Griz set for rematch with Eagles

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The Montana Grizzlies (11-7, 6-1 BSC) are back on the proverbial horse on Saturday, looking to rebound from Thursday's loss to Idaho, as the Eastern Washington Eagles (9-9, 3-3 BSC) return to Missoula for a rematch of last year's Big Sky tournament championship game. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Dahlberg Arena.

Montana enters the game having its seven-game win streak snapped by the Vandals in the 63-58 loss. It was Idaho's first win in Missoula since the winter of 1999. The Griz shot just 32 percent from the field against UI. Despite a late comeback, the Griz were eventually undone by a 14-2 run that started the second half.

Martin Breunig put up his eighth double-double of the year against Idaho with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He now has an average of 18.3 points per game, the third best in the Big Sky.

Eastern Washington also enters Dahlberg Arena coming off a loss, having been beaten by Montana State 85-71 on Thursday. Bogdan Bliznyuk, who posted EWU's first triple-double in program history last week, led the Eagles against the Bobcats with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS: During halftime of the UM/EWU game, Grizzly Athletics will be celebrating the 100^th birthday of long (long) time Missoula community fixture and former Grizzly athlete Ty Robinson, who will surpass the century mark on Monday, Jan. 25.

A graduate of the Montana School of Law, Robinson played for the 1937 & 38 Grizzly basketball team during his time at UM, and has made countless contributions to the University and community as a whole.

FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT: The annual GSA fan appreciation tailgate party will kick off the evening's festivities, as the East Auxiliary Gym (EAG) will be open from 5 -7 p.m. to sell hot dogs, chips and sodas for to fans. The fan appreciation tailgate is open to the public.

WHITE OUT: As the east coast braces for a white out blizzard, the inside of Dahlberg Arena will be a white out as well on Saturday, as fans are encouraged to wear white to the game.

WATCH: The Montana/Eastern Washington Game will be streamed live for FREE at WatchBigSky.com. Fans can also follow the Grizllies' official twitter account to see live updates and instant replay video.

SERIES HISTORY: The Griz lead the all-time series with Eastern Washington 64-41. The Grizzlies lost twice at home to EWU last season, the first two losses to the Eagles in Missoula in 12 years.

LAST MEETING: In front of a season-high 7,026 screaming fans, the Eagles nabbed the Big Sky's ticket to the NCAA tournament in a come-from-behind, 69-65 victory in the Championship game of the league tournament in Missoula. Montana led by 11 points with just over six minutes to play, but the Eagles outscored the Griz 14-2 in the final four minutes to take the victory.

During the regular season, Montana split with the Eagles, falling 75-69 in Missoula, before redeeming themselves on the road with a 77-76 win in Cheney.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: The Eagles were winners of three straight home games headed into Thursday's game in Bozeman. EWU dropped its third road game of the league season, and its eighth road game of the year.

The Eagles have three of the Big Sky's most dangerous scorers, with senior Austin McBroom leading the Big Sky in scoring at 19.4 PPG, followed by senior forward Venky Jois with 15.9 PPG and Felix Von Hofe with 15.1 PPG.

Sophomore Bogdan Bliznyuk registered the first triple-double in EWU history last week with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in the Eagles 96-73 win over Northern Arizona on Jan. 16 in Cheney.

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Players Mentioned

Martin Breunig

University of Montana Athletics