When the moment arrived, Snow was overcome with emotion while sporting his fancy new necklace. "I might wear this net every day for the rest of my life," said Snow, still choked up 20 minutes after the buzzer. "That's the way I feel right now."
He had plenty of company. The usually reserved Giacoletti struggled to describe the feeling of EWU's first outright conference championship.
"I'm so happy for those seniors," EWU's fourth-year coach said. "To see Alvin in tears in that locker room -- that's why you coach. He believed in us when nobody else did. I'll remember that the rest of my life."
EWU's 10th straight win, witnessed by 2,610 at Reese Court, coupled with Montana's victory over Idaho State, gave the school its first outright Big Sky title. The Eagles (14-10, 10-1), who joined the conference in 1987-88, will host the Big Sky tournament semifinals and championship game March 9-10.
The Eagles' historic victory didn't come without a fight. The scorer's table was under orders not to announce the final score of the Idaho State-Montana game and they probably had to fight back the temptation when EWU built a 74-57 lead with 8:19 remaining.
Then NAU (12-11, 5-5) scored 10 straight points and 14 of the next 16. Suddenly, EWU's lead was down to 76-71 with 3:42 left.
The Eagles, who finished 31 of 35 at the foul line, made 15 of 16 at the stripe in the final 4:30.
"Guys stepped up at the line," Giacoletti said. "They've done that all year."
Clinging to an 80-76 lead with 2:22 to play, EWU retained possession for nearly 80 seconds. Matt Nelson retrieved Marc Axton's miss. Nelson was fouled and made 1 of 2, but Snow snatched the rebound. Brendon Merritt, who had a career-high 28 points, made a pair of free throws and EWU's lead was 83-76.
Snow delivered the clincher. He poked the ball free and raced for a layin with 46 seconds left.
"It got a little more tight than I expected, but they're a good team," Axton said. "It's been a great year. We had a rough start, but we've played well in league when it matters. Now, we need to play five more solid games and just keep playing our best."
Added Merritt: "It's the best feeling in the world. I think we did it because of the camaraderie we have -- we're together on and off the court."
Both teams spent the game's first 7 minutes missing shots and the rest of the half making nearly everything they put up. NAU opened up 2 of 12 from the floor, then made nine of its next 10. NAU's hot streak generated a 20-14 lead with 8:49 remaining.
The Eagles, who didn't get their first field goal until 14 minutes remaining, were 1 of 11 at one point before burying nine of their next 13.
After 10 lead changes, EWU took the lead for good on Josh Barnard's 3-pointer with 1 minute remaining. Snow's putback and Barnard's transition layin bumped the Eagles' lead to 41-36.
EWU quickly added to its 43-39 halftime lead. Merritt's steal and three-point play gave EWU a seemingly commanding 74-57 lead.
NAU made the Eagles squirm the rest of the way before they could celebrate.
"It's so emotional because Coach and I have been through a lot. We've butted heads a lot, but no matter what took place we found a way to get through it and keep fighting," said Snow, who had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. "I thank my teammates and the coaching staff. Not too many people thought we were going to get this done. We found a way.
"Now we've got three more conference games left and two more in the tournament and hopefully we can make some noise."
EWU 91, Northern Arizona 81Northern Arizona (12-11, 5-5)_Yazzie 7-9 6-6 22, Bond 4-11 2-2 10, Kjellbom 2-4 6-8 10, Ferguson 4-5 0-0 11, Golob 3-10 3-3 10, Garnett 3-6 1-2 7, Burger 0-0 0-0 0, Feuerbach 1-2 0-0 3, Hayes 2-4 0-2 4, Boykin 2-6 0-0 4, Meynen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-57 18-23 81.
Eastern Washington (14-10, 10-1)_Barnard 3-10 2-2 10, Axton 3-9 6-6 14, Nelson 1-2 3-5 5, Merritt 8-12 10-10 28, Snow 8-14 2-2 18, Henkel 0-0 0-0 0, Pariseau 2-5 7-8 11, McCullough 0-0 0-0 0, Butorac 2-2 0-0 4, Smith 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 27-54 31-35 91.
Halftime_Eastern Washington 43, Northern Arizona 39. 3-Point goals_Northern Arizona 7-17 (Ferguson 3-4, Yazzie 2-3, Feuerbach 1-2, Golob 1-6, Bond 0-2), Eastern Washington 6-18 (Axton 2-3, Merritt 2-4, Barnard 2-7, Snow 0-2, Pariseau 0-2). Fouled out_Kjellbom. Rebounds_Northern Arizona 33 (Bond 7), Eastern Washington 27 (Snow 7). Assists_Northern Arizona 20 (Golob 6), Eastern Washington 20 (Snow 7). Total fouls_Northern Arizona 23, Eastern Washington 20. A_2,610.
