FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Eastern Washington University men's basketball team won their 10
th-straight game and moved to 8-0 in the Big Sky Conference with a thriller against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Saturday afternoon, 79-76. Sophomore forward
Dane Erikstrup led the charge with 20 points and 7 rebounds, including 15 points in the second half.
In a game that experienced 13 lead changes, it was the bench that made the difference for EWU. The Eagles got 30 points from non-starters compared to 6 from NAU. Sophomore forward
Cedric Coward chipped in 4 and senior guard
Deon Stroud had 6 to join Erikstrup, whose family lives in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Ariz.
It was a back-and-forth affair for most of the afternoon but EWU pushed out to a game-high 9-point lead at 25-16 after an Erikstrup 3 with 11:04 left in the first.
The Lumberjacks made a defensive adjustment to a zone that was effective to close out the half, holding the Eagles to only 12 more points. EWU trailed 38-39 at the intermission.
"It was a great adjustment by them," said EWU Head Coach
David Riley after the game. "We were doing a good job picking on mismatches inside. They went to zone and we went cold."
Eastern finished 11-for-33 from beyond the arc, including 5-for-17 in the second half.
"We kicked it out to really good shooters and I'm living with all of those shots. When you've got the shooters we have, it's just a matter of the ball going in."
The second half was more of the same, with both teams exchanging punches. The game was tied eight times in the final 20 minutes.
NAU answered once more with 2:45 remaining, regaining the lead and making it 74-69 before EWU's
Steele Venters spotted up from the left wing for his 3
rd 3 of the day to cut the Eagles' deficit to 2.
Angelo Allegri, who led the Eagles with 9 first-half points, was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1:45 left and sank each free throw to put EWU ahead for good.
Northern Arizona's Jalen Cone, the Big Sky's 4
th-leading scorer, finished with 25 points, including a 7-for-15 clip from beyond the arc. Senior Xavier Fuller was right behind with 23 but missed his last five shots as the Eagle defense tightened up down the stretch.
"It was one of those nights, but we found a way to win," continued Price. "We found a way to get enough twos. We buckled down and got a couple stops, got some defensive rebounds and made plays down the stretch to win."
They finished 24-for-56 (43%) from the field and 20-for-24 (83%) on free throws.
The Eagles are now 14-7 overall, including a program-record conference start at 8-0. They are 5-5 (4-0) on the road.
The team returns to Cheney to host two home games next week, meeting the Idaho State Bengals (7-12, 4-2) at Reese Court on Thursday (6 p.m.) and Weber State Wildcats (9-10, 4-2) on Saturday (2 p.m.). Tickets for both games are available at
goeags.com/tickets.
