17, 2-8) remained in last place in the conference standings.

Neither team took command Thursday, as the largest lead by either was eight points. There were 14 ties and 14 lead changes.

Lundgren said he was disappointed with the Eagles’ rebound deficit, 31-23. But the Eagles compensated in other ways, scoring 14 points on fast breaks – sophomore Vice Zanki had a particularly impressive steal, drive and dunk in the second half – and they scored 19 points off of the Hornets’ 13 turnovers.

Holt, the Hornets’ senior post, was a pest for the Eagles all game. After scoring just five points against in their previous matchup in January, Holt had 32 on Thursday, making 9 of 12 shots overall – including 3 of 3 3-pointers – and 11 of 12 free throws.

Nunn, the 6-foot sophomore guard, scored a career-high 18 points, including a 4-for-8 night from 3-point range.

The Eagles will continue their three-game homestand at 2 p.m. Saturday against Portland State (14-9, 6-4), which defeated Idaho 76-69 on Thursday.

“Our offense kind of carried us (tonight), and we were so good defensively at Weber (State) on Saturday,” Lundgren said. “We’ve got to get back to that. Portland State’s a much more physical team.”

Women

EWU 68, Sacramento State 53: The Eagles made 10 of 14 fourth-quarter shots to close out their first road victory of the season.

Senior Peyton Howard and freshman Kourtney Grossman each had 17 points for the Eagles (8-15, 4-7 Big Sky), while Benthe Versteeg scored 22 points, grabbed six rebounds and had seven assists for the Hornets (10-13, 3-7).

Eastern committed 12 turnovers, its fewest in six games, and scored 25 points off of SSU’s 20 turnovers.

Freshman Jaecy Eggers added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Eagles, who play at Portland State on Saturday.