Success is its own reward, but recognition is nice, too – especially when it comes from your peers.

Don Monson hosted two Big Sky Conference Tournaments at the Kibbie Dome as coach of Idaho, winning both of them in 1981 and 1982. He took the Vandals to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in the process. I was lucky enough to get my hands on authentic game programs from the era.

Together, the Eastern Washington men's and women's basketball teams will descend on Missoula this week for the Big Sky Conference tournaments, confident that they’ve been there, done that as the season hits the homestretch.

Caution: more basketball drama ahead for Eastern Washington fans.

Chris Hansen scored 23 points with five 3-pointers and the Idaho State Bengals hung on at the end to beat the Idaho Vandals 67-65 on Saturday night in Pocatello. Nnamdi Ezenwa had 14 points and Geno Luzcando added 10 for the Bengals.

Venky Jois had 22 points and 16 rebounds as Eastern Washington beat Weber State 79-71 in overtime for a share of the Big Sky Conference title on Saturday night.

Melissa Williams hit a turnaround jumper with 27 seconds remaining, lifting the Eastern Washington women to a 62-58 Big Sky Conference victory over Idaho State at Reese Court in Cheney on Thursday night. Williams recorded her 11th double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, and the Eagles (18-10, 11-6) moved into a tie for third place, with one game remaining.

POCATELLO, Idaho – Tyler Harvey scored 24 points, Venky Jois scored 21 with 10 rebounds and Eastern Washington held off Idaho State 85-81 on Thursday to move into a three-way tie at the top of the Big Sky Conference with one game remaining. Drew Brandon had 11 points, including the clinching free throws with 8 seconds left, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Eagles, who are tied with Sacramento State – which lost at Southern Utah – and Montana.

Joel Bolomboy scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Weber State kept its bid for a spot in the Big Sky Conference tournament alive with a 74-63 win over Idaho Thursday night in Ogden, Utah. Weber State is battling for one of three remaining tournament berths and pulled into a three-way tie for sixth place with Idaho and Portland State.

COMING UP: Tonight at Idaho State, 6; Saturday at Weber State, 6. OUTLOOK: Saturday’s game matches the top two teams in the Big Sky – according to the preseason polls. Reality is another thing: Eastern is sitting in second, where it was picked last fall, but perennial power Weber hasn’t even qualified for the conference tournament. To reach the eight-team field, the Wildcats may need to beat Eastern, which has lost three of its last five and could finish anywhere from first to fourth in what’s turned out to be a crazy league race. First up for EWU is a game at last-place Idaho State. The Bengals gave Eastern a good game back in January, but have lost seven of their last eight. The hero was freshman forward Bogdan Bliznyuk, who scored 17 that day but has been quiet in recent games. Then comes the finale at Weber, which hasn’t won two in a row since early January and barely beat ISU (61-57) last weekend. Jeremy Senglin averages 15.5 points and Joel Bolomboy is easily the top rebounder in the conference at 10.2 per game.

Coming up: Tonight at Weber State, 6; Saturday at Idaho State, 7. Outlook: After a tumultuous conference season, the way to a Big Sky Conference tournament bid is as simple as it will get: Win one game and the Vandals are in. Seeding is still on the line as the Vandals could finish anywhere from Nos. 5 to 8. There’s still a chance the Vandals can get in without winning this weekend in Ogden, Utah, or Pocatello, but they’ll need Southern Utah to lose once. Idaho swept Weber State and Idaho State in its opening series of the conference season. A three-quarter court heave from Mike Scott to end the first half was the difference in Idaho’s 86-84 win over the Wildcats on Jan. 3. Idaho is riding a three-game winning streak against Idaho State dating to the 2012-13 season.

Yes, that was  a costly loss to Montana last week, but Eastern Washington has plenty to play for this week, even if the Eagles don’t get to host the Big Sky Conference men’s basketball tournament. The biggest key for the Eagles is to get back in the groove, health-wise and shooting-wise, on  this week’s road trip. 

Mikh McKinney pumped in 21 points and Sacramento State took over first place in the Big Sky Conference with a 73-60 win over Portland State Saturday night in Portland. With two road games remaining, Sacramento State is a half-game ahead of Montana and a game ahead of Eastern Washington.

Connor Hill made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points in an 80-73 win over Montana State to send out Hill, Mike Scott and Bira Seck as winners in their final home games as Idaho Vandals.