Cheney, WA – Portland State has had a lot of great nights of basketball so far this season. The night of Dec. 28 was not one of them. Eastern Washington routed the Vikings, 91-57, in the Big Sky Conference opener at Reese Court.
 
With a 9-3 record going into the contest, the Vikings had been in every game this season. Their largest deficit in any game was 15 points. But, after a slow start, the Eagles got going offensively and eventually led the Vikings by as many as 34 points.
 
PSU drops to 9-4 with the loss, but more significantly, start Big Sky play at 0-1.
 
Eastern Washington entered the game with a 4-7 record, but that was deceiving. The Eagles had played only two at home, and faced five Pac-12 opponents on the road. And of course, they are the defending Big Sky Conference regular season champions.
 
The Eagles improve to 5-7 and begin Big Sky play at 1-0.
 
The Vikings raced to a 12-2 lead in the opening four minutes. But that was short-lived as Eastern Washington came back with a 20-2 rally, led by 13 points from Cedric Coward.
 
In fact, it was all Eagles after PSU's early burst. Eastern Washington made eight shots in a row and 11 of 12 over a stretch, extending their rally to 34-9 over the span of 11 minutes.
 
By halftime, the Vikings trailed 46-27. It was already Portland State's largest deficit through 13 games. Eastern Washington shot .597 from the field in the half, and after a slow start was 15 of its last 19. Coward had 15 points to lead all scorers at halftime.
 
Portland State's biggest sin was turnovers. Averaging just 10 per game going into the contest, the Vikings gave the ball away 14 times in the first half.
 
Things got no better in the second half for Portland State. Eastern Washington continued to grow its lead and the Vikings were never able to threaten.
 
PSU finished the game with a season-high 21 turnovers that the Eagles turned into 26 points. The Vikings were 20-50 from the field (.400) and got out-rebounded 34-25.
 
Junior forward Isaiah Johnson was the only Viking in double figures, scoring 10 points with four rebounds.
 
Eastern Washington ended the night at 31-58 from the field (.534). The Eagles also made 11-19 from behind the arc for a .579 mark.
 
Coward led all scorers with 21 points for the Eagles. Dane Erikstrup came off the bench for 18 points and five steals. LeJuan Watts grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go with 12 points.
 

GAME NOTES

• Portland State's 57 points was a season low. However, all 12 Vikings scored in the game.
• Junior center Hayden Curtiss blocked three shots and has a team-high 17 blocks this season.
• Eastern Washington has beaten the Vikings eight straight times. PSU has not won in Cheney since 2015.
• The Vikings return to action on Saturday at Idaho. Game time is 1 p.m. and it can be seen on ESPN+.