Northwest Notes: March 24, 2022

Eastern's Riley finalist for

Joe B. Hall coaching award

Eastern Washington men's basketball coach David Riley is a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award. Riley is among 15 other finalists nationally and the only Big Sky Conference representative. The award is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball.

Riley has been on staff with the Eagles since the 2011-12 season when he was brought on as the director of basketball operations. Since then, he served as an assistant and an associate head coach before officially taking over the helm on March 25, 2021 and just concluded his 11th season overall at Eastern Washington.

In his first season, Riley hit the ground running by hiring an entirely new staff and bringing in 12 newcomers. Riley guided the Eagles to an 18-16 overall record and an 11-9 mark in Big Sky play. It marked the eighth-straight winning season for Eastern Washington and the eighth-straight season with at least 10 conference victories. The Eagles won seven of their last eight regular season games.

The Eagles also advanced to the postseason for the eighth time in program history, participating in The Basketball Classic a week after appearing in the Big Sky quarterfinals where they lost to Northern Colorado by a point. Eastern Washington also had marquee wins over Washington State and an overtime victory to eventual Big Sky champions, Montana State.