CHENEY, Wash. (AP) - Benny Valentine scored 15 points and Andy Genao hit three key shots in the final minutes to lift Eastern Washington to a 61-55 victory over Montana State in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams Saturday night.
Mark Dunn added 12 points for the Eagles (6-2, 1-0 Big Sky).
Will Bynum led all scorers with 21 points for Montana State (3-3, 0-1).
Genao, who finished with eight points and nine rebounds, scored six straight for Eastern Washington in the final four minutes, capped by a leaning shot in the lane with 34.3 seconds left that gave the Eagles a 57-53 lead.
Leading 59-55, the Eagles sealed the win with 9.7 seconds left when Milan Stanojevic sank two foul shots courtesy of a Montana State technical foul after it called a timeout when it had none remaining.
Danny Piepoli added 11 points and Divaldo Mbunga had four blocked shots for Montana State, which committed 19 turnovers.
