The holiday weekend concluded for Eastern Washington men's basketball as they closed out the Florida International Tournament against the host university. Eastern fell to the Panthers, 90-79 on Sunday (Nov. 27) in Miami, Fla. The Eagles are now 2-5 on the season and FIU improved to 4-2.

Eastern had four players score in double figures, as Steele Venters was again sharp from the floor, going 7-of-17(41.2%) and 4-of-9(44.4%) from three-point range to record 19 points.

Angelo Allegri scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. Tyreese Davis scored 14 points and led the team with six assists. Deon Stroud scored in double digits for the second-straight game with 10.

FIU controlled the paint, scoring 46 points to the Eagles' 32, providing a key part of its offense.

"I feel like we let their pressure rush us a little and that caused some turnovers. Late in the half, we were a little out of character and not playing at our pace," head coach David Riley said. "We have to get better at the free throw line and it has hurt us on the road in the past. We also have to fix the turnovers and I think if we cut down on those, we win this game. If we limit their shooting in the paint, I also think we could have won this game. I do think we improved over this past week. We are building a foundation for Big Sky-play. Right now, we are playing teams that expose some of our weaknesses. These are all good teams we are playing. We can fix those issues and have a stronger foundation."

Eastern and FIU traded baskets to open the game as Angelo Allegri and Ethan Price found points in the paint. With the score at 5-4 in favor of FIU, the Panthers went on a 13-3 run to establish control of the game. The run was broken by a made three-pointer from Ty Harper. Led by Harper, Eastern cut the lead to 16-20 off another made three-pointer. The Panthers would put together another run, this time a 13-2 stretch to get the lead back to double digits. A quick 6-0 burst from Eastern stopped the bleeding, led by Cedric Coward's four points and there was 5:22 left in the half. After an FIU jumper, Eastern ripped off another 6-0 run to bring the lead down to six at 35-29 with 3:49 on the clock. The Panthers would extend the lead heading to the break, with a 48-35 advantage at halftime. The Eagles shot 42.9 percent in the first half, while FIU was shooting lights-out with a 60.0 percent line.

There was determination from Eastern as the second half began, starting with a 10-3 run to cut the FIU lead down to 51-45. Steele Venters connected from three and added a jumper, with Tyreese Davis adding his own three. Down in the paint, Price was delivered with a pair of dunks to keep the pressure on the Panthers. Venters would stay hot from three, draining two more and pulling the score to 60-54 with 13:58 on the clock. Allegri scored the next three points for Eastern, and the lead was down to one possession at 57-60. FIU would match the Eagles baskets, but the game was now a battle between the two teams. Davis continued to maneuver into the paint and get his layups to fall. The Panthers then began to rebuild its lead, extending their advantage to 80-69 as part of a 13-3 run. With 5:15 left in the game, Eastern mounted a comeback, going on a 10-0 run, powered by five points from Venters. Davis, Deon Stroud and Harper would all contribute points during the run, as well, and the lead was down to 79-82 with 2:14 left in the game. Clinging to the lead, FIU converted its free throws down the stretch to keep separation. Eastern could not pull any closer and the Panthers won the game, 90-79. The Eagles shot better in the second half with a 45.3 percent, but FIU still was efficient from the floor with a 50.0 percentage.

Eastern finished the game with a 45.3 shooting percentage. The Panthers held a 55.2 percent mark from the floor.

Steele Venters and Deon Stroud were named to the All-Tournament team following the final game on Sunday. Venters averaged 17.0 points in two games, recording six rebounds, three assists, one block and three steals. Stroud averaged 10.5 points per game, getting five rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal.

Key Statistics
Eastern forced 20 turnovers from the Panthers and delivered with 32 points off those mistakes. The Eagles had 19 turnovers that led to 24 points for FIU.

For the second-straight game, Eastern made 10 or more three-point shots, going 11-of-27(40.7%) from behind the arc.

The teams were tied with 34 rebounds apiece. The Eagles pulled down 15 offensive rebounds, led by Cedric Coward who had three. Angelo Allegri and Steele Venters each had six total rebounds that tied for the team lead and was also tied for the game-high.

The Eagles were 10-of-18(55.6%) from the free throw line. The Panthers converted 20-of-22(90.9%) chances at the line.

FIU's bench doubled up Eastern's in a 30 to 15 scoring advantage.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will be at Reese Court for the first time this season on Wednesday, Nov. 30 as they host Northwest University at 6 p.m. Pacific Time.