The week at home was good for Eastern Washington men's basketball and the team will get on the road with new energy. Eastern plays its next three games on the road, beginning with California on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. Pacific Time.

The game will be streamed live on Pac-12.com and live stats can be viewed through CalBears.com. Listen to the game live with Larry Weir on 700-AM ESPN or on the Varsity Network App.

Last Time Out
Eastern hosted North Dakota State in the team's first game at Reese Court this season, defeating the Bison, 78-70. The Eagles went into halftime with a three-point lead following a strong shooting half, but NDSU was hanging around. After Eastern had a 53-44 lead in the second half, the Bison ripped off a 10-0 run to take the lead with 8:39 left in the game. Steele Venters would give the Eagles the lead back and the team made their free throws down the stretch to close out NDSU. Eastern finished with a 51.6 shooting percentage in the game, while the Bison had a 45.8 percent mark. The Eagles created 17 NDSU turnovers and scored 18 points off those mistakes.

Venters had a career game, scoring 33 points on 73.6 percent shooting. It was Venters first 30-point game of his career and the first for Eastern since February of 2022 when Linton Acliese III scored 38 against Montana State. Venters total is tied for the 50^th most points for a single game in program history.

Cedric Coward was a key bench performer, scoring 12 points and tallying seven rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end of the court. Casey Jones led the team with eight rebounds, and he added five points.

A Look at the Eagles
Eastern Washington is 3-5 on the season, with a 0-3 mark on the road, 1-1 at home and 2-1 in neutral site games. The team has won two of its last three games. This season, Eastern is averaging 67.1 points per game, while allowing 71.9. Collectively, the team is shooting 42.9 percent on field goals. The Eagles distribute the ball well, averaging 13.9 assists per game, with 111 total that ranks third in the Big Sky. Complementing the effort, Eastern has the fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio, with a 0.97 stat line to rank fourth among Big Sky programs. The Eagles have recorded 10 or less turnovers in three of the last four games.

Steele Venters has shrugged off his slow start this season and is averaging 21.8 points in the past four games. Venters is ninth in the Big Sky with a 14.9 points per game average and is fifth in shooting with a 45.0 percentage. The redshirt-sophomore's career-high against NDSU was the second most points scored in the conference this season behind only Northern Arizona's Jalen Cone (38). Venters was 3-of-7(42.9%) on three-point shots against the Bison and he accounts for 2.3 made threes a game to tie for fourth in the Big Sky.

Casey Jones is the lead rebounder for Eastern, averaging 5.8 a game and is tied for ninth on the conference leaderboard. Jones adds 5.9 points per game. Ethan Price is 13^th in the Big Sky with 5.3 rebounds per game, contributing 8.0 points.

Tyreese Davis continues to develop as a facilitator for Eastern, tying for the team lead with 23 assists. His 3.29 assists per game average ranks ninth in the Big Sky and he holds third spot on the assist-to-turnover ratio leaderboard with a 2.09 figure. Angelo Allegri also has 23 assists, averaging 2.88 per game.  

Cedric Coward has embraced the role of impacting the game off the bench, ranking third on the team with 4.5 rebounds per game and is tied for fifth with 6.8 points, while averaging 17 minutes of playing time. The sophomore is fifth in the conference with 1.88 offensive rebounds per game, posting 15 total this season.

Scouting the Golden Bears
California's season is off to rocky start, with a 0-9 record, including 0-5 at home and 0-2 in Pac-12 games. The Golden Bears' last game was a tough matchup against No. 4 Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., where they lost, 68-81. Cal fell to rival USC, 51-66, in the team's last home matchup on Nov. 30. Scoring has been challenge for the Golden Bears, averaging 58.7 points per game and shooting 39.5 percent from the floor as a team. On the defensive side of the court, Cal is surrendering 67.6 points per game and a 43.6 shooting percentage.

Junior guard Devin Askew leads the scoring effort for the Golden Bears, with an 18.3 points per game average and a 39.3 shooting percentage. Senior forward Lars Thiemann provides another double-digit scorer for Cal with 12.9 points per game and a strong, 56.4 shooting percentage. Thiemann is also the team's top rebounder with 6.4 per game, along with leading the team with eight blocks. 

Series History
In program history, Eastern is 0-3 against Cal, with all three matchups taking place in Berkeley. The teams last faced each other on Dec. 19, 2014, with the Golden Bears winning 89-67.

Up Next
Eastern Washington's next stop on the road trip is in Brookings, S.D. where they will play South Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m.