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Eastern Washington Basketball: 2019-20 takeaways in win over Weber State Wildcats

By J.D. Caldwell

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 21: Admon Gilder Jr. #1 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs drives against Jacob Davidson #10 of the Eastern Washington Eagles in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on December 21, 2019 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images)
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 21: Admon Gilder Jr. #1 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs drives against Jacob Davidson #10 of the Eastern Washington Eagles in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on December 21, 2019 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /
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SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 06: Austin Fadal #1 of the Eastern Washington Eagles (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 06: Austin Fadal #1 of the Eastern Washington Eagles (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images) /

Eastern Washington Basketball defeated the Weber State Wildcats on Saturday.  What are the takeaways from the Eagles’ league-opening win?

Eastern Washington Basketball (8-4, 1-0) defeated Weber State (4-8, 0-1) 79-77 in Ogden Saturday.  The Eagles were ranked #129 by KenPom, while the Wildcats were #277.

The game was not as close as the score would indicate.  Weber State jumped out to an 8-0 lead, while Eastern came out of the gate shooting only 1 for 7.  The Eagles settled down and took a 41-32 at the half.

Eastern leading scorer Jacob Davison (18.0 ppg) spent most of the second half on the bench in foul trouble.  The Wildcats clawed their way back to within 64-58 when Davison committed an offensive foul to disqualify him with 7:29 remaining.  The Eagles suffered further foul trouble when fellow starter, Mason Peatling (15.0 ppg) fouled out with 56.9 seconds left and the score 77-70.

Fortunately, the Eagles still had Kim Aiken, Jr. (15.6 ppg, 11.2 rpg). After not finding his range in the first half, the 6’7 sophomore took over as Eastern’s triggerman and finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, including two clutch free throws in the final seconds.

While the game was not expected to be that close, the Eagles showed some grit against adversity to close out the win on the road.  The win put Eastern atop of the Big Sky Conference.  The Eagles are the slight favorites to win the conference in a race that will include four or more schools challenging for the crown.

Eastern Washington is trying to establish themselves as the clear favorite.  Their league opener at Weber State gives us some indication as to the validity of that claim.

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