"Twenty-one points, that's terrible," senior guard Brendon Merritt said. "That is terrible." That didn't carry over to the second half. The Eagles dropped in 50 second-half points without letting their defense slip.
Merritt was a major reason why, collecting 12 of his 16 points and picking up three steals. He also drew a couple of charging fouls.
Wing Josh Barnard scored all 10 of his points in the second half and chipped in five of his seven assists. Forwards Matt Nelson and Marc Axton scored 19 points, 14 in the final half.
"Sometimes our minds wander," Merritt said. "We just came in at half and got refocused. That's what it's about -- playing with confidence, trusting each other and getting the job done."
Merritt wasn't able to see the job through to the end. He was double-teamed and hacked with 49 seconds left and crumbled to the court in pain. He said his left (shooting) shoulder popped out of joint.
"I've done it before, but this time it stayed out a little longer," said Merritt, adding that he should be ready to go next week when EWU entertains Idaho State and Northern Arizona.
EWU barged in front 35-34 on Barnard's 3-pointer from the corner. From there, the Eagles buried key shot after key shot against the Vikings, who committed 31 fouls.
Merritt's steal and dunk started 6-0 run that gave the Eagles a 56-48 edge. Axton's 3 from the corner with the shot clock winding down made it 60-53 and EWU did the rest at the foul line (11 of 12 in the final 1:32).
"In the first half we had more energy," PSU coach Heath Schroyer said. "We just didn't match their intensity in the second half, and I don't think I made the correct adjustments as well."
EWU made a couple of nifty adjustments in the second half. Giacoletti, who despises zone defenses, resorted to a zone, which forced the athletic Vikings to take perimeter jumpers.
"They really only have a couple of consistent shooters and we just wanted them to take as many jumpers as possible," Barnard said. "They're big-time athletes, but we needed to take (the drive) away."
The Eagles and Vikings spent the first 20 minutes missing shots and fouling each other. For good measure, EWU missed its first three foul shots -- including two one-and-ones.
It's generally not a good sign offensively when a team's fouls, turnovers and points are in a virtual dead heat. With 7 minutes left in the first half, EWU had 11 fouls, 11 turnovers and just 13 points. PSU led 23-13.
The Eagles made sloppy passes on the perimeter that turned into easy steals for the aggressive Vikings. A couple of times EWU cutters broke open, only to get passes thrown at their feet. The Vikings had eight steals to EWU's zero.
EWU 71, Portland State 63Eastern Washington (8-10, 4-1)_Nelson 4-8 2-5 10, Axton 2-8 4-4 9, Snow 5-10 0-0 12, Pariseau 1-2 6-8 8, Barnard 2-6 4-4 10, Merritt 6-8 3-3 16, Henkel 0-0 1-3 1, McCullough 1-1 0-0 2, Butorac 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 22-44 21-29 71.
Portland State (8-10, 2-3)_Jarrell 5-8 0-2 11, Hart6man 3-5 3-3 11, Boxley 6-9 0-0 12, Walker 3-14 2-3 9, Funn 0-0 1-2 1, Oduniyi 0-4 5-6 5, Glaser 1-2 0-2 2, Scott 4-8 3-4 12, Kaladokubo 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 14-22 63.
Halftime_Portland State 27, Eastern Washington 21. 3-point goals_Eastern Washington 6-13 (Snow 2-4, Barnard 2-4, Merritt 1-2, Axton 1-3), Portland State 5-17 (Hartman 2-3, Scott 1-1, Jarrell 1-3, Walker 1-5, Boxley 0-1, Oduniyi 0-4). Fouled out_Boxley. Rebounds_Eastern Washington 27 (Nelson 6), Portland State 33 (Boxley 12). Assists_Eastern Washington 12 (Barnard 7), Portland State 12 (Glaser 4). Total fouls_Eastern Washington 24, Portland State 31. Technicals_Merritt. A_1,326.
