The stands had cleared and Idaho State senior Andre Hatchett sat in a folding chair with headphones on talking about the Bengals’ 87-76 conference-opening victory against Portland State Thursday night on the radio.

    The Bengals scored more points than they had in a month, held an opponent well below 45 percent shooting from the field — something they had done once this year — and had thoroughly flummoxed Portland State’s defense for 40 minutes with the three-headed attack of Hatchett, Tomas Sanchez and Chris Hansen.

    Idaho State (4-6, 1-0 Big Sky) had won for the first time since early December and for the second time this season against a Division I foe.

    Hatchett rested his elbows on his knees in a seat just vacated by Idaho State second-year head coach Bill Evans, and as he answered ISU play-by-play announcer Jerry Miller’s questions on how Idaho State recovered from an early first-half deficit to win by double digits, his coach was already looking forward to his next opponent, Eastern Washington.

    “I’m so grateful we won this game, but I’m thinking about the next one we have to play,” Evans said.

    Such is the life of college basketball’s regular season. In the Big Sky Conference, it’s a 20-game marathon and there’s never a moment to gaze back and admire the last mile. Of the league’s 11 teams, seven will qualify for the postseason tournament and taking a chance to appreciate a past performance could result in disaster.

    And Eastern Washington (5-7, 0-1 Big Sky) deserves plenty of consideration.

    The Eagles and the Bengals play tonight in Holt Arena at 7:05 p.m.

    Dating back to Dec. 8, EWU has dropped its last five and has not won a game on the road this season. But the Eagles, without a senior on the roster, boast a load of talent.

    “They’ve got a shot blocker in the middle and their four man is probably an all-league guy,” Evans said. “Their point guard is a really good player. Tyler Harvey had 30 against one of the best teams in this league. And they’ve got a kid that can really shoot the ball.”

    The shot blocker is 6-foot-10 junior Martin Seiferth. The four man is sophomore Venky Jois, a 6-7 forward with athleticism and the ability to play anywhere the floor. Jois is second on the team in points (12.6), first in rebounds (7.9) and third in assists (2.5).

    The point guard, junior Drew Brandon, is a junior college transfer from Sierra College in Rocklin, Calif., and he’s been a solid, consistent presence both offensively and defensively.

    Then there’s Tyler Harvey, the Eagels smooth left-handed shooter. His 30 points against Weber State Thursday in EWU’s 74-67 loss bumped the sophomore’s scoring average to 20.2 for the season.

    It’s only game No. 2 of the conference slate for both squads. But expect each to arrive at Holt motivated.

    There’s no way Eastern Washington wants to begin in a two-game hole in the conference standings.

    And through Jan. 3 a year ago, Idaho State was 1-11 overall and 0-3 in the Big Sky. Starting 2-0 in the league this year could provide a (loud) statement to the rest of the league.

    “We’re hungry as well. The seniors, this is our last go-round,” Hatchett said. “You can’t get (any) hungrier than this. We start off 2-0 at our place, I mean, that should be enough said. … We need this win to put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs.”

Ajak Magot return

    Ajak Magot, ISU’s 6-foot-11 junior center transfer from Cochise College, played the first minutes of his Bengal career Thursday.

     Magot broke his foot in the Bengals’ exhibition opener and has been out since. He dressed for the Bakersfield game but never entered. He was on the court for seven minutes and had two rebounds, one turnover and one block against Portland State.

    “It really is good to have him back,” Evans said. “He’s another body and he has length. You just don’t drive it in there against him.”

    Magot’s return means the Bengals have three players, along with starter Ayibakuro Preh and freshman Scotty Tyler, who can play the center position of ISU’s zone.

Roster depth

    Against Portland State, Idaho State heavily relied on its starters and reserve guard Evann Hall. Each was on the court at least 23 minutes and three other players — Magot, Tyler and freshman Justin Smith — played a total of 21 minutes.

    In a similar fashion, four of Eastern Washington’s starters all registered 36 minutes or more at Weber State and three reserves came off the bench to play a total of 23 minutes.

NOTES: Eastern Washington leads the all-time series with Idaho State 40-27. ... The Eagles have won the last eight meetings dating back Feb. 27, 2010.

Eastern Washington at Idaho State

Radio — 930 CBS Sports or Rock 102.5

Web — isubengals.com (live stats)

Video — http://www.americaonesports.com/bigsky.asp (live game feed)

Records — Idaho State is 4-6 and 1-0 in the Big Sky. Eastern Washington is 5-7 and 0-1 in the conference.

Last outing — Idaho State beat Portland State at home 87-76. Eastern Washington lost at Weber State 74-67.

Up next — Idaho State travels to North Dakota.

Probable starters

Eastern Washington:

F Venky Jois, 6-7, So. 12.6 ppg

F Martin Seiferth, 6-10, Jr. 6.8 ppg

G Tyler Harvey, 6-4, So. 20.2 ppg

G Drew Brandon, 6-3, Jr. 11.2 ppg

G Parker Kelly, 6-4, Jr. 10.0 ppg

Idaho State:

C Ayibakuro Preh, 6-9, Sr. 2.2 ppg

F Jeffrey Solarin, 6-4, Jr. 10.6 ppg

G/F Chris Hansen, 6-4, Jr. 16.9 ppg

G Andre Hatchett, 6-5, Sr. 13.3 ppg

G Tomas Sanchez, 6-4, Sr. 16.3 ppg