Another upset bid against a Pac-12 opponent came up short for the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team at Colorado tonight (Dec. 8). The Eagles, who trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, had a 55-51 lead with 2:55 to go, but the Buffaloes went on to win 60-57 in Boulder, Colo., at the CU Events Center.
 
Eastern Washington, who defeated Washington State in Pullman back on Nov. 27, drops to 4-5 on the season (0-1 Big Sky Conference play) while the Buffaloes improve to 7-3 (1-1 Pac-12).
 
Three Eagles scored in double figures, led by Steele Venters with 23 points. It was the fifth 20-plus point outing of the year for Venters, and the third-straight. True freshmen Ethan Price and Mason Landdeck added 11 points each.
 
"We're nine games into the season, so the moral victories need to be cut out so we can get real victories. There are positives to build on, the last three minutes to learn from, and there was about a four- or five-minute stretch in the first half where things were rough. We can't have those stretches, including winning time at the end of the game," said head coach David Riley. "We did a great job sticking to the game plan, our players battled and they are physical. They held their own against a big, strong, Colorado team. I was proud of how we defended, although we could've executed better offensively. There are things to build on, it was a tough game."
 
The Eagles got off to a hot start, as Landdeck completed a three-point play and Venters fired off a triple for a 6-0 lead. However, Colorado responded with a 14-0 run, putting the Buffaloes ahead 14-6. Eastern Washington pulled back within two after a Price three-point play and another Venters three, 14-12, but that would be the closest the Eagles would get for the remainder of the half.
 
Colorado led by as many as 15 in the first half, but the Eagles only trailed 39-31 at the break. Venters led the way with 14 first half points, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, as the Eagles shot 44 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Buffaloes shot 50 percent and out-rebounded the Eagles 18-12.
 
Down 47-38 with 13:19 left to play in the second half, the Eagles began their comeback. An 8-0 run that consisted of four-straight points from Venters and four-straight from Rylan Bergersen put EWU back within a point, 47-46.
 
Both sides traded baskets as the game moved into a 51-51 tie with 5:39 to play. Landdeck then went on a 4-0 run of his own to give the Eagles a 55-51 advantage, their first lead since the early goings of the first half.
 
As the game winded down, Colorado completed consecutive three-point plays and the Buffaloes pulled ahead 57-55. Venters was there immediately with a layup to tie the contest 57-57 with 1:51 to play. Eastern had three good looks at the end but they all rimmed out. One more layup plus a free throw for Colorado helped the Buffaloes hang on for the 60-57 win.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Steele Venters led all players with 23 points, his third-straight game with 20-or-more points and the fifth of the season. After draining six triples against Southern Utah and five against Omaha, he was 5-of-11 from three-point range tonight and 9-of-17 overall from the field. He also had four rebounds, two steals and a block.
 
Ethan Price scored 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 1-of-1 from the free throw line and had two steals. Mason Landdeck also added 11. The freshman was just 3-of-11 from the field, but made all five free throw attempts.
 
Rylan Bergersen led the team with six rebounds and three assists, plus scored seven points and added a steal. Ellis Magnuson also had three assists.
 
KEY STATISTICS: Eastern Washington was out-rebounded 40-to-28. The Buffaloes had 13 offensive rebounds and held the Eagles to six.
 
EWU held onto the ball well for the second-straight contest, only committing 12 turnovers while forcing 14. The Eagle bench scored two points while Colorado's added 15. Eastern Washington was also out-scored in the paint, 34-to-22.
 
In all, Eastern Washington shot 40 percent (22-55) from the field, 26.9 percent from three-point range (7-26) and were 6-of-7 (85.7%) from the free throw line. Colorado was 24-of-56 from the field (42.9%), 4-of-20 from behind the arc (20%) and 8-of-12 (66.7%) from the charity stripe.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern's three-game road swing concludes on Saturday morning (Dec. 11) when they take on the Fighting Hawks of North Dakota at 11 a.m. Pacific time in Grand Forks, N.D.