Back in the hunt

EWU men’s basketball team broke a seven-game skid, defeating both Montana State University and the University of Montana during Valentine’s Day weekend.

Glen Dean scored seven of his 12 points in the final minute to put away MSU 74-69, including the go-ahead three pointer with just under a minute to play.

“Big players step up in big moments,” Dean said.
Kevin Winford led the Eagles with 19 points, making three three-pointers and sinking all six of his free throw attempts. Jeffrey Forbes added 17 points and six rebounds. Mark Dunn had 10 points and Brandon Moore had 11 points and eight rebounds.

EWU held a 12-point lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game, but MSU fought back to take a five-point lead. Earlier in the season, EWU lost plenty of close games, giving up big leads in the process, but didn’t lose their composure this time.

“I’m not only happy, I’m really proud of them,” said Head Coach Kirk Earlywine. “We’ve had a lot of things go against us this year.”

“It felt like we had a lot more confidence,” said Winford. “I think it’s just a sign of our maturity.”

With Dean struggling in the first half, shooting 1-of-6, Benny Valentine provided a much-needed spark.

“I credit Valentine, he had four big assists for us,” said Earlywine. “When Dean was struggling, he did a hell of a job stabilizing us.”

Bobby Howard led MSU with 18 points, followed by Branden Johnson who had 13 points and nine rebounds.

The second game of the weekend against UM, ended in similar fashion with EWU holding on for a 69-68 win.

EWU made 12-of-19 three pointers and shot 50 percent from the field. Dean and Forbes combined for 41 points, scoring 23 and 18, respectively.

“We shot the ball really well,” said Earlywine. “Coming into the game, we talked about how important it was to score a few baskets in the paint in order to help our guys on the perimeter. That gave us the opportunity to get some fairly clear looks from the arc.”

Up by eight at the half, EWU blew another lead allowing UM to start the second half with a 9-0 run, missing eight shots of their own. UM’s lead made it to eight until Dean hit three shots from beyond the arc, grabbing nine of his 15 second half points. Dean hit 4-of-5 three pointers and Forbes nailed 5-of-7.

EWU allowed 24 points off of 15 turnovers and were out-rebounded 25-30, but season-high 50 percent in field goal and 63.2 percent in three pointers were enough to win their second consecutive game.

UM’s Anthony Johnson scored 28 points on an efficient 11-of-16 shooting.
With four games left in the regular season, the Eagles have put themselves in a position to sneak into the tournament. They now sit a half game behind Northern Arizona for the final BSC tournaments birth

“It feels amazing to get [wins], but there is a lot of work to do [to make the postseason],” Winford said.

EWU plays at the University of Northern Colorado tomorrow night, Feb. 18, and will be at NAU Saturday night in a game with serious postseason implications.