In the win column for the first time this season, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team played host to Walla Walla University in its home opener tonight (Nov. 15) at Reese Court. The Eagles shot 58 percent from the field and won 111-71, scoring the 16^th-most points in program history.
 
Steele Venters led all players with 27 points, his first career game with over 20 points. Ethan Price turned in a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Linton Acliese III (20) and Mason Landdeck (10) also scored in double figures.
 
"I'm happy we took a step forward today, that's been our big theme since the beginning of the fall. Every day, we have to take one step forward. The only way to win a championship is step-by-step and our players understand that. We have a huge process to grow in right now and today was a good day," said head coach David Riley, following his first career win.
 
The Eagles opened up the game on a 9-0 run and made six of their first 10 field goal attempts. Once the Wolves got on the scoreboard at the 17:13 mark, Eastern Washington went on another 6-0 run, and held Walla Walla scoreless for over three minutes.
 
Eastern Washington went up by 24 in the first half after Angelo Allegri connected on consecutive three-pointers for a 6-0 run of his own. To end the half, Eastern made seven of its final nine field goal attempts to take a 28-point lead into the half, 55-27.
 
The Eagles shot the lights out, making 22 of their 37 attempts from the field to shoot 59 percent in the first half and added 38 points in the paint. Defensively, they held the Wolves to 10-of-37 (27%) and out-rebounded WWU 28-to-19.
 
Eastern Washington led by as many as 42 points in the second half. The Wolves upped their shooting percentage in the second period, making 15-of-33 from the field (45.5%) and draining six three-pointers. The Eagles were 18-of-34 (52.9%) from the field during the second half.
 
WIN-LOSS RECORDS: Eastern Washington picks up its first win of the season, and the first under head coach David Riley, improving to 1-2 on the year while Walla Walla drops to 0-4.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Steele Venters set a new career-high for the third-straight game, this time turning in his first twenty-plus performance with 27. He also added six assists, four rebounds and three steals. He was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line and 9-of-13 from the field.
 
Ethan Price earned his second-straight double-double with a career-high in both points (19) and rebounds (11). He also added four assists and two blocks.
 
Linton Acliese III scored in double figures for the third-straight game with 20, his second game of the season with at least 20 points. He shot 7-of-11 from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe.
 
In just his second-career game as an Eagle, Mason Landdeck scored in double figures with 10 to go with three assists and three steals.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington shot a season-high 56.3 percent from the field, making 40 of its 71 field goal attempts. The Eagles were 7-of-26 from three-point range (26.9%) and 24-of-34 from the free throw line (70.6%).
 
Walla Walla shot 35.7 percent overall (25-70), 27.6 percent (8-29) from three-point range and 68.4% (13-19) from the free throw line.
 
The Eagles out-rebounded the Wolves 50 to 32, outscored them in the paint 62 to 28 and turned 19 turnovers into 26 points. Twenty-six of Eastern's 40 field goals were assisted.
 
UP NEXT: The Eagles hit the road for a pair of away games at the Good Sam Empire Classic hosted by CSUN in Northridge, Calif., on Nov. 19-20. First, EWU takes on the hosts on Friday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+, then takes on either Texas State or Dixie State on Saturday at 2 p.m. or 8 p.m.
 
MORE COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH DAVID RILEY
 
On Lessons Learned Tonight: "We learned how to stick to our defense. In the second half, we did some good things and started off the right way, but we gave up 44 points in the second half which isn't good enough. A lot of that came down to discipline. If we stick to our principles and do what we're supposed to do, they don't score 44 points on contested two's and tough three's."