GAME NOTES

The road-heavy month of November continues this week for the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team, as the Eagles play at UC Davis on Friday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. Pacific time in Davis, Calif.
 
For fans attending in person, proof of COVID vaccination or a negative test is required to enter.
 
The Eastern Washington football team also takes on the Aggies on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. If fans want to purchase tickets for both, they are available for a discount at goagspromo.com with the code EASTERNWASHINGTON.
 
FOLLOW THE EAGS: The game will be broadcast here on ESPN+. The Voice of the Eagles Larry Weir, who's in his 31^st season, will have the call on 700-AM ESPN. Live stats are also available here.
 
Score updates can also be found by following the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, @EWUMBB.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Washington opened the 2021-22 campaign at Mountain West Conference member Nevada on Tuesday night (Nov. 9), where they fell 91-76.
 
Five Eagles in Linton Acliese III, Angelo Allegri, Ethan Price, Rylan Bergersen and Imhotep George made their EWU debuts. Acliese turned in a double-double in his Eagle debut with 19 points (8-of-16 from the field) and 12 boards. Allegri was close behind with 13 points and seven rebounds, and a trio of Eagles in Price, Steele Venters and Bergersen had 12 points each.
 
The Eagles improved their shooting percentage from 37.84 percent (14-37) from the field in the first half to 51.72 percent (15-29) in the second half, shooting 43.9 percent overall. Nevada shot over 50 percent in both halves, ending with 50.7 percent (37-73) for the game.
 
Eastern Washington hung with the Wolf Pack for the majority of the first half, even taking the lead on four different occasions. The Wolf Pack used runs of 9-0 and 7-0 to take a 43-34 lead at the half, and Eastern Washington got as close as nine points in the second.
 
Twenty-one of Eastern's 29 field goals were assisted, compared to 25 for 37 for the Wolf Pack. Eastern Washington was out-rebounded 42-to-37 and committed 14 turnovers to Nevada's nine. Nevada also had seven blocked shots to EWU's one. The Wolf Pack scored 46 points in the paint compared to 36 for the Eagles.
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: The Eagles are led by first-year head coach, David Riley. Riley may be in his first year at the helm, but he's a 10-year veteran of the program after serving as the director of operations, assistant coach, and associate head coach since the 2011-12 season. He was officially introduced as the new head coach on March 25, 2021.
 
Six returners are back from last season, where the Eagles finished 16-8 overall and tied for second in the Big Sky Conference with a mark of 12-3. The Eagles cruised through the Big Sky Tournament and advanced to the third NCAA Tournament appearance in program history where they narrowly fell to Kansas, 93-84 in the First Round. Joining the six returners are 12 newcomers, five of which are transfers.
 
Redshirt sophomore Austin Fadal, redshirt freshman Steele Venters, freshmen Isaiah Amato and Victor Radocaj, sophomore Ellis Magnuson and redshirt sophomore Casson Rouse are all back for another year with the Eagles. Both Magnuson and Venters averaged 3.6 points off of the bench last season. Magnuson made 13 starts in 22 games played, and Venters appeared in 17 games. Rouse competed in 18, averaging 2.9 points per game, while Amato and Radocaj appeared in 11 each.
 
Riley also brought in almost an entirely brand-new staff. Shawn James is back for his third year with the program, this time as a special assistant to the head coach. The Eagles are also led by associate head coach Arturo Ormand, assistant coaches Mark Darnall and Roberto Bergersen, and director of operations Pedro Garcia Rosado.
 
Eastern Washington will play two of its first 10 games on the road and will only play at home three total times before 2022.
 
After opening up the year at Nevada (Nov. 9) and UC Davis (Nov. 12), the home opener against Walla Walla is set for Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. at Reese Court. The Eagles will also get to open up Big Sky Conference play at home against the defending regular season champions and preseason favorites, Southern Utah, on Dec. 2.
 
EWU's non-conference slate includes road games at Washington State, Colorado, North Dakota and Texas Tech, along with the Good Sam Empire Classic hosted by CSUN. The Eagles play each Big Sky opponent twice, once at home and once on the road.
 
The 2021-22 Big Sky Championships are held in Boise, Idaho, from March 9-12.
 
A LOOK AT THE AGGIES: UC Davis opened up its season on Nov. 9 at Utah State where the hung on to a 72-69 victory to begin the season 1-0. The Aggies are members of the Big West and finished 10-8 overall last year and 6-4 in conference play.
 
In Tuesday's win, Elijiah Pepper, who was high school teammates with EWU's Steele Venters, led the Aggies with 16 points. Three others scored in double figures. Eleven of the 14 players on the UCD roster are underclassman, and 12 players stand at 6-4 or taller.
 
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the third time UC Davis and Eastern Washington have clashed in program history. Each have a win on their own home floor as the series sits at 1-1. They have not played each other since Dec. 17, 2012 where the Eagles lost 87-65 in Davis, Calif.
 
Against Big West opponents, the Eagles are 27-30 all-time.
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles open their home slate on Monday, Nov. 15, against Walla Walla at Reese Court. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Cheney, Wash.
 
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and on 700-AM ESPN. Tickets are available at GoEags.com/tickets. Additionally, all fans ages 12 and older must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID test within the last 72 hours. Masks must also be worn for fans ages five or older, regardless of vaccination status, at all times unless actively eating or drinking.