Montana State defeats Eagles

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - Erik Rush, Rod Singleton and Bobby Howard each scored 14 points to lead five players in double figures and Montana State shot 72.7 percent in the second half to rally past Eastern Washington 71-59 Sunday.

The Bobcats (11-7, 5-1 Big Sky), who are off to their best start in conference play since 2004-05, went on a 15-1 run midway through the second half to turn a three-point deficit into a 46-35 lead with 10:11 remaining. They never trailed again.

Glen Dean scored 17 points and Kevin Winford had 14 for the Eagles (4-13, 1-4), who lost their fifth straight.

Singleton scored six points during the decisive spurt but left the game less than three minutes later due to an injured ankle.

Montana State, which shot only 29.6 percent before halftime, trailed 26-23 at intermission and 34-31 with 16:31 left to play.

Rush had a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Eagles host Northern Arizona on Thursday.

E. WASHINGTON (4-13)

Griffin 2-6 0-0 4, Winford 5-13 0-0 14, Ederaine 3-6 3-5 9, Dean 5-12 6-6 17, Forbes 1-3 0-0 3, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Colimon 2-5 0-0 4, McRae 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 1-6 3-4 5, Allen 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 20-52 12-15 59.

MONTANA ST. (11-7)

Howard 4-11 5-9 14, Piepoli 3-5 4-4 12, C. Anderson 2-3 0-0 4, Singleton 5-7 3-3 14, Rush 5-11 3-5 14, McCall 0-0 0-0 0, Trujeque 0-1 0-0 0, Reid 0-1 0-0 0, Allou 5-7 3-5 13, Johnson 0-3 0-0 0, Budinich 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-49 18-26 71.

Halftime_E. Washington 26-23. 3-Point Goals_E. Washington 7-19 (Winford 4-10, Allen 1-1, Forbes 1-3, Dean 1-4, Colimon 0-1), Montana St. 5-11 (Piepoli 2-3, Rush 1-1, Singleton 1-2, Howard 1-3, Reid 0-1, Trujeque 0-1). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_E. Washington 22 (Ederaine 7), Montana St. 39 (Rush 11). Assists_E. Washington 8 (Dean 4), Montana St. 10 (Howard, Rush, Singleton, Trujeque 2). Total Fouls_E. Washington 23, Montana St. 15. A_3,337.