After an offseason focused on rebuilding and working on team chemistry, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team will face its first test of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 9 when the Eagles play at Nevada. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev.
 
If you plan on attending the contest in person, Nevada Athletics does require proof of vaccination inside their facility. The game can be streamed HERE on Stadium, or listened to on 700-AM ESPN with Larry Weir on the call. Live stats are available HERE.
 
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.
 
After that, Riley hit the ground running, bringing in a brand-new staff along with 12 newcomers and turned the focus to team chemistry and learning how to play with each other.
 
"There was a lot going on this offseason, especially this Spring. It's been a whirlwind, but it's been really fun. This summer, we had our players here and there has been a big focus on chemistry and getting our players used to playing with each other. They're getting used to their habits, on and off the court, which is a big way that we play basketball," said Riley. "We make sure the chemistry is there and that the players are gelling and understanding our concepts. We don't have a crazy offense or defense; we just make sure the players know who they are. It's been fun, and we are excited about the season."
 
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.
 
WHAT'S BACK: 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.
 
"Our six veteran players that have done this before have been crucial in showing our new players what the culture is like, how we do things, what our expectations are and what hard work looks like," said Riley.
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.
 
NEW EAGS ON THE BLOCK: Of the 12 newcomers, eight are true freshmen. The Eagles welcome Tommaso Camponeschi (Rome, Italy), Yousef Elkugia (Seattle, Wash. / Eastlake HS), Michael Folarin (London, England / Bella Vista College, Ariz.), Casey Jones (Sammamish, Wash.), Mason Landdeck (Zillah, Wash. / Desert Hills HS, Utah), Ethan Price (Bury St. Edmunds, England) and Makai Richards (Oak Park, Calif. / Oak Park HS).
 
Five transfers with plenty of collegiate experience also join the Eagles and look to make an immediate impact. Rylan Bergersen hails from Boise, Idaho, where he graduated from Borah High School in 2017. He previously played at both BYU and Central Arkansas. In his career at UCA, he averaged 16.2 points per game with 230 rebounds, 198 assists and made 81 three-pointers. He scored in double figures in 50 of his 54 games, including 18 with 20 points or more.
 
Angelo Allegri comes from Kansas City, Mo., where he graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas in 2017 and played at UNC Greensboro, where he just led the Spartans to the NCAA Tournament averaging 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
 
"There are lot of new faces, and a lot of players have impressed me. Rylan Bergerson transferred in and has been a leader right off of the top. He is a great communicator and has brought in toughness. He and Angelo Allegri have been our vocal players over the summer and have brought us some good spirit. Our late addition, Linton Acliese III, is a great, positive, high-energy big man who has brought in energy as well," said head Riley. "Having older players that have played college basketball before that have experience and have been successful at this level has really helped us. It's been great to have their brains and what they've done to achieve success to incorporate with what we already have in place."
 
Other Eagle transfers include Linton Acliese III (Richmond Calif., San Francisco State), Imhotep George (Laurel, Md.) and Sean Kirk (Mountlake Terrace, Wash. / Western Washington).
 
"Having the veterans, older players, and returners together has been fun. We also have talented freshmen," noted Riley. "Ethan Price has been great at adjusting to the college lifestyle and the grind of college basketball. He's been great so far and it's been fun getting the guys to gel together."
 
WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE: David Riley played at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash., for Jim Hayford, then was director of basketball operations at EWU when Hayford took over as Eastern's head coach in the 2011-12 season. He then served three seasons as an assistant for Hayford, and the last four under Shantay Legans, who departed EWU on March 22, 2021, for a position at the University of Portland.
 
Under Hayford and Legans, Eastern's four 20-victory seasons are among the top five win totals in EWU's now 38-year history in NCAA Division I. The combined 125 wins in six seasons, 102 wins in five, 86 in four, 66 in three and 44 in two are also the most since EWU became a member of NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season.
 
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.
 
THE 2021-22 CAMPAIGN: 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.
 
"There's a lot of hype about Southern Utah. They have everyone back and (head coach) Todd Simon has done great things with that group. It will be a great test for us. We get to play at home with a level of comfort of playing in Cheney and I know we'll have great fan support. We're super excited to play that game in December and test where we're at," noted Riley. "We've come a long way together since June, and that's been a date that's circled for us. We'll be ready on November 9 when we play Nevada, but the December 2 game is where the test comes. We're excited for it and it's great that it's at home in front of our fans and it will be a fun game."
 
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.
 
WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR: The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team closed the 2020-21 season with a 16-8 record, a Big Sky Conference Tournament Championship and a third trip for the school to the NCAA Tournament. There, Eastern led more than it trailed before the 14th-seeded Eagles ended its season with a 93-84 loss to Kansas, a No. 3 seed and ranked 12th nationally entering the tourney.
 
Eastern finished the Big Sky Conference season 12-3 and as the league runner-up, and the Eagles closed the year winning 13 of their last 15 games. Eastern had won nine-straight games before falling to Idaho State 68-63 on March 3. But the Eagles rolled through the Big Sky Conference Tournament with a trio of victories, leading for a total of 108:19 out of 120 minutes (trailed for 8:25 and tied for 3:16). EWU led by as many as 12, 38 and 20 in the three wins, respectively.
 
Tanner Groves was named the Big Sky Conference MVP, the fourth MVP for Eastern Washington in the last five seasons. Kim Aiken Jr. was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, and Tyler Robertson was selected as the league's Top Reserve.
 
"Going into my 11^th year, I've been lucky to look back at my time and see what teams have been successful and what's helped us be successful. We've built this program from a middle of the pack, lower level, team in the Big Sky and now we've been consistent championship contenders," said Riley. "Looking back, it's taken a lot to get our program to where it is now, but the blueprint is there and our players understand what it takes and what standards we have to hold ourselves too for a championship mindset."
 
Five starters from last year's squad plus two letterwinners are gone now. In turn, the Big Sky coaches selected the Eagles to finish eighth in the preseason polls, and the media picked them seventh. However, this is not a concern for Riley.
 
"When the preseason polls came out, we didn't have a lot to say, but we'll have a big chip on our shoulders and be ready to go. We're ready to prove to people that championships don't happen by accident. We've built a culture here and have worked hard and done it with high-character, talented, skilled, players and the blueprint is the same this year," Riley said. "It wasn't a mistake that we've won championships over the past few years, and we're back to compete."
 
A LOOK AT THE WOLF PACK: Nevada competes in the Mountain West Conference and finished 16-10 overall and 10-7 in MWC play last year. The Wolf Pack is coached by Steve Alford who has over 30 years of coaching experience and is 35-22 overall at the helm of Nevada.
 
Nevada finished fourth in the Mountain West last year and return five starters and eight overall letterwinners from that squad. Additionally, seven newcomers joined the Wolf Pack. Grant Sherfield was the team's leading scorer last year with 18.6 points per game. Desmond Cambridge also returns after averaging 16.3 points per game.
 
Eastern Washington is 2-11 all-time against the Wolf Pack, but have lost five-straight. The last meeting was on March 12, 2016. In Reno, the Eagles are 1-5.
 
UP NEXT: The season-opening road trip for Eastern Washington continues at UC Davis on Friday, Nov. 12. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Davis, Calif., at the University Credit Union Center. Details on how to watch will be available later in the week, but 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.