EWU, Idaho resume rivalry

PAUL DELANEY, Staff Reporter | Last updated Jan 08, 2015 10:15am0

Eastern Washington successfully opened their Big Sky Conference season with a pair of home wins last week and are a perfect 8-0 at Reese Court.

Now they hope to take that success on the road and do something they have never done — defeat the Idaho Vandals in league play. The Vandals are 6-1 on their home floor at the Cowan Spectrum inside the football Kibbie Dome. Eastern is 3-4 on the road, but one of those victories came at Indiana.

During their previous nine years together in the Big Sky, starting when EWU joined the league for the 1987-88 season, Idaho was a perfect 18-0 against the Eagles. Since then, Eastern has an 8-6 edge in the series.

Idaho is 2-0 in the Big Sky with wins over Idaho State, 77-54, and Weber State, 88-84. The Vandals are 7-6 overall.

“Coach (Don) Verlin’s done a great job developing that program,” EWU head coach Jim Hayford said in Monday night’s Coaches Show.

In his sixth year, Verlin has watched over what Hayford called, “A total rebuild,” that erased a series of single-digit win seasons.

The Vandals have three seniors, one of whom is Mike Scott, who Hayford said is as good as any point guard on the West Coast

The Vandals rebound well and play a fast-paced game, he has observed. ”It ought to be a pretty fun game that way.”

Idaho is a solid rebounding team and spreads the duty among a handful of players. “They’ve got gang rebounding going on down there,” Hayford said. “That’s a lot harder to stop than when it’s coming out or one of two guys.”

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.

The game ought to be in direct contrast to the slow-down Idaho State outing with both teams possibly scoring in the 80s. If that’s the case, “That’s definitely in our favor,” Hayford said.

Saturday’s contest is the first league meeting since Feb. 17, 1996, between the two schools. The Vandals have rejoined the Big Sky Conference this season in all sports except football after previously competing in the league from 1963-1996. Idaho won championships in 1980, 1981, 1989 and 1990.