For the first time in program history, Eastern Washington men's basketball is 6-0 to begin conference play. Eastern defeated Montana 64-57 at Reese Court tonight (Jan. 16). The Eagles are on top of the Big Sky standings and have won eight games in a row. They improve to 12-7 overall this season, while Montana falls to 3-4 in the Big Sky and 9-10 overall. 

"Montana had a great game plan. They really broke our rhythm, and we were stagnate early in the game. Dan [Erikstrup] and Ethan [Price] broke that a few times, with shots late in the shot clock. Our pace got way better in the second half," head coach David Riley said. "I think working through the adversity started in practice. I said this in the last game, our guys go really hard in practice. They worked really hard during fall and worked to understand the system. After the Hawaii trip, our intensity went up to a whole new level. Our guys fight through adversity in practice. When something goes wrong in the games, we're used to it and know who to fight through adversity. It's exciting to accomplish something we haven't done before, going 6-0, but it's just a start."

Ethan Price led Eastern with 13 points and Tyreese Davis added 12. Angelo Allegri scored 10 points and led the team with eight rebounds and five assists.

"We have been focusing on [Bannan] as their main guy. Our coaches prepared us for him all week with our scout," Cedric Coward said. "We knew what moves he was going to do based on what we saw in the scout. I used my instincts, but using the scout was important. Our depth is our biggest strength. I think we have the deepest team in the Big Sky. We can rotate guys in and play multiple minutes, with no drop off in our production. We preached toughness at halftime because that's what they were going to do. Every team is trying to do that."

The second meeting between the Eagles and Grizzlies opened in a battle, as Ethan Price connected on his first two three-point shots. Montana also found its shooting and the game was close early. Eastern led 9-6 at 15:48 on the clock. The Grizzlies would fight back and take the lead from the Eagles at 12-9 with 11:42 left in the half. Angelo Allegri would tie the game up at 14 on a made three-pointer, but Montana quickly broke the tie with its own three. The Grizzlies pushed their lead out to 20-14 at 8:49 on the clock. Tyreese Davis moved the Eagles closer with a layup to bring the score to 23-18. From the wing, Dane Erikstrup drilled a three and pulled Eastern within one at 25-24 and 5:33 left in the opening half. A defensive battle ensued as the half winded down, but Davis hit a three to cut the lead down again for the Eagles. Eastern trialed 27-28 at halftime, while shooting 34.6 percent. Montana had a 39.3 shooting percentage from the floor.

Opening the second half, Steele Venters hit a jumper and gave the Eagles the lead. Montana came right back and took the lead back with a layup. Eastern went nearly six minutes without a score, but the Grizzlies were not able to capitalize and separate. Price would line up his shot again and drain a three to tie the game at 32 with 13:52 on the clock. The Eagles would then go ahead on a pair of free throws from Casey Jones. The teams were trading scores, but Eastern kept its advantage. Erikstrup found space on the wing again for a three. Venters followed up with a three and the Eagles were up 42-36 with 10:28 on the clock. The lead would grow to eight behind two more free throws from Erikstrup. The Grizzlies would then make a run and cut the lead down to one at 47-46. As the clock winded down, Price continued to score and keep the Eagles in front, scoring two layups. Cedric Coward came up big at the end with two blocks and a steal to solidify the lead. Eastern won the game 64-57 and shot 47.8 percent in the second half to build the lead over the Grizzlies. Montana shot 35.7 in the final 20 minutes.

The Eagles finished the game with a 40.8 shooting percentage, while the Grizzlies shot 37.5 percent for the game.

Key Statistics
Eastern has started 6-0 in the Big Sky for the first time in program history since joining the league for the 1987-88 season. 

The team has won 12-straight games at Reese Court. It is the longest streak since they won 12-straight from Jan. 19, 2017 to Jan. 18, 2018.

Eastern's bench outscored Montana's 16 to 0. Cedric Coward and Dane Erikstrup both scored eight points apiece.

Ethan Price now has 10 games this season in double figures for points and it was his 29^th career game in double-digits. Tyreese Davis has 11 games scoring in double figures this season, including four-straight. Steele Venters scored 11 points to give the redshirt-sophomore 14 games this season scoring in double figures and 41 for his career. Angelo Allegri has 13 games this season and 35 for his career.

Eastern swept the season series against Montana for the first time since the 2020-21 season.

The Eagles were 9-of-21(42.9%) from three-point range and they held the Grizzlies to 17.9 percent. Price was 3-of-4(75%) to lead the team. It was his fifth career game with three or more made three-pointers.

Coward set a career-high with three blocks in the game.

There were six ties and six lead changes in the game. Neither team led by double-digits, with Eastern leading by eight for the biggest lead of the game.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will start a two-game road trip, traveling to play Northern Colorado on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Eastern then plays Northern Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m.