When you get to March, all you have to do is survive and advance and that's exactly what the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team did today (March 9). The No. 6 seeded Eagles took on No. 11 Northern Arizona in the First Round of the Big Sky Conference Basketball Championships in Boise, Idaho, at the Idaho Central Arena and came away with a 78-75 victory.
 
Eastern Washington, the defending Big Sky Tournament Champions, now advance to tomorrow night's quarterfinal match up with No. 3 Northern Colorado. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Pacific time on ESPN+ and 700-AM ESPN. The two teams split the regular season meetings, each picking up a road win, and have never played each other in the Big Sky Tournament.
 
The Eagles are now 18-14 overall after David Riley's first tournament victory as head coach. Northern Arizona finishes the season 9-23.
 
The game saw three lead changes and two ties, and Eastern Washington led 37-31 at the half. Northern Arizona came out and used a 10-0 run to open up the second half, and the Eagles trailed by nine points with 5:38 left in the contest. A three-point play by Steele Venters with 2:48 to go gave EWU a 72-71 lead and it was a one possession game with three seconds left before the Eagles hung on to win.
 
Linton Acliese III (20 points, six rebounds), Steele Venters (19 points, five assists) and Boise native Rylan Bergersen (18 points, six assists) led the team in scoring while Angelo Allegri added 12. Ethan Price paced the Eagles with nine boards.
 
"For our players to come in and beat a team for the third time, it's always tough and it's even tougher when it's in March. Northern Arizona knew this was their last chance, and they fought. That was a really fun game. They had a great game plan, and I'm proud of our guys for sticking with it especially down the stretch when we needed to get stops or rebounds. They found a way," said head coach David Riley.
 
The Eagles were off to a shaky start, turning the ball over four times in the first three minutes and were held without a field goal until the 15:42 mark while Northern Arizona took a 7-0 lead. It didn't take long for Eastern Washington to heat up behind the arc, making four-straight three-pointers for a 12-0 run and a 12-7 lead. Steele Venters made two during the spurt, and Linton Acliese III and Angelo Allegri also contributed.
 
Northern Arizona would cut the lead down to two points, 21-19, when the Eagles cruised along on an 11-2 run to pull ahead 34-23. With four seconds left in the half, Bergersen completed his second three-point play of the day to give Eastern a 37-28 lead before NAU's Jalen Cone hit a triple at the buzzer. At the half, the Eagles led 37-31.
 
Much like the first half, the second half started out shaky for the Eagles as well. Northern Arizona came out and scored ten-straight points to pull ahead 41-37 and the run would stretch to 13-2. The Eagles slowly chipped away, and the game moved into a 54-54 tie.
 
Eastern Washington trailed 69-60 with 5:38 left to play in regulation and did not make a field goal for four minutes while NAU strung together another 6-0 run. With 2:48 left on the clock, Venters was fouled shooting a layup and completed three three-point play to give Eastern Washington its first lead since the early goings on the second half, 72-71.
 
Free throws would make all the difference down the stretch. Bergersen made two-of-two for a 74-71 lead and Acliese made both attempts as well to pull ahead 76-71. Another three-point play by Bergersen gave EWU a 77-73 lead before NAU's Carson Towt made it a one possession game with three seconds left, 77-75. With two seconds left, Acliese made one more free throw. Northern Arizona came up empty on its final possession, and ended the game 1-for-12 from the field, as the Eagles hung on to win 78-75 despite being outscored 44-41 in the second half.
 
TOP PERFORMANCES: Linton Acliese turned in his 11^th 20-plus point performance of the season, leading the Eagles with 20 points. He was 7-for-13 from the field, 5-for-6 from the free throw line, and added six rebounds and two assists.
 
Steele Venters followed with 19 points, five assists, five rebounds and a steal. He was 6-of-13 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
 
Boise native Rylan Bergersen added 18 points and six assists. He was 5-for-7 from the field, 1-for-1 from three-point range and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Angelo Allegri drained three-triples, scoring 12 points overall with five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Ethan Price, the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, led the way with nine rebounds and added six points.  
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: Eastern Washington was 25-for-54 from the field, shooting 46 percent overall. The Lumberjacks were 29-for-67 to a 43 percent clip. From three-point range, EWU was 8-for-23 and Northern Arizona was 7-for-23. The Eagles shot 84 percent from the free throw line, making 21-of-25, while the Lumberjacks were 9-for-14.
 
Eastern Washington was out-rebounded 37 to 32 and NAU had 18 offensive rebounds compared to 11 for the Eagles. Eastern had 16 second chance points, 34 points in the paint, and forced 10 turnovers. They turned the ball over 13 times. Seventeen of Eastern's 25 field goals were assisted, which is over the season average.
 
UP NEXT: Eastern Washington, the defending Big Sky Tournament Champions, now advance to tomorrow night's quarterfinal match up with No. 3 Northern Colorado. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Pacific time on ESPN+ and 700-AM ESPN. The two teams split the regular season meetings, each picking up a road win, and have never played each other in the Big Sky Tournament.
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Eastern is making its 19th Big Sky Conference Tournament appearance in 33 years as a member of the league, and has a record of 21-15 in its 36 games. The Eagles are 2-0 in the first round, 7-5 in the quarterfinals, 9-4 in the semifinals and 3-6 in the championship.
 
Eastern won Big Sky Conference Tournament championships and appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2021, 2015 & 2004. The Eagles have also advanced to the National Invitation Tournament in 2003 and the College Basketball Invitational in 2016 and 2017.
 
The Eagles rolled through the 2021 Big Sky Conference Tournament with a trio of victories, leading for a total of 108:19 out of 120 minutes (trailed for 8:25 and tied for 3:16). EWU led by as many as 12, 38 and 20 in the three wins, respectively, topping Northern Arizona, Montana and Montana State in the championship game.