Big Sky-leading Portland State holds off Eastern Washington 65-61

Putting together a complete defensive effort has been an elusive goal for the Eastern Washington men’s basketball team this season, but it was one the Eagles came close to achieving Thursday night against the Big Sky-leading Portland State Vikings.

But in the closing minutes, the Eagles weren’t able to string together stops when they needed to get them, and largely on the back of star forward Terri Miller Jr. the Vikings held off the Eagles in a 65-61 victory at Reese Court in Cheney.

Portland State (12-5, 6-0 Big Sky) remained the only Big Sky team without a loss in league play.

“We know we can compete with anybody in this league,” EWU redshirt senior guard Isaiah Moses said. “This was a game we expected to win. We had good preparation. We just didn’t execute it to the fullest.”

Moses led the Eagles (4-14, 2-4) with 22 points, making 5 of 10 shots from the field and all 10 of his free throws. He is now a league-best 79 of 84 at the free-throw line this season.

The Eagles also got 13 points from junior forward Alton Hamilton IV, who scored seven of those points in the game’s final 4 minutes. He was also responsible for drawing the fifth foul on Vikings senior center Tre-Vaughn Minott, who finished with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting while playing just 19 minutes due to persistent foul trouble.

“I think Alton was great, but it took 30 minutes to get going,” EWU head coach Dan Monson said. “Here at home, you’ve got to come out right away and play.”

The Eagles fell behind 22-12 late in the first half at the tail end of a 6-minute scoring drought, but they surged back into the game early in the second half when a corner 3 by redshirt senior Tyler Powell cut Portland State’s lead to 35-33.

The Vikings, though, as they did all night, promptly responded. A 6-0 run pushed their lead back to eight points, and a transition layup by Jaylin Henderson made it 50-40 with 11:30 to go.

Yet that’s when the Eagles got going.

Kiree Huie scored back-to-back baskets – his first points of the game – to make it 50-44. The second of those baskets sent Minott to the bench with his fourth foul.

Huie scored another basket inside to make it 50-46, Moses followed with a couple free throws, and then Hamilton scored inside to tie it at 50 with 5:13 left.

“I think it was just we started to get a little bit of a flow, a little bit of confidence,” Moses said. “That’s what we were lacking in the first half, or really for 30 minutes of the game … that stretch helped us loosen up a little bit.”

But down the stretch, Miller showed up.

First, he ended Eastern’s run with a putback to restore the Vikings lead. Then, with under 2 minutes left, his three-point play pushed the Vikings’ advantage to two scores, 59-55.

Miller made another basket as the shot clock expired to give the Vikings a 63-59 lead with 19.4 seconds to go, and at that point it was enough for Portland State – which never trailed – to secure the victory.

Miller finished with 22 points on 7-of-20 shooting and an 8-of-9 night at the free-throw line. He failed to make a 3 (0-for-5) for just the third time this season, but he compensated by grabbing six rebounds and by drawing 10 fouls.

“He’s a mismatch because he’s a 6-8, 250-pound stretch forward,” Monson said. “He stretches the defense because he makes 3s. And then you put a smaller guy on him and he backs them down like he did in the last minute. He’s very effective.”

EWU redshirt sophomore Emmett Marquardt returned from injury and played 11 minutes off the bench, though he was held scoreless. Senior guard Elijah Thomas missed his third straight game with an injury of his own.

Eastern hosts Sacramento State at 2 p.m. Saturday; after that, it will play its next four games on the road.

Women

Eastern Washington 81, Portland State 63: Eastern Washington took control in the second quarter and had little trouble putting away one of the bottom teams in the Big Sky, breezing to an 81-63 win over Portland State on Thursday at Viking Pavilion in Portland.

The Eagles (10-9, 3-3 Big Sky) fashioned a comfortable lead with an 11-0 run in the second period and led big the rest of the way, sending the Vikings (5-13, 1-5) to their fifth straight loss.

EWU sophomore forward Kourtney Grossman recorded her 12th double-double of the season, extending her double-double streak to five games, with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Elyn Bowers had 21 points and senior guard Ella Gallatin chipped in 16 as the Eagles shot 32 of 73 (43.8%) from the field and 5 of 21 (23.8%) on 3s.

The Eagles dominated in the paint, outrebounding Portland State 58-27, including a 23-7 edge on the offensive glass.