Bliznyuk scores 29 as E Washington tops North Dakota 77-64

Jan 1, 2018, 01:05 am

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Bogdan Bliznyuk went on a tear in the second half, scored 29 points on 12-for-18 shooting and Eastern Washington defeated North Dakota 77-64 on Sunday.

The win was the first time Eastern Washington (6-9, 1-1 Big Sky Conference) has won in Grand Forks.

The Eagles led 42-26 at halftime but North Dakota (4-9, 0-2) steadily worked the lead down to 50-47 when Tray Buchanan hit from 3 with 10:38 remaining.

Then came a Bliznyuk blitz. He scored the next eight points in about two minutes with a 3, a 3-point play and a jump shot, driving the lead back to 11 points and forcing a North Dakota timeout at 6:59. After the timeout, Bliznyuk scored six more for a 14-point one-man outburst before Cody Benzel launched a 3-pointer that gave Eastern a 67-49 lead with 3:20 to play.

Jesse Hunt scored 16 points and Sir Washington 12 for EWU.

Dale Jones led North Dakota with 20 points and 11 rebounds.