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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Valley | 14-4 | - | 25-9 |
| California Baptist | 13-5 | 1 | 25-9 |
| Utah Tech | 11-7 | 3 | 19-15 |
| UT Arlington | 9-9 | 5 | 18-14 |
| Southern Utah | 6-12 | 8 | 10-22 |
| Tarleton State | 5-13 | 9 | 14-18 |
| Abilene Christian | 5-13 | 9 | 14-19 |
| Big Sky ConferenceBig Sky Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland State | 13-5 | - | 20-11 |
| Montana State | 12-6 | 1 | 18-14 |
| Eastern Washington | 11-7 | 2 | 14-19 |
| Northern Colorado | 10-8 | 3 | 20-12 |
| Montana | 10-8 | 3 | 18-16 |
| Weber State | 10-8 | 3 | 16-16 |
| Idaho | 9-9 | 4 | 21-15 |
| Sacramento State | 6-12 | 7 | 10-21 |
| Idaho State | 5-13 | 8 | 13-20 |
| Northern Arizona | 4-14 | 9 | 10-22 |
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