MOSCOW - Ranked seventh in NCAA Division I in 3-point shooting, six Eastern Washington Eagles got into the act on Saturday night.

A trio of 3-pointers sparked EWU in the second half as the Eagles downed Idaho 89-86 before 1,321 at Cowan Spectrum in the first Big Sky Conference men's basketball meeting between the two schools since 1996.

The victory gave the Eagles (12-4, 3-0 Big Sky) sole possession of first place in the league standings at 3-0, and was Eastern's first Big Sky win ever against the Vandals (7-7, 2-1).

"The 89-86 score doesn't surprise me," Eastern coach Jim Hayford said. "I expected a close game between two really good offensive teams. We were maybe just a little bit better on defense. We forced a couple of key turnovers and that might have been the difference in a one-possession game. Otherwise it was a very even game."

Mike Scott's 3-pointer in the waning seconds missed its mark for Idaho, and Perrion Callendret's desperation shot at the buzzer was off, too.

"They did a pretty good job of guarding it," Idaho coach Don Verlin said of EWU's defense of Idaho's final attempt. "It's a play we work on all the time. We didn't execute as well as we should have.

"When it comes down to those types of plays, you're more hoping to find a way."

The game had eight lead changes and three ties before treys by Tyler Harvey, Parker Kelly and Sir Washington gave EWU a 10-point lead. The Eagles made 11 of 26 in the game, including four by Harvey, the national leader. Eastern averaged 9.5 entering the game.

The Eagles led early 13-2, but the Vandals used a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the game late in the first half and led by one at halftime. A 9-0 run by the Eagles helped Eastern open an eight-point lead in the second half, but the Vandals battled back to knot it at 67. Eastern followed with its 11-1 run, then sank 5-of-6 free throws in the last 1:39 to hold off the Vandals.

"It's never easy closing out a game on the road, but we'll take it," he added. "We'll take it."

Connor Hill had 16 points to lead four Idaho players in double figures with Scott adding 13, Sekou Wiggs tallying 13, and Arkadiy Mkrtychyan contributing 12 along with a team-best seven rebounds.

With the exception of the first five minutes of the game and a few moments during the final five, only three or four points separated the teams throughout the tense 40 minutes.

"It comes down to just a couple of possessions," Verlin said. "We didn't rebound well enough, didn't come up with the big stops, uncharacteristically undisciplined with the ball a few times. I don't know if it was any one thing that went wrong. Just a couple of small things.

"We just didn't find a way when we needed to tonight."

On Thursday, Idaho visits Sacramento State, and EWU travels to Portland State.

E. WASHINGTON (12-4)

Miljkovic 2-5 2-4 7, Harvey 6-15 7-8 23, Kelly 3-5 2-2 11, Brandon 3-7 4-4 11, Jois 8-11 0-1 16, Washington 1-2 0-0 3, Reid 0-1 0-0 0, Bliznyuk 5-7 3-5 13, Moon 0-0 0-0 0, Von Hofe 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 30-57 18-24 89.

IDAHO (7-7)

Wiggs 5-13 3-4 13, Hill 7-14 0-1 16, M. Scott 4-12 3-3 15, Seck 2-5 0-0 4, Mpawe 1-1 2-6 4, Callandret 3-4 1-2 8, Sanders 2-4 0-0 6, Mkrtychyan 4-6 4-4 12, Egbert 3-5 2-2 8. Totals 31-64 15-22 86.

Halftime_Idaho 42-41. 3-Point Goals_E. Washington 11-26 (Harvey 4-11, Kelly 3-4, Miljkovic 1-2, Washington 1-2, Brandon 1-3, Von Hofe 1-3, Bliznyuk 0-1), Idaho 9-19 (M. Scott 4-9, Sanders 2-2, Hill 2-6, Callandret 1-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_E. Washington 30 (Brandon 8), Idaho 35 (Mkrtychyan 7). Assists_E. Washington 16 (Brandon 9), Idaho 15 (Wiggs 7). Total Fouls_E. Washington 18, Idaho 21. A_1,321.