CHENEY, Wash. – College of Idaho won the battle on the boards for the afternoon and held Eastern Washington to 34-percent shooting in the second half, but the preseason Big Sky Conference favorites had five players in double-figures, as the Eagles earned an 80-56 win at Reese Court.
Jacob Davison scored a game-high 15 points and Tanner Groves posted a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds), as EWU (1-3) picked up their first win of the season after three losses to Pac-12 teams.
"We are thankful for Eastern Washington for providing us an opportunity to play," said C of I head coach
Colby Blaine. "They have become a premier team in the Big Sky Conference for a reason."
Kim Aiken Jr. canned a pair of 3-pointers in a 17-4 run to open the game, with the Eagles extending the margin to 43-23 at the half and 71-41 with just under eight minutes left in the game.
"As much as we would like to have started the game off better, a lot of it comes down to just making shots," Blaine said. "There will be nights every season where your shots do not fall."
The Yotes (1-3), playing a third-straight Division I team, battled back – holding Eastern without a made field goal for a four minute stretch.
Ricardo Time knocked down a mid-range jumper,
Elijah Jackson canned a trey,
Paul Wilson converted a post move,
Tyler Robinett knocked down two free throws and
Jalen Galloway had two free throws and a lay-in – closing a 13-0 run that cut the gap to 71-54 with 3:40 remaining.
EWU answered, as reserve Michael Meadows scored seven-straight points, to put the game away.
Jacob Graves scored 15 points, Tyler Robertson had 12 and Aiken scored 11 in the win – with the Eagles finishing the game making 41-percent of their field goals.
C of I held a 49-45 edge on the glass, but were limited to just 4-of-25 shooting from outside the arc.
"We are continuing to work through our best lineups and strategies that fit this team," Blaine commented. "We showed some very good segments in the second half and am very proud of our rebounding efforts. These challenges will make us a much better team in the end."
Galloway scored 11 points with nine rebounds, Robinett posted a career-high 11 points, while three other Yotes had eight points in the road loss.
NOTES:
- The nine rebounds by Galloway was a season-high for a C of I player and recorded his fourth-straight double-digit scoring game
- Robinett finished 4-of-6 from the field and had four rebounds and two blocks
- Freshman Jake O'Neil scored his first collegiate basket and closed the night with eight points and seven rebounds
- Time scored eight points, the 12th-straight game, dating back to last season, where the senior has scored 8-or-more points
- Elijah Jackson, who transferred to C of I from Eastern, had eight points and five rebounds in his return to Cheney
- Wilson finished with four points, six rebounds and three assists
- The two teams missed a combined 18 lay-ups in the game, including 11 by the Yotes
- C of I made just 8-of-15 free throws after coming into the contest making 82-percent of their foul shots…EWU made just 10-of-19 free throws…
- The Yotes extended their streak of games with a made 3-pointer to 1,042 – the sixth-longest streak in all of college basketball
