Bogdan Bliznyuk was one of two EWU players to tally 45 points in Saturday's 130-124 3OT win.
The crazy 55-minute game ended two days ago, but the records and milestones keep coming in.
On a memorable afternoon for Jim Hayford as he notched his 100th victory as Eastern Washington's head coach, a total of three Big Sky Conference records and 11 school marks were tied or broken as a result of EWU's 130-124 victory over Portland State Saturday at Reese Court in Cheney, Washington.Eastern set Big Sky and EWU records with 130 points scored, as well as the 90 points combined by Bogdan Bliznyuk and Jacob Wiley. They each scored 45 as they came just two from the NCAA record of 92.
The 254 combined points were also league and school records. In addition, Eastern's three overtime periods brings to 10 its total for the season, doubling the previous Big Sky and EWU records of five in a single year. Eastern thus far is 5-1 in those contests, including a three-overtime game and one in double-overtime. The NCAA Division I season records are eight for overtime games and 14 for overtime periods.
Wiley, a senior graduate transfer from Newport, Washington, also broke the school record for field goals made with 18, and Bliznyuk, a junior from Lutsk, Ukraine, had a record 29 field goal attempts. They also both tied the record with 53 minutes played.
Wiley is a candidate for national player of the week honors, having scored 38 points in EWU in its 77-72 win over Sacramento State on Feb. 2. The 83 points in back-to-back games is a school record as well. In those two games he made 32-of-46 shots from the field (70 percent) and 19-of-25 free throws (76 percent), and averaged 14.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks. His 17 rebounds versus PSU equaled the eighth-most in school history.
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"It was a classic – that was something else," said Hayford, who is now 100-87 in six seasons at EWU, after Saturday's game. "It was two teams just going at it. There were some amazing individual performances and some amazing clutch baskets. There were some pressure free throws. You got back through and you start forgetting all the different, just amazing plays that took place."
Eastern, now 8-3 in the Big Sky and 16-8 overall, plays for sole possession of second place in the league standings they play at North Dakota on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 5 p.m. Pacific time in Grand Forks. Eastern then plays in Greeley, Colo., on Saturday (Feb. 11) in a game that begins at 1 p.m. Pacific time.
Miss any of the exciting highlights from Saturday's epic? Check out the 2nd half & OT highlights here! #LetItFly #GoEags pic.twitter.com/cTWtoa0iW5
— EWU MBB (@EWUMBB) February 6, 2017
Team records broken in EWU's 130-124 victory over Portland State
Big Sky – 130 points (previous record 128, Weber State vs. Chaminade, 1975)
Big Sky – 254 combined points (previous record 245, set by Weber State when it lost 159-86 to LSU on 12/28/91).
EWU – 130 points (previous record 126, EWU vs. George Fox, 11/15/15)
EWU – 254 combined points (previous record 225, 118-107 loss to Carroll, 12/8/67; most combined in an EWU victory was 124-94 win over Eastern Montana, 1/20/69).
Individual records broken
Big Sky – 90 combined points, Bogdan Bliznyuk & Jacob Wiley (previous record unknown, but no two players have scored 41 or more each in the same game)
Big Sky – 10 overtime periods this season (previous record 5 set on seven occasions)
EWU – 90 combined points, Bogdan Bliznyuk & Jacob Wiley (previous record unknown, but no two Eastern players have scored 31 or more each in the same game).
EWU – 45 points, Bogdan Bliznyuk (ties record previously set by Rodney Stuckey vs. Northern Arizona, 1/5/06)
EWU – 45 points, Jacob Wiley (ties record previously set by Rodney Stuckey vs. Northern Arizona, 1/5/06)
EWU – 53 minutes, Bogdan Bliznyuk (ties record previously set by Shannon Taylor vs. Weber State, 1/16/99)
EWU – 53 minutes, Jacob Wiley (ties record previously set by Shannon Taylor vs. Weber State, 1/16/99)
EWU – 29 field goal attempts, Bogdan Bliznyuk (previous record 28 set by Adris DeLeon vs. Northern Colorado, 1/17/08)
EWU – 18 field goals made, Jacob Wiley (previous record 18 set by David Peed vs. UC Irvine, 12/13/88)
EWU – 10 overtime periods this season (previous record 5 set in the 1998-99 season)
EWU – 83 points in back-to-back games, Jacob Wiley 38 vs. Sacramento State on 2/2/17 and 45 vs. Portland State on 2/4/17 (previous record 76 set by Venky Jois with 38 vs. Eastern Oregon on 11/30/14 and 38 vs. Seattle on 12/6/14)
More milestones
* The combined 90 points by Bliznyuk and Wiley came just two points from the NCAA Division I mark of 92 set by Kevin Bradshaw (72) & Isaac Brown (20) for U.S. International (now Alliant International) vs. Loyala Marymount on Jan. 5, 1991. Interestingly, they combined for 68 (Bradshaw 37, Brown 31) in a 118-83 loss to Eastern on Feb. 2, 1991, and 39 the year before (Bradshaw 30, Brown 9) in a 102-93 victory over EWU on Dec. 21, 1989.
* The 17 rebounds by Jacob Wiley equaled the eighth most in school history.
* The 20 free throws attempted by Bogdan Bliznyuk equaled the second-most in school history behind the record of 21, and his 17 free throws made were second behind the record of 20 (Tyler Harvey was 20-of-20 on 1/23/14 vs. Southern Utah, and Matt Piper was 17-of-21 on 12/28/82 vs. Humboldt State).
* The combined 90 points by Bliznyuk and Wiley was easily a school and Big Sky Conference record, and came just two points from the NCAA Division I mark of 92 set by Kevin Bradshaw (72) & Isaac Brown (20) for U.S. International (now Alliant International) vs. Loyala Marymount on Jan. 5, 1991. Interestingly, they combined for 68 (Bradshaw 37, Brown 31) in a 118-83 loss to Eastern on Feb. 2, 1991, and 39 the year before (Bradshaw 30, Brown 9) in a 102-93 victory over EWU on Dec. 21, 1989.
* With 92 being the NCAA record for combined points, it is believed to be the first time in NCAA history two players have scored at least 45 points in the same game. That milestone would only be able to be tied or exceeded with players who had 46/45 in the same game. Interestingly, Loyola Marymount's Bo Kimble and the late Hank Gathers each scored 40 against Gonzaga in 1989. The Bulldogs also had a 40-point scorer in that game, Doug Spradley.
* On Big Sky Conference lists, the 45 points both Bliznyuk and Wiley scored equaled the 12th-most in the 54-year history of the league. Only three players in NCAA Division I have scored more than 45 this season, and Wiley's 18 field goals made are No. 1.
* Eastern's 130 points has been exceeded three times by NCAA Division I schools this season, including twice by The Citadel (146, 144) and once by Troy (135).
