OGDEN, Utah (February 19, 2018) – After climbing to fifth on the Big Sky Conference career scoring list, Eastern Washington senior guard/forward Bogdan Bliznyuk captured his third weekly honor of the season Monday following an all-around performance of 22.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game last week in wins over Montana and Montana State.
Bliznyuk jumped four spots on the top-10 scoring list to reach 1,969 points, just the second player in league history to reach that mark in the last 24 seasons.
The Lutsk, Ukraine native began the week Thursday with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists to hand Montana its first league loss and snap a 13-game win streak in a 74-65 decision in Cheney, Wash. Bliznyuk finished 8-of-13 from the floor in all 40 minutes against the Grizzlies.
Bliznyuk followed with a 25-point performance in an 84-79 win over Montana State in the Eleven Sports Game of the Week on Saturday. He came close to a triple-double showing with nine rebounds and nine assists to his stat line while going 9-of-9 from the charity stripe in 40 minutes of action.
On the week, Bliznyuk shot 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field while going 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.
Bliznyuk has now made 63 consecutive free throws dating back to Dec. 31, ranking first in the Big Sky with a 90.7 percentage (137-of-151). The EWU standout is now just 10 free throws shy from tying the NCAA single-season record of 73 set by Villanova’s Gary Buchanan during a 21-game stretch in the 2000-01 season.
Other Nominees: Geno Crandall, North Dakota; Andre Spight, Northern Colorado; Brayon Blake, Idaho; Jared Stutzman, Idaho State; Justin Strings, Sacramento State; Brandon Hollins, Portland State; Ryan Richardson, Weber State; James McGee, Southern Utah
2017-18 Big Sky Conference Players of the Week
Nov. 14 – Geno Crandall, North Dakota
Nov. 21 – Bryce Canda, Portland State
Nov. 28 – Deontae North, Portland State
Dec. 5 – Tyler Hall, Montana State
Dec. 12 – Holland Woods, Portland State
Dec. 19 – Bogdan Bliznyuk, Eastern Washington
Dec. 26 – Andre Spight, Northern Colorado
Jan. 2 – Justin Strings, Sacramento State
Jan. 8 – Jamar Akoh, Montana
Jan. 15 – Michael Oguine, Montana
Jan. 22 – Brayon Blake, Idaho
Jan. 29 – Bogdan Bliznyuk, Eastern Washington
Feb. 5 – Andre Spight, Northern Colorado
Feb. 12 – Zach Braxton, Weber State
Feb. 19 – Bogdan Bliznyuk, Eastern Washington
