GAME NOTES vs. NORTHERN COLORADO

With the COVID-19 pause behind them, the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team returns to the court this week where a pair of home games kick off three contests in five days.
 
First up is the visiting Sacramento State Hornets who come to Cheney on Thursday, Jan. 20 for a 6 p.m. Pacific time tip. On Saturday, Jan. 22, Eastern Washington hosts Northern Colorado at 2 p.m. This is the last time EWU will play at home in the month of January, as it hits the road for five-straight games beginning with a rescheduled contest at Idaho State on Monday, Jan. 24.
 
All games will be broadcast on ESPN+, and The Voice of the Eagles, Larry Weir, will have the call on 700-AM ESPN as well.
 
Tickets for both home games are available at GoEags.com/tickets, and as a reminder, proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within the last 72 hours for fans ages 11 or older is required for entry to home games. Masks must be worn for fans ages five years old or older unless actively eating or drinking.
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington is 9-6 overall and 3-2 in Big Sky Conference games. The Eagles last played on Saturday, Jan. 8 where they edged Idaho by a score of 96-93. Winners of three of their last five games, the Eagles are 3-2 at Reese Court this year.
 
The Eagles average 77.3 points per game, the second-most offensive output in the conference. They lead the conference and rank 40^th in the nation with 16.1 assists per game, totaling 257 to rank 73rd. Eastern Washington pulls down 39.0 rebounds per game to rank second in the conference and 50^th nationally, with 624 total boards. They average 28.69 defensive boards per game which is 21st.
 
EWU is also one of the nation's top three-point shooting teams, firing off 138 this year to rank 106^th in the NCAA. Eastern also has a stifling three-point defense, only allowing opponents to shoot 30.9 percent behind the to rank second in the conference. The Eagles are also solid at the free throw line, ranking 26th nationally in attempts (359) and 18^th in makes (267).
 
The Eagles are 3-0 this season when scoring 90 or more points, and 4-0 when shooting between 50-to-60 percent from the field.
 
Eastern boasts four players who average double figures, three of which rank in the top-11 in the Big Sky. Steele Venters (4^th, 17.7 ppg) leads the way, followed by Linton Acliese III (7^th, 15.9 ppg) and Rylan Bergersen (11^th, 13.4 ppg). Angelo Allegri rounds out the offense with 10.7 points per game. Five Eagles also rank in the top 25 in the conference in rebounding in Acliese (7^th, 7.2 rpg), Allegri (12^th, 5.9 rpg), Bergersen (16^th, 5.3 rpg), Ethan Price (18^th, 5.1) and Venters (25^th, 4.4).
 
YOU CAN CALL HIM BOOGIE: Linton Acliese III or "Boogie" was honored on Jan. 4 with the ROAR Organic Big Sky Player of the Week nod after leading Eastern to two Big Sky road wins at Portland State and Northern Arizona. It was the first Player of the Week nod for the program this season.
 
Acliese started the week with a 15-point output against the Vikings where he made 7-of-16 from the field to go with seven rebounds and two assists, helping EWU win 63-58.
 
Less than 48 hours later at Northern Arizona, he followed up with his best game as an Eagle thus far by scoring 30 points. He achieved his new career-high by making 13-of-17 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range, and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Acliese also pulled down 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. He dished three assists and had a block in the 78-65 victory, which marked Eastern's ninth-straight win over Northern Arizona. The performance was the first 30-point output of Acliese's career with the Eagles, and his fourth with at least 20 points.
 
Over the two games, Acliese shot 60.6 percent (20-33) from the field, plus made three three-pointers and made both free throw attempts. He totaled 18 rebounds for an average of nine per game, plus had five total assists and a block while averaging 22.5 points per game.
 
Currently, Acliese ranks seventh in the Big Sky in both points (15.9) and rebounds (7.2) per game. He's scored in double figures in 11 out of the 13 games he has played in, including four-straight, to go with four double-doubles. He is second in the Big Sky in field goal percentage, knocking down 52.1 percent (75-144) of his attempts. Additionally, Acliese is sixth in free throw percentage as well, making 42 of his 50 attempts from the line to shoot 84.0 percent. For good measure, he adds 1.4 assists, 0.2 steals and 0.5 blocks per game.
 
STAT SHEET STUFFER: Rylan Bergersen ranks third on the team and 11^th in the Big Sky with 13.4 points per game, but there's more to it. He's led the team in assists in 10 games, ranking fourth in the Big Sky with 4.1 per game. He has 65 assists on the year and has three-or-more assists in every game but two, including at least four in eight. He's fifth in the conference in assist to turnover ratio with 1.5.
 
He can rebound, too, ranking third on the team and 16^th in the Big Sky with 5.3 per game. He's pulled down four-or-more rebounds in 12 games. On the defensive side, he's eighth in the conference with 1.4 steals per game, with at least one in every game but two. Last but not least, he ranks 30^th in the nation with 73 free throws made and is 41st with 93 attempts.
 
VENTERS IS EFFICIENT: One of the sharpest shooters in the Big Sky, redshirt-freshman Steele Venters leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference with 17.7 points per game. Not only does Venters like to shoot, he does it well, knocking down 48.9 percent from the field to rank fifth in the Big Sky. He leads the league in three-point percentage as well, knocking down 2.8 per game at a clip of 46.2 percent, a mark that ranks 14^th in all of Division I. At the free throw line, he ranks ninth in the conference with a clip of 82.7 percent.
 
Venters has scored in double figures in 12 out of 15 games, including seven games with 20-or-more points. He has scored 20-or-more points in three Big Sky games, with a career-high 29 against Southern Utah. Venters has made a three-pointer in every game this year, including two or more in 12. He has a career-high six against Southern Utah and followed up with five against Omaha, Colorado and Idaho. Nationally, he ranks 14^th in three-point field goal percentage, 82nd in three pointers made with 42, 50th in three-pointers per game, and 76^th in points per game.
 
MOVES LIKE GELO: Angelo Allegri has emerged as a steady three-point shooter for Eastern Washington. He knocks down an average of 2.1 triples per game to rank 11^th in the Big Sky, and has at least one three-pointer in 14 out of 16 games. Additionally, he's made at least two in eight games and three-or-more in five. Against Multnomah on Dec. 15, he made a career-best six. Allegri ranks second on the team with 33 triples total, shooting 35.1 percent from behind the arc and averaging 5.9 attempts per game. He currently averages 10.7 points per game and has scored in double figures eight times, including a career-best 23 against Multnomah and 21 points against Idaho.
 
ROAD WARRIORS: Of Eastern's 16 games so far this season, 10 have been on the road plus one a neutral site. The road has been kind to the Eagles, though, as they have a record of 6-4 away from Reese Court in true away games. Eastern picked up a gritty overtime win against CSUN on Nov. 19 and upset the Cougars in Pullman on Nov. 27 for signature road victories, and one loss is a 60-57 defeat at Colorado. After this week's games, the Eagles will hit the road for five-straight making stops at Idaho State (Jan. 24), Montana State (Jan. 27), Montana (Jan. 29), Weber State (Jan. 31) and Southern Utah (Feb. 5) for the longest road stretch of the year. EWU won't be back at home until Feb. 10 to host Weber State.
 
LAST TIME OUT: It's never easy when the Vandals come to town, and Eastern managed to squeak out a 96-93 win over Idaho on Saturday, Jan. 8. Eastern drained a season-high 14 three-pointers, and Venters (25 pts) and Allegri (21 pts) each drained five while combining for 46 points. Price (17 pts), Acliese (13 pts) and Bergersen (13 pts) also scored in double figures. Eastern also shot 54.5 percent (30-55) from the field in the win.
 
Eastern led by as many as 13 in the first half, but the Vandals wouldn't go away and made it a two-point game with 17.2 seconds left to play, 92-90, but Acliese and Allegri made four clutch free throws right before Idaho hit a triple at the buzzer.
 
A LOOK AT THE HORNETS: Sacramento State is 5-7 overall and 1-4 in Big Sky play. The Hornets are coming off of a 67-62 loss at home to Portland State on Jan. 15. Eastern beat the Vikings in Portland, 63-58, back on Dec. 30.
 
The Hornets are led offensively by Bryce Fowler who averages 16.6 points per game and a 49.7 percent clip. Zach Chappell is the other Hornet in double figures with 10.2 points per game.
 
Sacramento State leads the conference in opponent three-point percentage, allowing opponents to make just 29.2 percent of their attempts. Eastern Washington follows right behind with 30.9 percent. As a team, Sacramento State averages 65.2 points and 34.3 rebounds per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Eagles lead the all-time series, 40-15 and have won four-straight. At home against the Hornets, Eastern is 24-4.
 
Eastern swept the back-to-back meetings between the two Big Sky foes last year at home, winning 68-60 on Jan. 31 and 94-79 on Feb. 1.
 
A LOOK AT THE BEARS: Northern Colorado sits at an even 8-8 overall with a 3-1 mark in Big Sky play. Just like Eastern Washington, the Bears have not played since Jan. 8 where they lost to Sacramento State, 85-71, at home. Northern Colorado plays Idaho on Thursday night in Moscow before coming to Cheney.
 
The Bears boast the conference's leading scorer in Daylen Kountz who puts up 19.1 points per game. Kur Jongkuch ranks third in the league with 9.3 rebounds per game. Northern Colorado also has one of the Big Sky's top three-point shooters in Dru Kuxhausen who averages 3.1 triples per game while shooting at a 43 percent clip behind the arc.
 
UNC is fifth in the conference with 75.3 points per game, making 45.3 percent of its attempts from the field. The Bears are the top three-point shooting team in the league, draining 10.6 triples per game at a 37.1 percent clip.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern leads the all-time series with the Bears by a slim margin of 15-13. Last season, the two pairs split the meetings. The Eagles suffered a 78-76 heartbreaker in Greeley, Colo., on Jan. 21. However, the loss was the last before Eastern went on to win nine-straight games and didn't lose again until March 3. One of the wins during the streak was an 82-76 bounce back win over the Bears two days after the initial loss.
 
At Reese Court, Eastern is 10-3 all-time against Northern Colorado.
 
UP NEXT: It's a quick turnaround for the Eagles, as Eastern makes the trek to Pocatello, Idaho, on Monday, Jan. 24 to face Idaho State at 6 p.m. Pacific time. This was a rescheduled game that was originally set for Thursday, Jan. 13 but was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols on Eastern's team. The game will be on ESPN+ or Larry Weir has the call on 700-AM ESPN.