Eagles earned CBI tournament berth
Eastern Washington's Austin McBroom was stifled by Idaho's defense in the Eagles' 77-73 loss to the Vandals in the Big Sky Conference semifinals March 10 in Reno. McBroom scored 12 points, all from the free throw line after being held scoreless from the field.
Felix Von Hoffe and Venky Jois share a moment on the court following the Idaho loss, not knowing they would play again in the CBI tournament.
The sixth-seeded and defending champion Eastern Washington Eagles fell to third-seeded Idaho 77-73 in a Big Sky Conference Tournament quarterfinal game March 10 at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev.
"It was two great teams who really battled it out in a great basketball game," said Eastern head coach Jim Hayford of the game between the league's top offense and top defense. "I just feel really bad for our players.
Eastern advanced to the second round with a 74-52 win over Northern Arizona, March 8 as Austin McBroom led his team with 16 points while Venky Jois added 14.
Although Eastern finished 1-1 in the tournament they earned a berth - and a home game this past Wednesday, March 16 with Pepperdine of the West Coast Conference - in the College Basketball Invitational.
With All-Big Sky Conference player Venky Jois finishing with the 39th double-double of his career (17 points and 12 rebounds), Eastern lost in the rubber game against the Vandals this season. Eastern won at home 74-60 on Jan. 9 and lost on the road 66-62 Feb. 27.
But the Eagles were held to a season-low 35.6 percent shooting night, including just 9-of-32 3-pointers for 28 percent.
"The story tonight is Idaho," Hayford said. "They were a little better than us tonight."
Junior Felix Von Hofe finished with 17 points while McBroom added 12, all from the free throw line. McBroom finished with 12 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the free throw line. Sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk added 11 points.
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