The first of five-straight road games ended on a high note for the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team at Idaho State tonight (Jan. 24). The Eagles never trailed in the contest, blowing by the Bengals by a score of 89-63 in Pocatello, Idaho, at Reed Gym.
 
Eastern Washington now improves to 11-8 overall and 5-3 in Big Sky Conference play. It marked the third-straight road victory and the seventh overall for the road warrior Eagles. Idaho State drops its fourth-straight, falling to 3-15 and 1-8.
 
For the fifth time in Big Sky play and the ninth overall, Steele Venters scored over 20 points with a 21-point output. He drained five triples, and was just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Angelo Allegri, who scored 17 points and made four three-pointers, plus Linton Acliese III (16 pts) rounded things out for Eastern Washington.
 
"Our players responded. They were communicating, they were urgent, and they really took the stuff we talked about after the Northern Colorado game seriously. It shows what's in them," said head coach David Riley. "We didn't practice live yesterday with a long travel day after a lot of minutes on Saturday. So, we watched a lot of film and went over our principles with a good walkthrough. It was fun to see their urgency."
 
The Eagles came out hot, using a 15-0 run to take an early 18-2 lead while holding the Bengals scoreless for over four and a half minutes of play. Four different Eagles scored during the spurt, including Venters who had three early three-pointers. An Ethan Price three-point play made it an 18-3 run overall in just five minutes, giving the Eagles a comfortable 21-5 lead with 13 minutes left to play in the first half.
 
Eastern Washington continued to pour it on, as a triple by Ellis Magnuson and a three-point play by Venters highlighted a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 32-8. Down the stretch, ISU found a quick 6-0 run to chip into the lead, but it wasn't long before the Eagles collected themselves with a 6-0 run of their own to rebuild the 42-16 advantage. With one second left on the clock, Allegri was fouled shooting a three-pointer and made all three attempts at the line, giving EWU a 52-22 lead at the half.
 
It was all Eastern Washington in the first half, shooting 51.6 percent from the field overall with six three-pointers and a perfect 14-for-14 from the line. Venters (15 pts, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks) plus Acliese III (13 points, three rebounds, one block) were already in double figures at the break. Defensively, Eastern held the Bengals to 23.3 percent from the field plus forced eight turnovers.
 
Eastern started the half on a 5-0 run and built a 66-29 lead after Allegri, Rylan Bergersen and Venters each made a three-pointer in just over a minute of play. Allegri drained another and it was off to the races once again with a 69-32 lead. The largest lead of 41 points, 75-34, came after another 6-0 run for Eastern that included the fifth three-pointer for Venters.
 
The Eagles emptied the bench after that, and the closest the Bengals would get would be 26 points down the stretch en route to the 89-63 victory.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Steele Venters led the way with 21 points. He was 6-of-11 from the field, 5-for-7 from three-point range and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. He also finished with a career-high nine rebounds, plus three assists and two blocks.
 
Angelo Allegri followed with 17 points. He drained four triples, plus was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed five boards to go with two steals, a block and an assist.
 
Linton Acliese III was also in double figures with 16 points. He made two three-pointers, plus added five rebounds, an assist and a block.
 
Rylan Bergersen finished with nine points on a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. He stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds and six assists.
 
Ellis Magnuson finished with four assists, a block and a steal plus three points on 1-for-1 from the three-point line. Ethan Price had eight points, and Mason Landdeck scored six points after going 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: Eastern Washington made 13 three-pointers, its third double-digit three-point total in the last four games and the second-most this season. At the free throw line, Eastern was 22-for-26 (85%) and shot 44 percent (27-62) from the field.
 
The Eagles crashed the boards, out-rebounding the Bengals 48-to-33 including 12 offensive boards that were turned in to 11 points. Eastern made 23 fast-break points and had 17 assists. Additionally, EWU forced 10 turnovers for 18 points.
 
The Bengals were 20-for-59 from the field (34%), 10-for-39 from three-point range (26%) and 13-for-20 (65%) from the charity stripe.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington plays Montana State for the first time this season on Thursday, Jan. 27 in Bozeman, Mont. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Pacific time. On Jan. 29, Eastern looks to avenge a 90-78 loss to Montana back on Jan. 6. The Eagles rematch the Grizzlies at 6 p.m. PT in Missoula, Mont. Both contests can be watched on ESPN+ and listened to on 700-AM ESPN.
 
MORE COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH DAVID RILEY:
On the Defensive Energy: "In the second half, we weren't near out bench so we had to communicate and be urgent. It's something we have to get better at, but in the first half it was loud. That was definitely the loudest I'd heard our bench communicating through our scout and talking, everyone was engaged and it was fun to watch."
 
On Being Comfortable on the Road: "I honestly think we know we have to have an edge on the road. We're a little uncomfortable which gives us that urgency and that edge, it's been fun to see, but we'll have a good test here at the end of this week to see if it's really true."
 
On 47-Made Three's in the Last Three Games: "Ball movement. After the Montana game, we focused and dialed in on passing and giving up the good one early. Our offense creates a lot of advantages early, and it allows our players to make reads. Sometimes, with that freedom, you can go with the first good shot. They're starting to play together and understand that if you pass up the first good one, you'll get a great one. If the ball has energy, our guys shoot it better because it's moving around more."
 
On Giving Player's Rest on Minutes: "It's important. I'll be honest, I think on this road trip, by the end of it we won't be beat up because we won't be practicing super hard. Typically, on a Monday we're competing and getting better, and on a Tuesday, we're still going against each other. Our players work hard. This is a program where in season we're focusing on development. That's why we've had success developing guys. But on the flip side, we're on the road so we'll watch more film, get rest, eat good and hang out with each other. By the end of this road trip, knock on wood, we won't be too banged up and our guys are ready to rock."
 
On Facing Montana State on Thursday: "Montana State is a good team. We saw them in the championship game last year and they have everyone back and added some really good pieces. It's going to be a fun game. They're a disciplined and well-coached team, and I can't wait to play them."