Eastern Washington Makes a Stand, 58-53

Eastern Washington ended a string of futility in the Big Sky Conference tournament by defeating Northern Arizona, 58-53, in a semifinal Friday night at Cal State Northridge.

The Eagles (17-10) did it with defense, holding an opponent to a season-low point total. Eastern Washington, which finished second to Northridge, leads the Big Sky in team defense.

Eastern Washington was 0-3 in tournament games the last three years.

“Defense is something a lot of people talk about, but now we’re proving it,” Eastern Washington Coach Ray Giacoletti said. “When you see your team play that kind of game, you know as a coach things are starting to sink in.”

Jamal Jones led the Eagles with 15 points and Chris White added 14 points and seven rebounds.

Fourth-seeded Northern Arizona shot only 37% (10 of 27) in the second half. The Lumberjacks closed to within 55-53 on a basket by Casey Grundman with 51 seconds to play.

Jason Lewis’ two free throws with 31 seconds to play sealed the victory.