Hot-shooting Eagles stay alive for postseason berth

by From news and wire services
| March 8, 2013 8:00 PM

POCATELLO - Eastern Washington (10-20, 7-12) jumped out to a 22-4 lead during the first eight minutes on Thursday night and never looked back, beating Idaho State (5-24, 4-15) 87-73.

Fueling the Eagles' fast start was their shooting prowess beyond the arc, where they were 9 of 14 during the first half alone, eclipsing their season average of eight three-pointers a game. They finished 14 of 26 for the game, including 6 of 10 from sophomore guard Parker Kelly, who led all players with 28 points on the night.

The victory, coupled with losses by both Northern Arizona and Sacramento State, kept EWU in the hunt for the Big Sky Conference tournament. But for that to happen, EWU still needs a win in its final game at Weber State on Saturday, as well as losses by three other conference teams to earn a berth.

"This was a good win and it shows the character of our players," said Eagles coach Jim Hayford, whose team suffered an overtime loss and a four-point setback at home last week. "After the close, disappointing losses down the wire last week, we put in a great team effort. We're really, really proud of them, and I'm a very happy coach."

E. WASHINGTON (10-20)

Seiferth 6-12 1-2 13, Jois 3-6 5-5 11, Harvey 6-13 0-4 17, Kelly 9-14 4-5 28, Forbes 1-3 2-2 5, Hill 0-0 0-0 0, Reuter 2-3 2-2 6, Dorsey 0-0 0-0 0, Jorg 0-0 1-2 1, Winford 0-0 0-0 0, Hickert 2-3 0-0 6. Totals 29-54 15-22 87.

IDAHO ST. (5-24)

Hansen 4-10 7-9 17, Preh 2-4 0-0 4, Sanchez 1-8 1-2 3, Morgan 7-17 0-2 19, Hatchett 8-10 4-11 20, Baldwin 0-7 2-2 2, Mason 0-1 0-0 0, Kusmieruk 0-1 0-1 0, Ezenwa 0-1 1-2 1, Walters 3-4 1-5 7, Kostur 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-63 16-34 73.

Halftime_E. Washington 42-29. 3-Point Goals_E. Washington 14-26 (Kelly 6-10, Harvey 5-9, Hickert 2-3, Forbes 1-3, Reuter 0-1), Idaho St. 7-21 (Morgan 5-9, Hansen 2-4, Mason 0-1, Baldwin 0-1, Sanchez 0-6). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_E. Washington 41 (Seiferth 9), Idaho St. 35 (Hatchett 6). Assists_E. Washington 18 (Forbes 8), Idaho St. 11 (Morgan, Sanchez 4). Total Fouls_E. Washington 25, Idaho St. 21. Technical_E. Washington Bench. A_1,873.