Eastern Washington men's basketball is preparing to begin competition in the Big Sky with two road games. Eastern will play Montana on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time, followed by a matchup against Montana State on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m.

Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can listen to the game live on 700-AM ESPN with the voice of the Eagles, Larry Weir, on the call. Live stats for the Montana game will be available through GoGriz.com and MSUBobcats.com for the Montana St. game.

Last Time Out
Eastern Washington closed out its non-conference schedule with an overwhelming, 130-54 win over Northwest Indian College. The Eagles started the game with an 11-1 run, but Northwest pulled the score back to 12-7 at 15:01 on the clock. Eastern would then go on a 16-0 run to separate for good from Northwest. The team led 68-23 at halftime and piled up the points in the second for the win. In the game, the Eagles clocked in with a 63.0 shooting percentage, while holding Northwest to a 27.3 percentage. The team's point total is tied for the second most in a single game in program history.

Cedric Coward put his name into the record books with only the second triple double performance in program history, finishing with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Coward is one of 16 players in Division I to record a triple-double this season. Imhotep George scored a career-high 28 points off the bench, while Dane Erikstrup posted his first career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Steele Venters scored 19 points and Ethan Price added 15 in the game.

A Look at the Eagles
Eastern Washington finished its non-conference slate with a 6-7 record, going 1-5 on the road, 3-1 at home and 2-1 at neutral sites. Eastern is on a two-game winning streak, with a 79-68 win over UC Davis on Dec. 17 to go along with the win over Northwest Indian. Through 13 games, Eastern is in the middle of the Big Sky pack in scoring, ranking fifth in points per game (72.5) and points allowed per game (69.2). The team has a plus-3.3 scoring margin. Eastern has steadily improved its shooting, posting a 51.2 field goal percentage over the past four games. The Eagles rank third in the Big Sky with a 45.8 percentage this season. They also defend the floor well, limiting opponents to a 42.1 percentage for the second-best mark in the conference.

Eastern adds to its defensive ability with 26.8 defensive rebounds per game to lead the Big Sky. With 37.2 combined team rebounds and a plus-5.0 rebound margin, the Eagles rank second in the conference in both categories. Adding to the effort, Eastern leads the Big Sky with 3.46 blocks per game and 45 total recorded.

Steele Venters is living up to his preseason Big Sky All-Conference status, averaging 14.5 points per game for 12^th in the conference and leading the team. Venters holds the seventh-best shooting percentage with a 44.8 figure. He averages 2.1 made three-point shots per game to slide in at 10^th in the conference.

No player has improved more for Eastern this season then Casey Jones, as the sophomore leads the team and ranks seventh in the conference with 6.6 rebounds per game. Jones also leads the team with 1.3 steals per game, with 15 total this season and ranks third in the Big Sky. He averages 7.1 points per game.

Ethan Price leads the Eagles' defense in the paint, with 0.9 blocks per game, recording 12 total and is tied for third in the conference. The sophomore is third on the team with 9.5 points per game and fourth with 4.8 rebounds per game.

Angelo Allegri and Tyreese Davis trade off on distributing the ball, ranking eighth (3.3) and ninth (3.2) in the Big Sky in assists per game respectively. Allegri is sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) and Davis is tied for seventh (1.4). Along with distributing, Allegri adds 10.5 points per game for the second-best average on the team, while Davis averages 9.0 per game to sit at fourth.

Cedric Coward has emerged as another do-everything player for Eastern, ranking second on the team and 10^th in the Big Sky with 5.6 rebounds per game. Coward is third on the team and 15^th in the conference with 0.5 blocks per game, while being second on the team and tied for 19^th among Big Sky players with 0.9 steals per game.

Scouting the Grizzlies
In its non-conference schedule, Montana went 6-6, with a 4-1 record at home and 1-5 on the road, with a 1-0 mark in neutral site games. The Grizzlies battled No. 11 Gonzaga in the team's final test before conference play, falling to the Zags, 75-85 in Spokane. Despite the loss, Montana has won three of its last four games. For its first 12 games of the season, the Grizzlies average 68.4 points per game and allow 68.8 to opponents. They hold a 45.7 shooting percentage overall and 34.4 percent from three-point range. The Grizzlies have the top three-point defense in the Big Sky, limiting opposing shooters to 30.2 percent.

Leading the scoring effort for Montana is junior forward Josh Bannan, averaging 15.7 points per game on 53.1 percent shooting. Bannan's shooting percentage is second in the Big Sky. Embracing the even more responsibility, Bannan is the team's leading rebounder with 8.7 per game, good for third in the conference, while also leading the team with 35 assists. The Grizzlies get additional scoring from redshirt-senior guard, Aanen Moody who contributes 14.9 points per game.

Series History
Eastern Washington is 26-57 against Montana in the all-time series at the DI level between the two programs, with a 11-30 record on the road. The Grizzlies have a two-game winning streak in the series, sweeping the two meetings last season. The Eagles fell at Reese Court 78-90 on Jan. 6, 2022 and 59-61 on Jan. 29, 2022 in Missoula.

Scouting the Bobcats
Montana State is 7-6 overall this season, having finished its non-conference schedule with a 4-0 record at home, 3-3 on the road and 0-3 in neutral site games. The Bobcats fell in a tough game against No. 5 Arizona, 64-85. The defending Big Sky champions were picked to repeat in the preseason polls. MSU carries the third-highest scoring offense in the Big Sky with 77.7 points per game. They allow opponents 69.1 points per game, while shooting 47.7 percent as a team for the second ranked percent in the conference. They hold opponents to a conference-leading, 41.8 percent from the floor.

RaeQuan Battle leads the Bobcats in scoring with 17.2 points per game, also slotting in at the fifth-best average in the Big Sky. The junior guard is shooting 46.8 percent on the season. Jubrile Belo is the team's clean-up man in the paint, averaging 6.0 rebounds per game. The senior forward is second on the team with 12.6 points per game.

Series History
In the series history between Eastern and Montana St., the Eagles lead 40-38 with a 13-26 record on the road. Eastern won an overtime thriller in the most recent meeting between the two teams, beating the Bobcats 68-66. In overtime, Rylan Bergersen made the game-winning jumper with five seconds left in overtime, after tying the game in regulation to force overtime with two free throws.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will host Portland State on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. for the team's first home conference game. The team will then host Sacramento State on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m.