Big Sky Conference Notebook
Player of the week: Paul Butorac, Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington Eagles (1-2 overall)
Last week’s results
At Las Vegas, Nov. 14: UNLV 82, Eastern Washington 79
At Cheney, Wash., Nov. 18: Eastern Washington 85, Lewis-Clark State 70
This week’s games
Nov. 21 vs. Evergreen State
Nov. 24 at Washington
Nov. 27 vs. Cal State Fullerton
Against UNLV, Rodney Stuckey picked up right where he left off last season, scoring 25 points against the Rebels. Matt Penoncell had 13 points and nine rebounds in the loss for the Eagles, who had to make a late run to make the game close. EWU committed 22 turnovers in the game. Against Lewis-Clark State, Paul Butorac had a tremendous game, scoring 20 points, pulling down 22 rebounds, and blocking five shots. The rebounds and blocks were the second-most in school history for a single game. Stuckey also scored 33 points.
Idaho State Bengals (1-2)
Last week’s results
At Milwaukee, CBE Classic, Nov. 14: Idaho State 66, Maine 57
At Provo, Utah, Nov. 18: BYU 84, Idaho State 78, (OT)
This week’s games
Nov. 21 at Washington State
Nov. 25 at Texas A&M
Against Maine, Joe O’Brien picked up his first victory as a Division I head coach after beating Maine in the consolation game of the CBE Classic in Milwaukee. David Schroeder scored 19 points, and became the school’s all-time 3-point king. Against BYU, the Bengals lost their second consecutive game in overtime. Akbar Abdul-Ahad scored a collegiate-high 26 points, making five 3-pointers. John Ofoegbu, the Texas Tech transfer, scored 17 points in a reserve role.
Montana Grizzlies (1-2)
Last week’s results
At Laramie, Wyo., Nov. 15: Wyoming 75, Montana 71
This week’s games
Nov. 23 vs. West Virginia, Old Spice Classic (Orlando, Fla.)
Nov. 24-26 at Old Spice Classic
Against Wyoming, the Grizzlies could not hold onto an eight-point halftime lead. The Griz shot just 34.6 percent from the field in the second half and was outscored 43-30. Matt Dlouhy scored a team-high 18 points in the game. Andrew Strait scored 17 points and added eight rebounds.
Montana State Bobcats (1-3)
Last week’s results
At Portland, Ore., Nov. 17: Portland 59, Montana State 53
At Moscow, Idaho, Nov. 19: Montana State 72, Idaho 65
This week’s games
Nov. 22 vs. Montana-Western
Nov. 26 vs. Oregon State
Against the Pilots, Carlos Taylor led the Bobcats with 19 points, while Ted Morris scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Against the Vandals, Brad Huse earned his first career victory as a head coach. It was MSU’s seventh-straight victory against Idaho. Morris scored 18 points and had 13 rebounds in the victory.
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (2-2)
Last week’s results
At Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 15: Arizona 101, Northern Arizona 79
At Flagstaff, Ariz., Nov. 19: Northern Arizona 85, MSU-Northern 62
This week’s games
Nov. 25 vs. Mississippi Valley State
Nov. 27 at San Francisco
Against the Wildcats, a crowd of 13,500 packed into the McKale Center for the in-state showdown. Despite the 22-point loss, NAU trailed by only eight at halftime. Steven Sir scored a game-high 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers. But NAU was riddled with fouls as Ruben Boykin, Jr., Tyrone Bazy and Sir all fouled out. Against MSU-Northern, Kyle Landry had a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, both tying collegiate highs. Boykin, Jr., also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards.
Northern Colorado Bears (0-4)
Last week’s results
At Greeley, Colo., Nov. 17: Colorado-Colorado Springs 96, Northern Colorado 91
At Denver, Nov. 19: Denver 74, Northern Colorado 68
This week’s games
Nov. 21 vs. Colorado Christian
Nov. 24 vs. Oregon State
Against Colorado-Colorado Springs, Sean Taibi scored a team-high 19 points to go along with four assists. Chris Kaba and Dwayne Birden each scored 15 points on the losing end. Against the Pioneers, UNC fell to 0-4 with a six-point loss. Kirk Archibeque scored 17 points with eight rebounds. Taibi added 13 points as well.
Portland State Vikings (3-2)
Last week’s results
At Tempe, Ariz., Nov. 18: Portland State 71, Arizona State 67
At Portland, Ore., Nov. 20: Portland State 96, Evergreen State 76
This week’s games
Nov. 27 vs. Portland
Against the Sun Devils, the Vikings became just the second Big Sky team in league history to knock off Pac-10 member Arizona State. Juma Kamara scored 18 points, while Scott Morrison added 16. PSU shot 53.6 percent from the field in the first half and jumped out to a 45-35 halftime lead. PSU was 24-for-36 at the free throw line. Against Evergreen State, the Vikings got a balanced effort for the victory. Morrison had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Kamara scored 20 points, and Deonte Huff scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds. PSU out-rebounded Evergreen State by a 50-28 margin.
Sacramento State Hornets (2-3)
Last week’s results
At Sacramento, Calif., Nov. 14: San Francisco 89, Sacramento State 64
At Denver, Nov. 17: Sacramento State 74, Denver 53
At Seattle, Nov. 19: Washington 83, Sacramento State 74
This week’s games
Nov. 22 vs. William Jessup
Nov. 25 vs. UC-Davis
Against the Dons, Sacramento State led 34-27 at the half, but was outscored 62-30 in the second half for the defeat at home. Alex Bausley scored 21 points and had 12 rebounds. USF shot 78.6 percent from the field in the second half. Against the Pioneers, the Hornets set a new school record for the largest road defeat since moving to Division I. Haron Hargrave scored 31 points, a collegiate high. Against the Huskies, Sac State chucked up 82 shots, making only 29 of them. Bausley scored 19 points with eight rebounds and seven steals in the loss.
Weber State Wildcats (3-1)
Last week’s results
At Fairbanks, Alaska, Nov. 16, Top of the World Classic: Weber State 71, Alaska-Fairbanks 66
At Fairbanks, Alaska, Nov. 18, Top of the World Classic: Weber State 66, Troy 61
At Fairbanks, Alaska, Nov. 19, Top of the World Classic: Utah State 68, Weber State 55
This week’s games
Nov. 22 vs. Montana Tech
Nov. 25 at Utah State
In the Top of the World Classic, Weber State came away with a 2-1 record. Prior to losing to Utah State in the championship game, David Patten scored 14 points to beat host Alaska-Fairbanks. Then, against Troy, Arturas Valeika scored 15 points with 12 rebounds. Valeika followed that up with an 18-point effort against the Aggies. Weber State shot 51.2 percent from the field in the game.
