Eastern Washington Falls to Seattle

I am getting a link up a bit late, but Eastern Washington lost last night to Seattle by the score of 91-78.

Eastern Washington University took a 52-51 lead early in the second half and was within one with 10 minutes to play, but it was all Seattle after that as the Redhawks rolled over the Eagles 91-78 in a non-conference college men’s basketball game Monday (Jan. 16) at Key Arena in Seattle, Wash.

It was just Seattle's fourth win of the season, so it's easy to see this as a bad loss for the Eagles, but I am not sure it is too big of a deal.

For one, they were playing their third road game in five days, which has to wear on a team, especially one without a ton of depth. Second, it has to be a bit tougher to get up for a non-conference game in the middle of the conference season, especially after losing the way they did on Saturday.

Obviously you would always rather win than lose, but beyond that, I am not sure this is cause for much concern in Cheney.

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Portland State Wins A Thriller Over Seattle

Without about a 1:30 to play, Seattle was up over Portland State 65-58 and looked like they would score a nice road victory. However, the Vikings had something to say about that.

The Vikings scored the last 8 points of the game to win 66-65, improving their record to 1-1 and getting a nice regional victory. They did not shoot the ball particularly well, but they stayed in the game with their defense (something they haven't been able to say a lot over the past couple seasons), and made enough plays at the end of the game.

Two plays stick out most. First, with the Vikings down 65-64, Seattle had the ball with 45 seconds left. Charles Odum, who the led the team in scoring with 17 points, made a great defensive play to knock the ball out of bounds. With their next possession, Portland State got the ball to their best player Chehales Tapscott, who went to work in the post. He made a nice move inside, and simply muscled the ball in with a bit of an acrobatic shot to put the Vikings ahead. Seattle got a desperation three at the buzzer, but it hit the rim and fell off, securing the comeback win.

Tapscott did not have a great game, as he finished just 4/12 (and missed a key FT down the stretch), but he made the big play when it mattered. The Vikings still have some issues... including the poor play of JUCO PG Lateef McMullan (5 points, 3 assists, 7 turnovers), and their lack of depth, but for one night they can go to bed happy after a nice comeback win at home.

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