Playing in the first game of the Good Sam Empire Classic, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team erased a 13-point second half deficit to go on and beat CSUN in overtime today (Nov. 19) by a score of 67-64 in Northridge, Calif.
 
With the victory, Eastern Washington wins its second-straight game improving to 2-2 overall while the Matadors fall to 0-3. The Eagles will now play in the championship game tomorrow night (Nov. 20) at 8 p.m. against Texas State who beat Dixie State earlier today.
 
Linton Acliese III led the way with 20 points for his third game this season with 20-or-more points. Steele Venters followed with 15 points and Angelo Allegri grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
The Eagles led for 15:06 in the first half but trailed 31-26 heading into the locker room. After CSUN went on a 12-2 run late in the second half, EWU responded with a 15-2 run of its own. Venters tied the game with a pair of free throws, and the Eagles outscored the Matadors 7-4 in the overtime period and en route to the win. Defensively, Eastern Washington held the Matadors without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes to end the game.
 
"We told our players that if we go get stops, we'll get back into the game, we just have to focus and lock in. Our players did a great job and it was fun to see them respond like that," said head coach David Riley. "We missed some easy layups, but at the end of the day we locked in and got stops. After the UC Davis game, we talked about how we need to win when things are ugly. The shots aren't always going to fall. We are good offensively; we just have to figure out the rhythm and make some easy shots."
 
The first half saw three ties and five lead changes. Ethan Price came out and hit a three-pointer and followed up with two free throws for an early 5-0 lead. Linton Acliese III made a triple of his own to double the Matadors up, 8-4.
 
The lead built to 17-9 after Acliese made his third triple of the game and Imhotep George followed with one of his own, helping the Eagles go 5-of-5 from three-point range to start the contest.
 
The Eagles held CSUN without a point for four minutes until the Matadors went on a 10-0 run to take its first lead of the game 19-17. Eastern Washington was held scoreless for over eight minutes and its first basket that wasn't a three-pointer or a free throw came at the 4:59 mark by Angelo Allegri to retie the game 19-19.
 
Steele Venters and Acliese made consecutive lay-ups from there for the 6-0 run that put the Eagles back ahead 23-19. However, CSUN closed the half on a 12-3 run and after leading for 15:06, the Eagles trailed 31-26 heading into the locker room.
 
The Eagles came out strong to start the second half, putting up eight-straight points in less than five minutes as they retook a 34-31 lead. Three points during the run came via Acliese's fourth triple of the game.
 
Both sides would exchange leads for the remainder of the game. CSUN would use a 5-0 run to take a 43-40 lead, only for Mason Landdeck to turn around and re-tie the contest with a three-pointer, 43-43. From there, it was the Matadors who found their footing first with a 12-2 run to take a 58-45 lead with 6:26 remaining. It would be the Eagles who had the final say, closing the game on a 15-2 run. Down 60-58 with 1:35 to go, Venters headed to line and sank two free throws to tie the game. Eastern's game-winning attempt fell short, and the Eagles headed to overtime for the first time this season.
 
Venters started off the overtime period with a layup and the lead extended to 64-60 after Acliese made two free throws. CSUN made a pair from the charity stripe to cut the lead to 64-62. Both teams exchanged free throws, but EWU led 66-64 before Venters was fouled and made his final attempt and the Eagles erased a 13-point second half deficit to go on to win 67-64.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Linton Acliese III scored 20 points for the third time this season, making 6-of-12 from the field, 4-of-7 from three-point range and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line during the overtime period. He also added five rebounds, two blocks and two assists.
 
Steele Venters scored in double figures for the fourth-straight game with 15 points. He was 4-of-11 from the field, 2-of-6 from three-point range and 5-of-7 from the free throw line. He added eight rebounds and an assist.
 
Angelo Allegri nearly had a double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds plus eight points. Rylan Bergersen had eight points, six rebounds, a team-high six assists, plus a block and a steal. Ethan Price had seven points and two blocks.  
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington shot 36.8 percent from the field (21-57), 38.7 percent from the three-point line (12-31), and 68.4 percent (13-19) from the charity stripe.
 
CSUN shot 34.3 percent overall (24-70), were 5-of-21 (23.8%) from three-point range and 11-of-13 (84.6%) from the free throw line.
 
The Matadors edged the Eagles in rebounds, 45-42. EWU forced 10 turnovers that they turned into 13 points and the Eagles had 14 turnovers that CSUN scored 11 points off of. In the paint, EWU was out-scored 26-to-18.