GAME NOTES vs. NORTHERN COLORADO

The final regular season road games of the season are on tap for the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team this week. The Eagles look to rematch Northern Colorado tomorrow night (Feb. 24) in Greeley, Colo., at 5 p.m. Pacific time, before going for a season-sweep of Sacramento State on Saturday, Feb. 26 in Sacramento, Calif., at 7 p.m. PT. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 700-AM ESPN.
 
With just four regular season games remaining, the Eagles sit in sixth-place in the conference standings with a Big Sky record of 8-8 and an overall record of 14-13. Eastern Washington is still in the hunt for a top-five finish, which would give them a first-round bye at the conference championships. Northern Colorado is tied for fourth (11-5, 16-12) while Sacramento State resides in the basement (3-13, 7-16) of the standings.
 
For tickets and other information regarding the 2021-22 Big Sky Conference Basketball Championships in Boise, Idaho, from March 7-12, click HERE.
 
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Eastern Washington is 14-13 overall and 8-8 in Big Sky Conference games. The Eagles came off of a tough five-game road stretch where they went 1-4 and returned to Reese Court and beat first-place Weber State by a score of a 75-67, Idaho State, 75-72, and then snapped Montana State's 11-game winning streak in overtime, 88-86, to get back on the winning track. Most recently, the Eagles suffered a setback with an 83-80 loss at Idaho on Feb. 19.
 
The Eagles average 77.1 points per game, the fourth-most offensive output in the conference. They lead the conference and rank 25th in the nation with 16.2 assists per game, totaling 437 to rank 26th. Eastern Washington pulls down 37.07 rebounds per game to rank second in the conference and 80th nationally, with 1,001 total boards to rank 93rd. Eastern has out-rebounded its opponents in 16 games this year. They average 27.67 defensive boards per game which is 33rd in the nation.
 
EWU is also one of the nation's top three-point shooting teams, firing off 238 total this year to rank 53rd in the NCAA. Eastern also has a stifling three-point defense, only allowing opponents to shoot 31.7 percent behind the arc to rank first in the conference and 87^th nationally. Eastern Washington ranks 57th in the NCAA and second in the Big Sky with 8.8 three-pointers per game. The squad has made double-digit triples in six out of the last 12 games, with season highs of 14 against Idaho and 13 against Idaho State.
 
The Eagles are also solid at the free throw line, ranking 39th nationally with 404 free throws made and 69th with 529 attempts. EWU makes 76.4 percent of its attempts to rank 32nd in the country.
 
Eastern is 3-0 this season when scoring 90 or more points, and 5-2 when shooting between 50-to-60 percent from the field. However, they are 0-7 when opponents shoot over 50 percent.
 
Eastern Washington boasts four players who average double figures, all of which rank in the top-23 in the Big Sky. Steele Venters (6th, 16.8 ppg) leads the way, followed by Linton Acliese III (7th, 16.4 ppg) and Rylan Bergersen (14th, 13.1 ppg). Angelo Allegri rounds out the offense with 11.8 points per game to rank 23rd. Four Eagles also rank in the top-21 in the conference in rebounding in Acliese (6th, 7.1 rpg), Allegri (10th, 6.6 rpg), Bergersen (20th, 4.8 rpg), and Ethan Price (21st, 4.7).
 
YOU CAN CALL HIM BOOGIE: Linton Acliese III or "Boogie" has taken home both of EWU's Big Sky Player of the Week nods this first. First, on Jan. 4 after two road wins at Portland State and Northern Arizona, and again on Feb. 22 after scoring 38 and 20 points in a pair of games.
 
Over the two games in January, Acliese shot 60.6 percent (20-33) from the field, plus made three three-pointers and made both free throw attempts. He totaled 18 rebounds for an average of nine per game, plus had five total assists and a block while averaging 22.5 points per game. He scored 30 points at Northern Arizona to go with 11 rebounds for his then-fourth double-double of the season.
 
Last week, Acliese averaged 29.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game over two contests. He shot 63.6 percent from the field (21-33) and was 11-12 (91.7%) from the free throw line, plus made five three-pointers. He also added 1.5 assists and 0.5 blocks per game.
 
His 38-points against Montana State set a new career-high, and were the most points scored by a Big Sky player this season. It ranks tied for 14th all-time in program history, and are the most points scored in a game since Jacob Davison dropped 41 in 2019. In the win, he was 13-19 from the field, 5-10 from three-point range and 7-8 from the free throw line. He also contributed with eight rebounds, a block, and an assist.
 
Currently, Acliese ranks seventh in the Big Sky in points (16.4) per game and sixth in rebounds (7.1) per game. He's scored in double figures in 21 out of the 24 games he has played in, including 14 out of the last 15, to go with five double-doubles. He has scored in 20-or-more points in nine games, including two with 30, scoring in double figures in every conference contest he's played in except for one.
 
Acliese leads the Big Sky in both overall field goal (153-288, 53.1%) and free throw (65-75, 86.7%) percentage, ranking 55^th and 44^th nationally in those categories.
 
STAT SHEET STUFFER: Rylan Bergersen ranks third on the team and 14th in the Big Sky with 13.1 points per game, but there's more to it. He's led the team in assists in 18 games, ranking second in the Big Sky and 83rd in the nation with 4.4 per game. He has 118 assists on the year to rank 64th across all of Division I, and has three-or-more assists in every game but three, including at least four in 15. He's fourth in the conference in assist to turnover ratio with 1.93. His single-game high of nine assists came in an overtime win against Montana State.
 
Bergersen can rebound, too, ranking third on the team and 20th in the Big Sky with 4.8 per game. He's pulled down four-or-more rebounds in 19 games. On the defensive side, he's ninth in the conference with 1.2 steals per game, with at least one in every game but seven. Last but not least, he ranks 66th in the nation with 105 free throws made and is 73rd with 136 attempts.
 
MOVES LIKE GELO: Angelo Allegri has emerged as a steady three-point shooter for Eastern Washington. He knocks down an average of 2.2 triples per game to rank ninth in the Big Sky, and has at least one three-pointer in 24 out of 27 games. Additionally, he's made at least two in 17 games and three-or-more in 10. Against Multnomah on Dec. 15, he made a career-best six. Allegri ranks second on the team with 60 triples total, shooting 35.5 percent from behind the arc and averaging 6.3 attempts per game. He currently averages 11.8 points per game and has scored in double figures 17 times, including a career-best 23 against Multnomah, plus 23 points and 21 points both against Idaho.
 
He is emerging as one of the team's top-rebounders, too. Against Sacramento State, he earned his first career double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds, the most boards by an Eagle this season. His second double-double came at Montana with 11 points and 11 rebounds before tallying 14 points and 10 boards at Weber State. He has led the team in rebounding in 10 games, including nine out of the last 13. He has grabbed at least seven boards in 10 out of the last 18 games. Allegri ranks 10th in the Big Sky with 6.6 per game.
 
VENTERS IS EFFICIENT: One of the sharpest shooters in the Big Sky, redshirt-freshman Steele Venters leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference with 16.8 points per game. Not only does Venters like to shoot, he does it well, knocking down 46.2 percent from the field to rank sixth in the Big Sky. He leads the league in three-point percentage as well, knocking down 2.7 per game at a clip of 45.1 percent, a mark that ranks fourth in all of Division I. At the free throw line, he ranks fifth in the conference with a clip of 83.7 percent.
 
Venters has scored in double figures in 21 out of 26 games, including 10 games with 20-or-more points. He has scored 20-or-more points in six Big Sky games, with a career-high 29 against Southern Utah. Venters has made a three-pointer in every game this year except one, including two or more in 20. He has a career-high six against Southern Utah and followed up with five against Omaha, Colorado, Idaho and Idaho State. Nationally, he ranks fourth in three-point field goal percentage, 67th in three-pointers per game, 72nd in total three's made and 120^th with 438 total points. He has only missed three free throws in his last 23 attempts.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Things were as close as they could be in EWU'S contest against the Idaho Vandals on Feb. 19 The game saw 16 ties and 12 lead changes, and although the Eagles led by as many as 14 in the first half and led for 25:16 of the contest, they lost 83-80. Eastern Washington was led by Angelo Allegri with a career-high 23 points, plus Linton Acliese III (20 points) and Steele Venters (18 points).
 
The Eagles came out and made seven of their first nine field goal attempts, including three of five from three-point range. After stringing together runs of 5-0 and 8-0, Eastern Washington held a 19-11 lead over the Vandals. Eastern Washington found its rhythm behind the arc, making five of 10 three-point attempts by the 11-minute mark. Ethan Price and Angelo Allegri hit back-to-back threes and Steele Venters followed up with a layup to give EWU a 7-0 run and a 27-13 lead. At the half, the game was tied 40-40.
 
After Idaho took its largest lead of the game 46-42 early in the second half, the game moved into ties of 48-48 and 50-50. The second half would see 10 ties, with neither team able to create space or lead by more than three for nearly the entire half. That is until the 2:01 mark, when Idaho took an 80-75 lead, using a 6-0 run. Eastern stayed calm, and a 5-0 run that was capped by a three-pointer by Venters evaporated the deficit and locked things back up at 80-80. With 32 seconds left, Idaho's Tanner Christiansen made a layup to give the Vandals an 82-80 lead. Christiansen would go to the line with 14 seconds left and made 1-of-2 and Eastern came up empty on its final possession as Idaho held on to the 83-80 lead.
 
A LOOK AT THE BEARS: If Northern Colorado wins on Thursday, it will secure a first-round bye at the conference tournament, currently sitting at 11-5 in Big Sky play and 16-12 overall to rank fourth. Two of the conference's best three-point shooters will come together tomorrow night, as UNC's Dru Kuxhausen leads the Big Sky with 3.11 triples per game at a 43.9 percent clip. As a team, the Bears average 78.0 point per game to rank 32^nd nationally, while leading the conference in both field goal percentage (47.7%) and three-point percentage (38.4%).
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern leads the all-time series with the Bears by a slim margin of 15-14. Last season, the two pairs split the meetings. This year on Jan. 22, Eastern lost 87-83 to the Bears in Cheney. The game featured 11 ties and six lead changes and after being tied at the half, it was a one-point game with 13 seconds left before UNC got the final say. In Greeley, the Eagles are 5-10 all-time.
 
A LOOK AT THE HORNETS: The Hornets snapped a six-game losing streak to Idaho State on Saturday night, sitting at 7-16 overall and 3-13 in conference action now at the bottom of the standings. If the regular season ended today, both the Eagles and the Hornets would face-off in Boise. Bryce Fowler (17.5) and Zach Chappell (11.3) pace the Hornets in scoring.
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Eagles lead the all-time series against Sacramento State, 41-15, and have won five-straight. In Sacramento, Eastern is 14-11 all-time. Eastern Washington topped the Hornets by a score of 75-62 on Jan. 20 in Cheney. Eastern's attack was balanced, with five players scoring in double figures. Rylan Bergersen led the way with 15, and Angelo Allegri turned in the first double-double of his career with 14 points and a career-best 14 boards. Steele Venters (14 pts), Linton Acliese III (13 pts) and Ethan Price (10 pts) rounded things out.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington returns home one final time next week, hosting Northern Arizona (March 3) and Portland State (March 5). Before Saturday's game against the Vikings, the Eagles will honor seniors Linton Acliese III, Rylan Bergersen and Austin Fadal. Tip-offs are set for 6 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.