EWU men advance to conference semifinals
Jim AllenThe Spokesman-Review
Fittingly, it was Jeffrey Forbes who punched Eastern’s ticket Saturday afternoon. With the Eagles clinging to a two-point lead with 40 seconds to play, Forbes punched the ball away from Idaho State’s Michael Morgan to help give Eastern an 81-75 win and a trip to the semifinals of the Big Sky men’s basketball tournament. “He put the ball right in front of me,” said Forbes, who also scored a season-high 21 points in the biggest game of his college career. “I didn’t want to get called for a foul, so I just reached in and just tapped it, and it went my way.”
A few seconds later, so did the game, the biggest at Reese Court in at least six years. On Tuesday in Missoula, the Eagles (15-16) will face Montana (23-6) at 7 p.m. If they win, they will play Wednesday night for a spot in the NCAA tournament. “We’ll celebrate tonight,” Eagles coach Jim Hayford said. “And we’ll wake up tomorrow and try to do something special in Missoula.”
Laran Griffin also had 11 rebounds for his sixth career double-double. Cliff Colimon, who led the Eagles with 22 points and seven assists, hit both shots to put Eastern ahead 74-69, but Morgan answered 8 seconds later to set up Forbes’ big steal and assist to Kevin Winford.
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