Eastern, Portland State three-overtime game was one for the ages

im Hayford may have summed it up best.

“It was head shaking,” the Eastern Washington University head coach said a day after his Eagles played a game for the ages in their 130-124 record-setting triple overtime Big Sky Conference victory over Portland State, Feb. 4 at Reese Court.

It was a nail-biter, sweatty palms kinda’ game with many a near-miss that led to Eastern playing just short of a game and a half against PSU.

“Just amazing,” Hayford said, who will long remember the game that delivered him an admittedly forgettable stat — his 100th EWU win. “I didn’t even know it until this past week. I’ve coached over 500 games, and at the end of year two here I was just hoping to be around for year four.

The game proved to be an all out assault on records of almost every conceivable nature.

The 130 points the Eagles scored topped the previous 40-plus year Big Sky Conference record of 128 by Weber State in 1975. The 254 combined points topped the previous record 245, also by Weber State, when it lost 159-86 to Louisiana State in 1991.

And then there were the school records.

Eastern’s 130 points eclipsed the 126 scored against NAIA George Fox in 2015. And amazingly enough their 254 combined points erased the previous 50-year-old mark of 225, set twice when Eastern were the Savages with a 1967 loss to Carroll College and a 1969 win over Eastern Montana.

The game produced a pair of stunning personal scoring records, too, as both Bogdan Bliznyuk and Jacob Wiley equaled the 45-point high set by Rodney Stuckey in a 105-95 loss to Northern Arizona on Jan. 5, 2006.

Eastern has been the masters of overtime this season, now having played 10 extra five-minute sessions, and are 5-1.

“We’ve already set the school record for overtime periods, now we’re just adding to it,” Hayford said. “Our players feel like if there is time left on the clock we can win.”

The previous record for overtime periods in a single year was five in the 1998-99 season, including four extra periods in a 101-100 loss to Weber State on Jan. 16, 1999.

Eastern play-by-play broadcaster Larry Weir has been calling Eagle games for over a quarter-century and has seen a ton of EWU sports history, recalling that loss to Weber at Reese. That Wildcat team would accomplish a true rarity weeks later, winning an opening round NCAA game against North Carolina before losing to Florida in overtime for a trip to the Sweet-16.

“It was unbelievable,” Weir said.

The individual efforts of the senior graduate transfer, Wiley, and junior Bliznyuk, were just more of what Eastern fans have come to expect.

“He was just typical Bogdan, he was driving the ball and doing all his nice footwork moves in the post,” Weir said. “Jake was doing the same thing down there, they just struggled to guard either of those guys off the dribble,” Weir added as the two poured in the points.

When Wiley had to be careful down the stretch because of foul trouble, Bliznyuk picked up the slack. He scored 41 of his points in the second half and overtimes.

The NBA-style offensive show might have been blamed, partially at least, on the fear of the foul. Shooters were “Daring someone to challenge (them) because they were afraid of picking up a fourth or fifth foul,” was Weir’s take on things.

“It really turned into a great game with a lot of drama,” he said. “Going back and forth, back and forth, trading punches.”

If there was any downside to one of the most memorable days in EWU basketball history, it was that only 2,026 fans reportedly witnessed it live.

They not only saw a game that will be talked about for years in its own right, but watched Eastern improve its home court record to 12-1. Winning seems to sell everywhere, unless it’s college basketball in Cheney

Just what is keeping these insanely entertaining Eagles from playing in front of more empty than full seats at Reese Court?

Certainly a topic for another day.

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