ON A MISSION: Coming off its best defensive effort of the season, Seattle University looks for its first true road victory of the season Wednesday evening at Eastern Washington, a team hoping for its first victory over a Division I school this year. The last two meetings in Cheney have gone to overtime. These two teams will meet again in Seattle in three weeks, which should stoke the fires of this in-state rivalry.
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Eagles come into Wednesday's game with a 2-6 record, with both victories coming against non-Division I schools (Northwest University and New Hope). Eastern Washington is coming off a tough one-point loss at San Jose State Sunday, 70-69. The Eagles are scoring 72.5 points per game and giving up 75.2 points per contest. As a team, Eastern Washington is shooting 44.3 percent from the field, including 38.9 percent from behind the three-point line, and 62.0 percent from the free throw line. Coming off an injury that kept him out of the first seven games of the season, Glen Dean scored 23 points and dished out four assists in Sunday's game against the Spartans. Among players who have appeared in more than one game this season, Kevin Winford is the team's leading scorer with 14.5 points per game, using the three-point shot as a major weapon with 29 made three-pointers. Cliff Ederaine and Laron Griffin share the team lead in rebounding, each averaging 7.9 boards per game.
SEATTLE U VS. EASTERN WASHINGTON: Seattle University and Eastern Washington will be meeting for the 15th time in history, with the Eagles holding a 9-5 series advantage. In the first season after World War II (1945-46), the two schools met four times, with Eastern Washington winning all four meetings. Eastern Washington also won both meetings in 1946-47 and the meeting in Cheney in 1948-49 before Seattle University broke through with a 55-48 victory later that season in Seattle. Thanks in part to the O'Brien brothers, Seattle U swept the season series from Eastern Washington in 1951-52. It would be 34 years before the two schools resumed the in-state rivalry, with Seattle U opening the 1985-86 season with an 83-64 loss at Eastern Washington. It took another 23 years for the next installment of the series, with Seattle U earning a 63-59 overtime victory over the Eagles in 2008-09.
LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS: For the first time in 58 years, Seattle U and Eastern Washington met twice in a single season. On Dec. 12, 2009, in Cheney, Eastern Washington jumped out to an early lead in the extra session and held on to defeat Seattle U, 100-97. Seattle University was led by Chris Gweth, who scored 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, including four three-pointers. Cervante Burrell finished with 14 points and nine assists, Aaron Broussard picked up a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds along with three steals, and Garrett Lever contributed 13 points and six rebounds off the bench. On Feb. 1, 2010, Lever hit three three-pointers in repeating his earlier performance against the Eagles with 13 points in the Redhawks' 68-62 victory.