Eastern Washington men's basketball is at Reese Court for the first time this season on Saturday, Dec. 3 as they host North Dakota State at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.

Eastern has been off the court for six days, following its game against Northwest University being postponed due to hazardous road conditions.

The game can be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can listen live on 700 AM ESPN radio with Larry Weir on the call. Live stats for the game can be viewed through GoEags.com. Tickets for the game can be purchased at the game or online by clicking the link HERE. Season tickets for all of the Eagles home can also be purchased online.

Last Time Out
Eastern Washington competed in the Florida International Tournament this past weekend, going 1-1 in Miami, Fla. The Eagles started with a commanding win against Stony Brook, 81-52. The win was keyed by 26 points off 17 turnovers from the Seawolves, along with 15 points from both Steele Venters and Ethan Price. Eastern had four players in double figures in the win with 10 players overall scoring for the team.

In the next game of the tournament, the Eagles went against the host school, Florida International, and dropped a high-scoring affair, 90-79. Despite the offensive positives, Eastern struggled to defend in the paint, as the Panthers scored 46 points down low.
 
Venters again led the team with 19 points, shooting 4-of-9(44.4%) from three-point range and grabbed six rebounds. The game marked Venters 16^th career game with three or more made threes. Angelo Allegri added 15 points and had six rebounds. Tyreese Davis contributed 14 points and recorded six assists to set a season-high for any player on the team.
 
Venters was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 17.5 points per game, with six rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block. Deon Stroud also earned All-Tournament honors after averaging 10.5 points per game, with five rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal.

A Look at the Eagles
Eastern Washington is 2-5 to start the season, going 0-1 at home, 0-3 on the road and 2-1 in neutral site games. The Eagles' defense has been effective against opposing shooters, allowing a 44.4 percent mark from the floor to rank fifth in the Big Sky.
 
After struggling on the boards in the first two games of the season, Eastern has improved with a plus-34 rebound margin in the past five games. The team has improved its rebounding margin to plus-12 overall through seven games and ranks fifth in the conference.
 
The Eagles rank third in the Big Sky with 35.4 combined team rebounds per game and lead the conference with 26.1 defensive rebounds per game.
 
The defense in the paint has been active, tying for fourth in the conference with 2.57 blocks per game, recording 18 total on the season. Ethan Price and Casey Jones average 5.4 rebounds per game to tie for 12th in the conference. Price is also leading the Big Sky with seven blocks, getting 1.0 per game.
 
As a team, Eastern is averaging 65.6 points per game. The Eagles are led in scoring by a pair of veterans, as Steele Venters is the team leader with 12.3 points per game (18th in the Big Sky), and Angelo Allegri holds a 10.0 scoring average. Venters averages 2.1 made threes per contest, tying for seventh in the conference. Allegri makes 1.6 three per game, ranking 17th.
 
Tyreese Davis has been a steady shooter for the Eagles, with a 48.6 percent from the floor, 50.0 percent from three and 86.7 percent at the free throw line. Davis averages 8.5 points per game and leads the team with 2.8 assists per game (11th in the Big Sky).
 
Cedric Coward leads the team in shooting percentage, converting 58.3 percent of his shots from the field. He averages 6.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game off the bench. Coward is a key source of second chance opportunities, leading the team with 10 offensive rebounds.
 
Scouting the Bison
North Dakota State is off to a 1-7 start with a tough non-conference schedule. The season started on the road against No. 10 Arkansas, falling 58-76 (Nov. 7). The Bison then traveled to No. 5 Kansas, losing 59-82 (Nov. 10). Their first win of the season came against Crown College by a score of 76-55 (Nov. 20). As part of the Lobo Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., the Bison faced Big Sky foe. Northern Colorado, losing 70-80 (Nov. 25). NDSU's most recent outing came against Jacksonville State, where they fell by a score of 71-81 (Nov. 27). They are 1-1 at home, 0-4 on the road and 0-2 at neutral sites.
 
The Bison averages 68.8 points per game on 39.9 percent shooting. They pull down 37.1 rebounds per contest.
 
The team is led by junior forward Grant Nelson and sophomore forward Andrew Morgan. Nelson leads the team with 13.6 points per game, adding 6.7 rebounds. Morgan averages 13.0 points and contributes NDSU in rebounds with 7.5, shooting 65.7 percent from the floor.

Series History
Saturday's meeting will be the second-ever matchup between Eastern Washington and North Dakota State. EWU lost the first contest between the two teams back on Dec. 8, 2018, by a score of 67-74.
 
Up Next
Eastern Washington will travel to play California in Berkley, Calif. on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m.