It was a historical game for Eastern Washington men's basketball as they defeated Northwest Indian College, 130-54 Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 20). The Eagles separated early against Northwest and the game was never in doubt. Eastern improves to 6-7 on the season, finishing its non-conference schedule.

Sophomore forward Cedric Coward posted the program's second ever triple double with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. The team's 130 points are also tied for the second most in a single game in program history.

"We had an idea, and we gave him a time frame to do it by. We gave him another shot at the end, and he earned it. It's fun at the end of the games, to get guys different looks. It was a team effort," head coach David Riley said. "It is nice for fans to see these guys that work their tails off all season. The second unit is the MVP of our team. They have made us better and got us better against pressure, allowing us to take the next step as a team. It's all credit to Ellis [Magnuson], Jordan [Veening], LeJuan [Watts], Imhotep [George], Ty [Harper]. Those guys have upped the level of practice to help us improve as a team."

"I had one in DIII last year. I'm not new to the club, but this is my first Division I triple double and I'm really happy about it. It's all credit to my teammates and my coaches," said Coward. "We get a break, but we are still focused on our next games against Montana and Montana State. That can set us up for where we want to be in the future in March. It is nice to get time off and rest."

Imhotep George came off the bench and scored 28 points to lead all players and set a new career high. Dane Erikstrup scored 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.

The Eagles were off to the races in the first half, opening with an 11-1 lead on Northwest Indian. After the initial surge, Northwest Indian cut into the lead with a 6-1 stretch and the Eastern lead was reduced to 12-7 at 15:01. As the half went on, the Eagles would continue to score and pull away from Northwest. A 16-0 run would put Eastern up 40-14 at the 8:14 mark in the half. Dane Erikstrup was controlling the paint for the Eagles, scoring 17 points in the first half. Eastern would not let up in the half, pressing its advantage and stymieing Northwest's offense. The Eagles led 68-23 at halftime, following a 65.1 shooting performance in the first half. They held Northwest to 25.8 percent from the floor.

The rout continued in the second half, as Steele Venters and Angelo Allegri provided a one-two punch in scoring. Imhotep George took full advantage of the game and scored from inside and outside to keep building the Eagles' lead. Eastern cracked the century mark at 10:37 on a three-point shot from George for a 102-37 lead. The team extended the lead to as much as 80 points at 127-47 with 2:58 remaining in the game. At the end, Eastern won the game 130-54, overpowering Northwest with a 60.5 shooting percentage in the second half. The Eagles held Northwest to 28.6 percent in the half.

For the game, Eastern maintained a 63.0 percentage from the floor. Northwest Indian College shot just 27.3 percent.

Key Statistics
Cedric Coward's triple double was Eastern Washington second in program history. Bogdan Bliznyuk recorded the first triple-double for the Eagles against Northern Arizona on Jan. 16, 2016, finishing with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Cedric Coward set new career-highs in rebounds (13) and assists (10). He also matched his career high with two blocks. Coward's triple double is one of 16 that have been recorded this season at the division I level.

Eastern now has scored 100 points in 79 games in program history. The last time the team topped 100 was on Nov. 15, 2021 when they defeated Walla Walla, 111-71.

The Eagles scored 70 points in the paint to Northwest's 12.

Dane Erikstrup set career-highs in points and rebounds, while matching his career-high in blocks (2) and assists (2).

Eastern recorded 33 assists on 51 made field goals in the game.

Six Eagles scored in double figures, with Steele Venters recording 19 and Ethan Price getting 15. Ty Harper scored 10 points to join George, Erikstup and Coward in the double figure group.

Eastern had 62 rebounds in the game, with 21 on the offensive end. Northwest Indian had 20 for the game. Angelo Allegri finished with 11 to notch his sixth double-digit rebound game.

Imhotep George also set a career-high with nine rebounds in the game. He also had career highs in steals (2) and assists (2).

Deon Stroud set a career-high with two blocks.

Jordan Veening set career-highs in points (6), assists (4) and rebounds (5). He matched his career-high with one block.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will play its first Big Sky game on the road against Montana on Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time.