The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team played host to first-place Weber State tonight (Feb. 10) at Reese Court where it earned the upset with a 75-67 victory. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Eagles, who had just lost to the Wildcats by a score of 90-84 on the road back on Jan. 31.
 
Weber State stood at the top of the conference standings heading in to tonight's game, and now drop to 18-7 and 11-3 in Big Sky Conference play, while the Eagles improve to 12-12 and 6-7.
 
Five players scored in double figures for the Eagles, led by Rylan Bergersen with 16 points while Linton Acliese III added 15. Steele Venters (14), Angelo Allegri (12), and Ethan Price (10) added to the balanced attack.
 
Eastern Washington led for 32:02 of the contest compared to 4:18 for the Wildcats in a game that also saw six ties. With 3:51 left to play, Weber State took a 65-60 lead and head coach David Riley called timeout. Out of the break, the Eagles exploded on an 11-0 run and held WSU without a field goal for the rest of the contest en route to the win.
 
"We did a much better job keeping out of transition and making their (Weber State) shots difficult. At the end of the day, it comes down to us being consistent. We talked about it all week. We had a great week of practice – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, we competed and we got better and that carried over to today. It was fun to watch these guys close it out," said head coach David Riley. "It's funny. We simulated a situation in practice two days ago where our starters were down five with four minutes to go, we have to come back and win the game. We sat down and knew we'd been in this spot before, where we'd start the game and start the half great, but we're starting the game right now, 0-0, we have to stop, score, and play the right way every possession. It's funny how it works out. We were prepared for it and our players were locked in and believed."  
 
The Eagles came out and made five of their first seven field goal attempts, three of which came from three-point range, to lead 15-8 by the first media timeout. Down the stretch, a 5-0 run that included Linton Acliese III's second triple of the night gave Eastern Washington its largest lead of the game of 22-10.
 
Weber State then started to find some rhythm, going on a 9-0 run to cut Eastern's lead to 25-23. Mason Landdeck snapped the run with a mini 4-0 spurt of his own and the Eagles pulled back ahead by six. Ethan Price joined in as well for a 6-0 run, putting EWU up 31-23, before Weber State quickly came back with an 8-0 run in 1:26 to tie the game at 31-31. WSU's run would stretch to 11-0, but Landdeck made a three-point play to move the game back into a 34-34 tie. At the buzzer, Steele Venters drained a triple and the Eagles headed into the locker room with a 37-34 lead.
 
Eastern Washington came out aggressive, forcing two early turnovers plus used a block by Price to pull ahead 43-38, making Weber State call for a timeout at the 17:55 mark. A 7-0 run, that included a three-point play by Acliese, gave the Eagles a 46-38 lead while holding the Wildcats scoreless for 4:26. Weber State slowly started to creep back in, cutting in to Eastern's lead 48-45 with a 7-0 run over 1:17.
 
With 7:06 left to play, the Wildcats used a 5-0 run to even things up 56-56 before taking a 58-56 lead with a 7-0 run in all. Both sides went back-and-forth from there, and Weber State led 65-60 with 3:51 left to play. That's when Riley called timeout, and tables turned. Out of the break, Bergersen executed an in-bounds play perfectly for the layup, and Venters hit a three to help Eastern retake the lead. Weber State would call for a timeout to try and cool down the Eagles, but didn't have any luck, as Allegri hit a three then went two-for-two from the free throw line. In all, it would be an 11-0 run at the end before the Wildcats hit a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left. Venters went down to the other end and did the same, and the Eagles won 75-67.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Linton Acliese III scored in double figures for the 13^th-straight game, adding 15 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. He made 5-of-12 from the field, was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe, plus made two three-pointers.
 
Rylan Bergersen scored 16 points on 7-for-12 from the field to go with three rebounds and two assists.
 
Steele Venters tied for the team lead with four assists, plus added two blocks and a steal. Offensively, he scored 14 points on 4-for-11 from the field, 4-for-4 from the free throw line, and two three-pointers.
 
Angelo Allegri scored 12 points, plus added six rebounds, three assists and a steal. He made two three-pointers and was 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
 
Ethan Price was the final Eagle in double figures, adding 10. He tied for the team lead in both rebounds (7) and assists (4) plus had a block and a steal.
 
Mason Landdeck scored seven points in 13 minutes of action, making 3-of-4 from the field plus his lone free throw attempt.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: It was an evenly matched night. Eastern Washington shot. 44.3 percent (27-61) from the field, 8-for-24 (33.3%) from three-point range and 81.3 percent (13-16) from the charity stripe. Weber State made 26-of-59 to shoot 44.1 percent, shot 37.5 percent from three-point range (9-24) and 66.7 percent (6-9) from the free throw line.
 
Eastern had the slight edge in the rebound margin, 35-to-32. They turned 17 Weber State turnovers into 21 points, but committed 15 that turned into 15 points for the Wildcats. In the paint, Eastern had the 32-to-30 edge. Fourteen of Eastern's 27 field goals were assisted.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington is back at Reese Court on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. Pacific time against Idaho State. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 700-AM ESPN.
 
Tickets are available at GoEags.com/tickets. It's also Eagle Family Saturday, and fans can purchase up to six general admission tickets for $7.50 each either online or at the door.
 
While concession stands and hospitality areas such as The Sixth Man Club and The Eagle Club are back open, masks are still required unless actively eating or drinking. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within the last 72 hours for fans ages 11 or older is required for entry to home games.