The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team resumed Big Sky Conference at Portland State tonight (Dec. 30) where they picked up a 63-58 victory in Portland, Ore. With the win, the Eagles improve to 7-6 overall and 1-1 in Big Sky play, while the Vikings drop to 3-8 and 1-2. Eastern has now won four-straight over PSU.
 
The Eagles were led by Steele Venters who scored 20 points for his sixth 20-plus point performance of the season, while also adding four blocks. Angelo Allegri followed with 19, and hit four clutch free throws for the Eagles at the end of the game, while Linton Acliese III added 15 points. Rylan Bergersen came short of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
 
Both teams were shorthanded, playing just eight players each.
 
"A win is a win, but we made it a little too interesting at the end. Our players battled through a lot of adversity this week. We had to stay off for a few days and are short on a few players, but our players came in and made some big plays down the stretch – especially with Angelo Allegri hitting his free throws at the end. It was a fun game to be a part of and I'm proud of our guys for getting another road win, which is something we've done a good job of this year," said head coach David Riley.  
 
Two early three-pointers from Venters helped give the Eagles an early 13-6 lead. Portland State cut the lead to one, 13-12, after a 6-0 run.
 
The game moved in to a 19-19 tie when the Eagles used a 6-0 run to pull ahead, 25-19. From there, the Vikings strung together six-straight to retie the game, 25-25. Angelo Allegri went on a 5-0 run to break the tie, helping the Eagles lead 30-27 at the half.
 
Eastern Washington opened up the second half on a 9-3 run and pulled ahead by eight points, 37-29, after an Acliese III triple. A dunk by Venters then made it a nine-point, 39-30, advantage.
 
Venters hit his third triple of the night to give EWU its largest lead of 45-34 before the Vikings found momentum. Portland State went on a 7-0 run in 41 seconds to quickly cut the lead to 45-41, forcing an Eastern timeout with 11:36 to play in the second half.
 
Out of the break, Acliese cashed in on layup to put the Eagles back ahead 47-41. Portland State continued to hang around and cut its deficit to 50-47 before Eastern charged back ahead 54-49 with 6:40 left to play.
 
With 48 seconds left to play, the Vikings got within three-points, 59-56. Allegri headed to line and made both free throws, before a dunk by PSU on the other end made it a three-point game once more. Allegri was there again, making both from the line to help EWU hold on for the 63-58 victory.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Steele Venters scored 20 points for the second time in Big Sky play and the sixth time this season, going 7-of-13 from the field with three three-pointers. He also led the way with a career-high four blocks, while adding six rebounds and a steal.
 
Angelo Allegri was close behind with 19 points, also draining three triples and was 6-of-7 from the free throw line. He added seven rebounds and two steals. Linton Acliese III was the final Eagle in double figures, scoring 15 points. He grabbed seven boards plus dished two assists.
 
Rylan Bergersen stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, nine rebounds, five assists, a block and two steals. Ethan Price grabbed eight rebounds to go with three assists, a steal and a block.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Both teams left a lot to be desired offensively, shooting below 40 percent on the night. Each side made 22 field goals, with EWU's coming on 58 attempts to shoot 38 percent and Portland State's made 62 attempts to shoot 35 percent.
 
Behind the arc, Eastern was 8-for-25 (32%) and the Vikings were 4-for-21 (67%). From the free throw line, the Eagles were 11-of-15 (73%) and PSU was 10-for-15 (67%).
 
Eastern won the rebounding battle, 45 to 35. The Eagles committed 13 turnovers but forced 10 and were outscored in the paint, 32 to 22. EWU had 15 assists to PSU's nine.
 
UP NEXT: Big Sky play continues on the road for Eastern Washington who play at Northern Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 1 in Flagstaff, Ariz. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. Pacific time on ESPN+ and 700-AM ESPN.