If there was a statement to be made on the opening night of Big Sky conference games, Eastern Washington men's basketball stepped up to the challenge. Eastern defeated Montana, 87-80, in Missoula on Thursday night (Dec. 29). The Eagles trailed in the second half but controlled the paint to spark a rally and earn a win in the conference opener. Eastern is now 1-0 in the Big Sky and 7-7 overall this season. The Grizzlies start 0-1 in the conference and are 6-7.

"I thought we had some veteran guys that stepped up, during timeouts, to rally the guys. We've talked a lot about how to maintain our energy and break opponent's. We were solid on defense tonight and forced [Montana] into contested jumpers," head coach David Riley said. "We have put a lot more emphasis on rebounding this year. With our returners, we can get those details carried over from last season and then learned by our new guys. Dane [Erikstrup] looked a lot more comfortable out there. It seems to take about half a year for transfers to settle into the team. We've been talking for five or six games about how good our bench was. I've learned to be more assertive in making those decisions to put our [bench] guys into the action and establish some rhythm."

The points came from everyone tonight, with six Eagles in double figures. Angelo Allegri led the team with 19 points on 6-of-12(50%) shooting, adding five rebounds and six assists. Dane Erikstrup added 17 points on 4-of-6(66.7%) shooting, along with seven rebounds.

Eastern jumped on the Grizzlies fast with a 7-0 run, as Tyreese Davis connected early from the wing with a three-pointer. Montana countered with its own 7-0 stretch to tie the game at the 14:52 mark in the half. The Grizzlies would take the lead on a made three, but the Eagles stayed right with them. Cedric Coward got the lead back with a jumper and Dane Erikstrup would extend the lead with one of his easy layups in the paint. Eastern led 15-11 with 10:42 left in the half. Both teams seemed to score at-will, with the Eagles getting points from Steele Venters and Angelo Allegri. In the paint, Erikstrup was effective scoring and drawing fouls. Eastern had a 29-24 lead with 5:18 on the clock before a 5-0 burst from the Grizzlies tied the game. The teams traded scores down the stretch, but Montana managed to pull ahead, 39-37, going to halftime.

Eastern shot 48.0 percent from the floor in the half and the Grizzlies were shooting 42.9 percent.

Now in the second half, Montana looked to pull away from the Eagles. They pushed the lead out to four points multiple times to begin the half. The Grizzlies grew the lead to as many as seven points in the half. Davis, Coward and Allegri were consistent scorers and helped maintain a close distance to Montana. At 10:49 left in the game, the Grizzlies led 60-54. It was Erikstrup who led the comeback, doing damage at the free throw line with four made shots. He added a put-back layup to cut the lead down to 63-62 with 7:48 on the clock. Ethan Price then stepped back behind the arc and made a clutch three-point shot to tie the game at 65. Erikstrup, Allegri and Coward came up big at the line, making six-straight free throws to build a 75-71 lead over Montana with 4:25 left. The Grizzlies did not go away, but Eastern had the momentum. Price delivered a statement dunk with 41 seconds left in the game to extend the lead to 84-78. Eastern would win the game, 87-80, shooting 48.3 percent in the half. The Grizzlies shot 42.4 percent in the final 20 minutes.

Eastern had a 48.1 shooting percentage for the game, with Montana recording a 42.6 percentage.

Key Statistics
Eastern snapped a two-game losing streak against the Grizzlies, after falling in both games last season. The team earned its first win in Missoula since Feb. 20, 2021 (90-76).

The bench production was key for Eastern, as they tallied 31 points. Montana had 11 bench points.

Angelo Allegri set a career-high with six assists in the win over Montana. He matched his season-high with 19 points. The senior has scored in double figures in five of the last six games.

Cedric Coward scored 12 points and had seven rebounds. Coward has scored in double figures in three-straight games. Ethan Price scored 13 points and had two blocks in the game. Price has scored in double figures in five-straight games. Steele Venters and Tyreese Davis each scored 12 points Thursday night.

Eastern controlled the boards, with a 45 to 28 rebounding advantage. Casey Jones led the team with nine rebounds in the game. The Eagles outscored the Grizzlies, 34 to 20 in the paint.

The game featured 14 ties and nine lead changes. Both team's largest lead was seven points.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will stay in Montana and travel to Bozeman to play Montana State on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.