WhoÂ’s Bret Vandergard and whatÂ’s he done for us lately?

[JMD]

Congratulations on your first win, coach!

[PointGuard]

Thanks...I guess this will preclude any hangings in effigy at least for a while.

The win is sort of like the sayings:

"Every dog has its day."

or...

"Even a blind pig finds an acorn one in a while."

[PointGuard]

Game #7, Dec. 6, 2013: Eastern Washington Eagles (1-5) at Citadel Bulldogs (3-2)

Citadel’s leading players thus far have been PF Pat McClinton and C Jamal Clark. We’ll focus initially on Pat McClinton. Coach V has decided to start Joe Blackwell in place of Terence Hillier at SF due to Joe’s offensive production thus far.

We fell behind 15-5 after 4-1/2 min of play. Shawn Jackson not only hit the first 3 pointer of the entire year for our guards, but dropped in 3 from beyond the arc in the first 6 minutes of play tonight to close the gap. But 3 of our players ran into foul trouble in in first 7 minutes of the game and Citadel was in the double bonus at the 10:17 mark. Our team didn’t give up though and made a late run to cut a 12 point lead to a 38-35 halftime deficit. Our scoring was led by Joseph Palmer with 10 points and Shawn Jackson with 9 points.

We scored 4 unanswered points in the first 27 seconds of 2nd half to take 39-38 lead. Citadel recaptured lead, and then with refs again tagging us with foul-after-foul, pulled away late in the half. Another road game, another loss.

Final Score: Citadel (4-2)--80, Eastern Washington (1-6)--65.

Team stats:

FG %: 58% (28-48) vs 51% (20-39) in favor of Citadel
FT %: 94% (17-18) vs 68% (23-34) in favor of EWU
3 pt %: 44% (4-9) vs 25% (3-12) in favor of EWU
Reb: 25 (including 10 offensive reb) vs 17 (including 5 offensive reb) in favor of Citadel
Turnovers: 20 vs 14 in favor of Citadel
Blocks: 2 vs 1 in favor of Citadel
Steals: 10 vs 7 in favor of Citadel
Assists: 12 vs 10 in favor of Citadel
Fouls: 18 vs 26 in favor of Citadel
Pts in paint: 34 vs 20 in favor of Citadel
2nd chance pts: 16 vs 7 in favor of Citadel
Fast break pts: 18 vs 16 in favor of EWU
Biggest lead: 17 vs 1 in favor of Citadel
Lead changes: 5
Times tied: 2

Leading Eagles’ players: SG Shawn Jackson-14 pts, 1 reb; C Joseph Palmer-12 pts, 3 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block; PG Tim Dove-11 pts, 1 reb, 2 assists; SF Joe Blackwell-8 pts, 3 reb, 1 steal.

Citadel’s SF Laron Howell was the player of the game with 17 pts, 4 reb, 4 assists.

[PointGuard]

Game #8, Dec. 9, 2013: Eastern Washington Eagles (1-6) at UC Irvine Anteaters (3-4)

Welcome to Eastern Washington Eagles' basketball on KSPK. Tonight we're in Irvine, California where the Eagles will match up against the University of California at Irvine Anteaters. The Anteaters have thus far been inconsistent, but have won 3 of their 4 home games. They're led by senior shooting guard Anthony Oliver who is averaging 17.1 ppg. He's hit 51% of his field goal attempts, 60% of his shots from 3 point distance and 95% of his free throws. The Eagles will need to keep him from catching fire, if they hope to win.

Tonight's game is brought to you by Springfield Ford, where you will have the biggest choice of cars in Cheney, and by Thompson Feed and Seed, your one-stop farm supply source.

Tonight's starting lineup for Eastern Washington is: 6'1" freshman Tim Dove at point guard, 6'4" freshman Shawn Jackson at the shooting guard position, 6'7" sophomore Terrence Hillier returns to the starting lineup at small forward to give the Eagles a little more height, 6'9" freshman Cory Davis will be at power forward, and the starting center is the Eagle's captain 6'8" junior Joseph Palmer.
...
The opening tip goes to the Anteaters. Rogers brings it over the center line, shoots a pass toward the right corner. Hillier steps in front to intercept the ball and flips an outlet pass to Tim Dove. Dove brings it quickly up court then slows it down. The Eagles move the ball around the perimeter. There's a pass to Hillier on the right baseline and he drives toward the basket. The ref's whistle pierces the air. Ohh...they're calling an offensive foul against Hillier. Anteater ball with 19:35 on the clock.
....
Both teams have looked tight in the early going with multiple turnovers. Just one shot in this game thus far. Roberts guarded tightly by Cory Davis passes back outside to Anthony Oliver in the middle. Oliver has some daylight and puts up a shot from 25 feet and it drops cleanly through the twine to make it 3-0 with after two minutes of play. The Eagles have been double-teaming Oliver thus far, but he got free for that shot.
....
With 16:45 on the clock, Tim Dove fouls Oliver on his jumper from the foul line. Coach Vandergard is sending in some reserves. At point guard, replacing Dove, who already has 3 turnovers, will be Robbie Taflinger. Joe Blackwell comes in for Terence Hillier. In past games, Blackwell has been able to put some quick points on the board when he's been brought off the bench. And at center, Palmer is replaced by big Michael Taylor. In just under 4 minutes of play, the Eagles have only gotten off one shot while turning the ball over 4 times, so I guess Vandergard decided it was time for a change. Oliver's first shot rims around but drops through. His 2nd shot is also good. The Eagles now trail 7-0 as Oliver has scored all of the Anteaters' points.
...
Coming out of the first time out, the Anteaters continue to stymie the Eagles with a tough man-to-man defense. Taylor makes a risky cross court pass to Blackwell who drives on his man, pulling up for a 6-footer that careens off the rim, but he was fouled by Johnson on the shot. Joe Blackwell sinks the first...and the second to finally put the Eagles on the board. The score is now 7-2 in favor of UC Irvine with 15:21 on the clock.
...
The Eagles' defense has kept the Anteaters from running away with this game and given the Eagles time to settle down offensively. Odie Joseph takes the ball down low, can't get off a shot, turns and fires it out to Blackwell outside who lofts up a 3...THAT's GOOD! And Eastern takes a 9-8 lead 7 minutes into the contest.
...
Dove gets the ball inside to Joseph. He muscles up a shot that bounces up and in...and he's fouled on the shot by the Anteaters' Grundy. Joseph toes the line and calmly drops it in to complete the 3-point play and give the Eagles an 18-13 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Joseph and Blackwell have come off the bench to provide the instant offense the Eagles so badly needed. Both men have scored 7 points. Brian Robisch has added 4 in his 3 minutes on the court.
...
The refs call a time out with 7:15 left to go in the half. Eastern Washington has been playing inspired ball the past 8 minutes and now leads 26-13, hitting on 8 of their 13 shots and adding 7 points from the charity line. Coach Vandergard has continued to shuttle in players to keep fresh legs on the floor.
...
Roberts shot from the wing rims out as the buzzer sounds and Eastern Washington will leave the court with a 43-29 advantage. The Eagle have hit 59% of their shots and 15 of 16 from the line while holding UC Irvine's shooting to just 37%. They also out-rebounded the Anteaters 15-7. The bench has scored 36 of Eastern's 43 points. Topping the Eagles' scoring in the first half were Joe Blackwell and Robbie Taflinger, each with 9 points. For the Anteaters, Anthony Oliver has lived up to his hype by dropping in 14 points thus far.
...
Taflinger, Robisch, and Blackwell will be starting for the Eagles in the 2nd half as Coach Vandergard tries to ride the hot hands. The Eagles inbound the ball to Robisch, he dribbles to the side line, passes to Cody Davis at the edge of the key who quickly drops the ball off to Taflinger. Taflinger cuts around his man and drives up the middle of the key for an uncontensted lay in to open the scoring in the 2nd half.
...
UCI's hit's their 2nd straight 3 and 8th unanswered point cutting the lead to 49-39. Vandergard doesn't like what he's seeing and calls a time out with 17:29 left.
...
Taflinger dribbles to the head of the key and passes it to Robisch who cuts around the pick set by Taflinger. It's a perfect pick and roll, with Brian Robisch getting free for the 12 foot jumper that finds the bottom of the net. 51-39, Eastern.
...
The Anteaters intercept yet another errant Eagles' pass. The ball is outletted to Johnson who flies up the court for a convincing driving dunk that puts the Anteaters back in the lead 52-51 with 11-1/2 minutes to play. The Eagles have turned the ball over on 3 straight possessions. Eastern calls another time out as the crowd is going wild.
...
After the disastrous nose-dive by the Eagles that dropped them behind by as much as 9 points, they've battled back, folks. Dove works the ball inside. Joseph takes it on the edge of the key, works his man inside and puts up a shot that comes off the rim, but Joseph grabs his own rebound and stuffs it back in to pull Eastern to a 71-68 deficit with 2:20 remaining.
...
Yet another foul on the Eagles. This time Dove is called for hacking with 2:10 to go. The Anteaters have long been in the double bonus so Rogers goes to the line for another 2 shots. He plunks both in to make it 73-68.
...
And that's it folks, a disappointing night for Eastern Washington. After leading by 18 points, the Eagles swan dive in the 2nd half left them on the short end of a 78-68 score here in Irvine. As they say, if you got the bull by the horns, you best not let him loose.

The story line of the 2nd half can be summed up by focusing on the Eagles' 15 turnovers and 16 fouls which turned out to be just too much of an impediment to overcome. The Anteaters took advantage of both to pull away and send the Eagles to yet another road defeat.

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Final Score: UC Irvine (4-4)--78, Eastern Washington (1-7)--68.

Team stats:

FG %: 53% (24-45) vs 49% (20-41) in favor of EWU
FT %: 82% (31-38) vs 82% (18-22) in favor of UCI
3 pt %: 39% (7-18) vs 29% (2-7) in favor of UCI
Reb: 25 (including 7 offensive reb) vs 20 (including 5 offensive reb) in favor of EWU
Turnovers: 18 vs 22 in favor of UCI
Blocks: 2 vs 1 in favor of UCI
Steals: 14 vs 11 in favor of UCI
Assists: 10 vs 10 so even
Fouls: 17 vs 26 in favor of UCI
Pts in paint: 30 vs 20 in favor of EWU
2nd chance pts: 14 vs 11 in favor of EWU
Fast break pts: 22 vs 18 in favor of EWU
Biggest lead: 18 vs 10 in favor of EWU
Lead changes: 8
Times tied: 2

Leading Eagles’ players: SF Joe Blackwell-15 pts, 4 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals; PG Robbie Taflinger-14 pts, 2 assists; PF Odie Joseph-13 pts, 4 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal; SG Brian Robisch-9 pts, 5 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals; C Michael Taylor-7 pts, 3 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

UCI's SG Anthony Oliver was the player of the game with 26 pts, 4 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

[PointGuard]

Game #9, Dec. 13, 2013: Eastern Washington Eagles (1-7) at Quinnipiac Bobcats (4-3)

I graduated from Eastern Washington 6 years ago and moved to Connecticut to take a junior management position with an insurance company a year ago. I only know of one other Eastern Washington grad in this area. I talked him into going with me to the game tonight, but then we got hit by a snow storm and he flaked on me (actually I think the snow was just an excuse for him NOT to come). I hear that the team's plane was delayed due the snow, so they only arrived shortly before tonight's game. The snow has reduced the crowd, which is good because I'm CERTAIN that I'm the only Eagles' fan here.

The Quinnipiac fans around me gave me a hard time, but it all was in fun. But even though there were a couple lead changes, the Eagles played tough defensively and held a small lead through most of the 1st half, leaving the floor with a 28-21 advantage. Brian Robisch led our scoring with 7 points.

Each time the Bobcats threatened in the 2nd half, the Eagles fought back and pulled away again. Quinnipiac made a furious comeback in the last few minutes to make it look closer than it was for most of the game.

It was great to see the Eagles win, and more importantly, I met a great Quinnipiac fan and she’s going to go out on a date with me this coming weekend.

Final Score: Eastern Washington (2-7)—76, Quinnipiac (4-4)—72.

Team stats:

FG %: 51% (23-45) vs 42% (21-50) in favor of EWU
FT %: 77% (24-31) vs 71% (20-28) in favor of Quinnipiac
3 pt %: 40% (6-15) vs 31% (4-13) in favor of Quinnipiac
Reb: 32 (including 9 offensive reb) vs 26 (including 6 offensive reb) in favor of EWU
Turnovers: 18 vs 13 in favor of Quinnipiac
Blocks: 2 vs 1 in favor of Quinnipiac
Steals: 9 vs 8 in favor of Quinnipiac
Assists: 12 vs 10 in favor of EWU
Fouls: 21 vs 25 in favor of Quinnipiac
Pts in paint: 32 vs 28 in favor of EWU
2nd chance pts: 15 vs 10 in favor of EWU
Fast break pts: 23 vs 16 in favor of EWU
Biggest lead: 14 vs 1 in favor of EWU
Lead changes: 5
Times tied: 3

Leading Eagles’ players: C Joseph Palmer-17 pts, 8 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block; PG Tim Dove-10 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 1 steal; SG Brian Robisch-10 pts, 2 assists, 3 steals.

EWU’s C Joseph Palmer was the player of the game with 17 pts, 8 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block.

Top player for Quinnipiac: PF Andre Rowe-10 pts, 5 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block.

[PointGuard]

Here are the player statistics for the Eastern Washington
Eagles thus far this season:

[PointGuard]

JW: So, Coach, is the season going as you expected thus far?

BV: Well, to be honest, I didn’t have any preconceived expectations about this team or how we would do this year. I have tried to keep an open mind about all of my players and see how they develop. With regard to our record, while I’d like to see us have some more games in the win column, I’m not surprised since the players are young, they’re learning new sets offensively and defensively, and our pre-conference schedule is heavily weighted with road games. The main thing is for our players to continue to get more comfortable with the system, work more cohesively together, and just focus on playing their very best in the next upcoming game, taking it one game at a time.

JW: Many are surprised that you’ve been playing such a deep bench. Was this by design?

BV: No, not exactly by design. It’s more by necessity. I think we have some very equally talented basketball players, as their individual stats will bear out. Also, our big men tend to tire pretty quickly, so it’s good we have some backups who can come in without a drop-off in how we’re playing. Also with 2/3 of our team being freshman and sophomores, it’s not surprising that most have a big learning curve and have not yet developed consistency. So, we have to give more time to those with the hot hands on any given night. We basically have 11 players who are getting a good number of minutes with a few of those filling in at multiple positions.

JW: How do you think you will do in the Big Sky Conference this year?

BV: It’s really too soon to predict. Again, we just need to keep improving and see how things work out for us. No one not associated with our team expected much of this squad at the beginning of the year. In fact we were predicted to finish near the bottom of the Big Sky. I think we may surprise a few people though and win a few more games than most expected. The Big Sky will be highly competitive, and this has to be viewed as a building year for Eastern Washington. But our student body needs to come out to our games and support the team, because I think we will be entertaining and that support will definitely help us win more games.

JW: Which players have impressed you most thus far?

BV: I’m impressed that the entire squad is playing their hearts out. They put it all on the court every game. No one player is carrying the team, and we get impressive performances from different players, both starters and reserves, each and every game. Hell, we had one game where nearly all the points were scored by players coming off the bench…that’s almost unheard of in college ball. So far, our interior players have carried us offensively, but I expect our perimeter players to put more points on the board as they gain experience and confidence.

JW: You’ve played and been an assistant coach at a number of colleges before becoming our head coach, what do you think of our facilities?

BV: They’re adequate, but I’m hoping we can make some improvements soon. That will help our team and other teams here at Eastern, and will also make our recruiting easier and more productive in the future.

JW: Finally Coach, what area of the Eagles’ game needs the most attention?

BV: We’ve got a lot of work to do on every aspect of our game. My assistant coaches are working hard to develop players and our overall play…offensively, defensively and on the boards. It’s a gradual process though. But our players are working hard in both practice and during games, so I’m pleased with their effort.

[PointGuard]

(OK, each of you reading this post is now a member of the Eagles’ Wings Fan Club)

Hey, Fan Club members, this is Bud. As a way to get Fan Club members psyched up to attend upcoming home games and feel like a part of the team, Coach Vandergard has decided to start those players that the Fan Club most wants in the next (and final) away game of the pre-conference schedule. If a player has become a favorite of yours for something done in games thus far, vote for that player. And the player stats were recently posted here, so you can take a look at those also and then indicate which players you would start at each of the 5 positions. Coach V will go with the majority vote. Voting is now open, but will close soon, so vote immediately.

[Wayne23]

My cousin Brian Dearman should start every game. You're a poopy head for not realizing that. I vote for him.

[PointGuard]

I should have know that YOU were his cousin.

But that's one vote, you get 5...and can't vote multiple times for the same guy, even if he IS your blood-relative.