As EWU streaks into regular-season finale, coach Dan Monson credits team’s fortitude for remarkable turnaround

Halfway through the eight-game winning streak that Eastern Washington will put to the test at home on Monday night against Idaho, Tyler Powell had himself a day.

In that 102-94 victory over Sacramento State on Feb. 19, Powell was 6-of-9 overall, making a season-high 5-of-8 3s on his way to a season-high 17 points.

Two days later, against Portland State, the senior guard Powell played just one fewer minute, 17, than he had against the Hornets, but he attempted just two shots and missed both of them.

Yet Powell, in the eyes of his coach, was just as happy.

“We go to Sac State, and Tyler Powell can’t miss,” EWU men’s basketball coach Dan Monson said Thursday. “The next game we come out and (Portland State is) face-guarding him and I don’t know if he even took a shot. And you watch him on the bench, and he’s the biggest cheerleader we’ve got.”

It was indicative of the person that Powell, one of seven EWU seniors who will be honored before Monday’s regular season finale, has proven to be during two years in Cheney.

It was also indicative of a team-wide attitude that Monson said has turned around Eastern’s season.

“It’s just an attitude and an effort that they’ve had,” Monson said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve never been more pleased about a group and how they’ve fought through adversity. Hopefully they can do it at the right time in Boise and play like they’re playing now.”

Monday’s game, which will tip off at 6 p.m. at Reese Court, could determine a whole lot for the Eagles. If they win and Portland State loses to Weber State, the Eagles would finish no worse than second in the Big Sky standings, earning a bye into the quarterfinals on Sunday. If they lose, they could fall as far as the No. 5 seed.

But the Eagles (11-6 in Big Sky play) are playing with a confidence that might belie their overall record of 13-17, and a major source of that confidence is the team’s depth, to which all seven seniors have contributed.

“We have so many weapons on this team,” Powell said after Saturday’s 88-57 victory over Northern Arizona. “When we’re all in the flow, we’re really hard to stop.”

Junior Alton Hamilton IV (13 points per game), grad senior Kiree Huie (13.2) and redshirt senior Isaiah Moses (17.6) have emerged as Eastern’s top three scorers. But behind them are a series of rotation players who are comfortable with their roles and effective within them.

Saturday’s victory over Northern Arizona provided a couple examples.

Redshirt sophomore Emmett Marquardt is the third option at forward this season, one year removed from starting all 32 games for the Eagles. He played 19 minutes against the Lumberjacks, made 4 of 6 shots, grabbed four rebounds, blocked two shots and didn’t commit a foul.

Then there was guard Johnny Radford, who in nearly 17 minutes made a team-high 3 of 6 3-point attempts, part of Eastern’s 10-for-20 day beyond the arc. Scoring 6.7 points per game, Radford hasn’t been the scorer he was at College of Idaho, where last year – his fifth there – he averaged 13.9 points per game. He’s also coming off the bench now after starting nine games earlier this season.

But Radford said he understands his role.

“I mean, I’ve played six years of college basketball, and I’ve probably played every role there is,” Radford said Saturday, noting that he didn’t start full-time until eight games into his fourth season at C of I, where he played a total of 158 games.

“Coach (Monson) has been on me about trying to stay prepared, trying to stay in the right mindset,” Radford said. “There’s going to be a game where we’re going to need your experience, and we’re getting down to the time of the year where experience is going to play a big-time part.”

Indeed, it was Radford’s experience that drew Monson to him and Straton Rogers – his teammate at C of I, where they won two NAIA national titles – during the last recruiting cycle.

“We wanted to bring in winners,” Monson said.

They also wanted to bring in 3-point shooters, and Radford (46 of 123) has been a reliable threat from that range, even if his percentage (37.4) is down from his career average (42.4%).

Rogers has averaged the fourth-most minutes on the team (22.3) while shooting 60.3% from the field. Senior Elijah Thomas has scored just 46 points this season but is among the team’s best defenders. Senior Jojo Anderson has almost twice as many assists (65) as turnovers (35) and makes enough 3s (22 of 61 attempts) to keep defenses honest.

All of those seniors know the highs and lows of playing basketball, Powell said, which helped the Eagles endure a 3-6 start to conference play. And as to who sinks the most shots, well, that’s not Powell’s concern.

“I don’t care about scoring, honestly,” Powell said. “I just care about the win.”