Eastern Washington Eagles vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds
Bliznyuk breaks Big Sky scoring mark, EWU advances to finals
RENO, Nev. -- Bogdan Bliznyuk made 13 of 17 from the field and finished with 32 points to become to Big Sky Conference's career-scoring leader as Eastern Washington beat Southern Utah 82-70 on Friday night in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
Bliznyuk, who has 2,127 career points, moved past Idaho's Orlando Lightfoot, who scored 2,102 from 1991-94.
The third-seeded Eagles, who have won eight in a row, will play No. 1 seed Montana in Saturday's championship game. Eastern Washington beat the Grizzlies 74-65 in the only regular-season matchup between the teams this season.
Bliznyuk, the conference MVP this season, broke the record with a free throw that gave third-seeded EWU (20-13) the lead for good about five minutes and a jumper by Benas Griciunas capped a 10-0 run that made it 62-45 with 11 minutes to go. Jamal Aytes' layup with 2:37 left capped an 11-2 run and trimmed Southern Utah's deficit to 72-66, but Jacob Davison scored eight points from there as EWU held on.
Dwayne Morgan and Jadon Cohee scored 15 points apiece for No. 10 seed (13-19) SUU.
Davison finished with 16 points and Griciunas scored 14 on 7-of-7 shooting. The Eagles shot a season-high 64.4 percent (31 of 48) from the field.
Game Information
Reno, NV
Referee:Ruben Ramos
Referee:Deldre Carr
Referee:Kelly Pfeifer
2025-26 Standings
| Western Athletic ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Baptist | 9-4 | - | 19-7 |
| Utah Tech | 9-4 | - | 16-11 |
| Utah Valley | 8-4 | 0.5 | 18-7 |
| UT Arlington | 6-7 | 3 | 14-11 |
| Southern Utah | 5-8 | 4 | 9-17 |
| Tarleton State | 4-9 | 5 | 13-13 |
| Abilene Christian | 4-9 | 5 | 12-14 |
| Big Sky ConferenceBig Sky Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland State | 11-2 | - | 17-7 |
| Montana State | 9-4 | 2 | 15-11 |
| Montana | 8-5 | 3 | 14-12 |
| Eastern Washington | 7-6 | 4 | 9-17 |
| Northern Colorado | 7-7 | 4.5 | 17-10 |
| Weber State | 7-7 | 4.5 | 13-14 |
| Idaho | 6-7 | 5 | 14-12 |
| Sacramento State | 5-8 | 6 | 9-16 |
| Northern Arizona | 4-10 | 7.5 | 10-17 |
| Idaho State | 3-11 | 8.5 | 10-17 |
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