Make it two wins in a row for the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team, who edged the visiting Idaho State Bengals at Reese Court this afternoon (Feb. 12) by a final score of 75-72. With the win, Eastern Washington improves to 13-12 overall and 7-7 in Big Sky Conference play, while ISU falls to 5-18 and 3-11. The Eagles also win their third-straight over Idaho State and sweep the regular season meetings.
 
Eastern Washington led for 33:51 of the contest and the game overall had six ties and seven lead changes. Steele Venters was incredibly consistent at the free throw line, making eight-of-eight attempts, four of which came with less than 21 seconds left in the game. With nine seconds left to play, the Eagles led by just a point before Venters put the game away with two free throws to help EWU hold on to the victory.
 
"We hit some big shots, and free throws kept the game where we needed it to be. At the end of the day, we had another good closing of the game. The game was tied with 3:50 left to go, and we made the plays we needed to, for the most part, down the stretch to win this game. Free throws were included in that," said head coach David Riley.  
 
Venters led all players with 21 points, his 10^th 20-plus point performance of the season and the sixth in Big Sky play. Rylan Bergersen nearly had a double-double of 14 points and eight rebounds. Angelo Allegri (16 points) and Ethan Price (11 points) rounded things out.
 
After the first five minutes saw three lead changes and a tie, the Eagles started to break away. Eastern Washington went five-for-five from field goal range during a 7-0 run to create some space with a 13-9 lead. Five points during the spurt came from Ethan Price. The run was short lived, as Idaho State responded to tie the game for the second time, 13-13.
 
After both teams went over two minutes without scoring, Rylan Bergersen made a layup and then made two free throw attempts to put the 20-15 lead back into Eastern's hands with less than 10 minutes to play in the first half. With two minutes left, Ellis Magnuson drained Eastern Washington's fourth three of the half to extend the lead out to 35-27. After holding the Bengals without a field goal for the final three minutes of the half, and shooting 50 percent from the field, Eastern Washington led 38-29 at the break.
 
Idaho State came out and outscored Eastern 15-6 in the first five minutes of the second half, tying the game at 44-44 before taking a 48-46 lead. Eastern Washington then found its footing again after Idaho State was called for a technical foul, using a 9-0 run to retake a 58-50 lead. The momentum swung once again and the Bengals cut Eastern's lead down to 58-55 after a 5-0 run of their own.
 
With 3:50 left to play, the game moved in to a 63-63 tie. A three-point play by Bergersen with two minutes left to play helped Eastern pull away by four, 69-65, and the Eagles led 71-65 with 1:42 left. The Bengals refused to go away, ringing up a triple to make it a three-point game before Venters headed to line and made both attempts.
 
However, Idaho State was there once again, taking advantage of an EWU turnover and scored four quick points to make it a one-point game with nine seconds left to go, 73-72. Venters then made another poised trip to the free throw line and made both attempts to put the game out of reach for the Bengals who came up empty on their final possession.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Steele Venters led the way with 21 points, making 5-of-13 from the field with three triples, plus a perfect 8-for-8 at the charity stripe.
 
Angelo Allegri scored 16 points on 7-for-13 from the field and two three-pointers.
 
Rylan Bergersen scored 14 points, while grabbing eight boards and three assists. Ethan Price scored in double figures for the fifth-straight game with 11 points. He was 4-for-8 from the field, 1-for-1 from three-point range, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. He also added six rebounds, while leading the Eagles with two blocks and three assists.
 
Linton Acliese III grabbed seven rebounds while dishing two assists. Ellis Magnuson also had three assists, and Casey Jones had a steal, two blocks, and five rebounds.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: Eastern Washington held Idaho State to 19.4 percent (6-31) from three-point range while making 7-of-18 themselves. The Eagles showed consistency at the free throw line as well, making 18-of-20 for 90 percent. Overall, Eastern shot 48.1 percent (25-52) from the field while the Bengals shot 45.2 percent (28-62).
 
Both teams took care of the basketball, with the Bengals only turning the ball over six times compared to Eastern's 10. Eastern Washington had the edge in rebounds, 32-to-29, and were edged in the paint, 38-to-30.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington hosts Montana State on Thursday, Feb. 17 at Reese Court. They then make the short trek to Moscow, Idaho to play the Vandals on Saturday, Feb. 19 at approximately 4:30 p.m., following the women's game at 2 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 700-AM ESPN.