After completing the sweep of the Montana schools this past week, Eastern Washington men's basketball prepares to host its first conference games at Reese Court. Eastern will begin its week against Portland State on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. The Eagles next welcome Sacramento State on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m.

Both of Eastern's games will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats available on GoEags.com. Listen to the action live from Reese with the voice of the Eagles, Larry Weir, on 700-AM ESPN. Tickets for the game can be purchased online by clicking the link HERE.

Last Time Out
Eastern Washington defeated Montana State on Saturday (Dec. 31), 70-67 in Bozeman, Mont. The game was highly contested, featuring 10 ties and 16 lead changes. The Eagles took a 33-28 advantage in halftime, making 12 free throws to help build the lead. Montana St. would take the lead back early in the second half, but Eastern stayed composed and kept the score close. Angelo Allegri scored 12-straight points to tie the game at 55 with 6:42 left in the game. The Eagles would tie the game twice down the stretch on made shots from Tyreese Davis and Steele Venters. With the score tied at 65 and less than 30 seconds left in the game, Venters gave Eastern the lead with a three-pointer. Eastern then made its free throws down the stretch to defeat the Bobcats.

Allegri scored 19 points on 8-of-15(53.3%) shooting to lead the team and Venters had 17 points on 5-of-9(55.5%) shooting. Casey Jones led Eastern with 12 rebounds and Allegri finished with nine rebounds to just miss the double-double. Davis and Cedric Coward each had nine points in the game.

The win marked the first time Eastern has defeated Montana and Montana State on the road since the 2020-21 season, when they played the Grizzlies and Bobcats twice each away from home. The Eagles earned its first road sweep of the Montana schools since the 2014-15 season.

A Look at the Eagles
Eastern Washington is 2-0 to begin conference play this season and is 8-7 overall, currently riding a four-game winning streak and a 3-1 record at home. The Eagles are currently one of three teams atop the Big Sky standings with Weber State and Idaho State holding 2-0 records. Midway through the season, Eastern is fourth in the Big Sky in scoring offense with 73.3 points per game, while slotting in at fourth in scoring margin with a plus-3.5 figure. With a 45.7 shooting percentage, the Eagles are third in the conference, while holding opponents to 42.2 percentage for the second-best mark. On the glass, Eastern leads the Big Sky in team rebounds (37.9), defensive rebounds (27.5) and rebound margin (plus-6.2). The defensive effort has further developed with a conference-leading, 3.4 blocks per game, and 51 total recorded.

The shooting display from Steele Venters has been fundamental to Eastern's success this season, tying for 12^th in the Big Sky with 14.5 points per game. From the floor, Venters is eighth in the conference with a 45.0 field goal percentage. The redshirt-sophomore is tied for 10^th with 2.0 made three-point shots a game.

Angelo Allegri provides the complement scoring to Venters, averaging 11.6 per game to rank 22^nd in the conference. Allegri averages 1.9 made threes a game to rank 12^th in the Big Sky. Adding to his scoring ability, Allegri leads the team and is ninth in conference in assists per game (3.3) and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5). The senior is tied for 11^th in the Big Sky with 5.4 rebounds per game as well.

Where Allegri complements Venters in scoring, Tyreese Davis provides a complement distributing the ball. Davis is tied for 10^th in the Big Sky with 3.1 assists per game and is tied for ninth with a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. The redshirt-junior is fourth on the team with 9.2 points per game.

Casey Jones has delivered on the boards this season for Eastern, leading the team and ranking seventh in the Big Sky with 7.1 rebounds per game. Jones has started six of the team's last seven games and is averaging 6.3 rebounds over the stretch. The sophomore leads the team with 15 steals and is tied for eighth in the Big Sky with 1.1 a game.

The rim defense for Eastern starts with Ethan Price who is tied for second in the conference with 1.0 blocks per game. He has 15 on the season that is tied for most among Big Sky players. Price is also 16^th in the Big Sky with 4.5 rebounds per game.

Cedric Coward keeps putting up stats off the bench for the Eagles, with 7.6 points per game to place fifth on the team. During the team's four-game winning streak, Coward is averaging 11.5 points per game. The sophomore is shooting 65.5 percent on 58 total attempts this season. Coward has cracked the conference top 10 in rebounding, averaging 5.6 per game to hold second on the team. He is also second on the team with 14 steals and tied for second with eight blocks.

Scouting the Vikings
Portland State is 6-8 overall this season with a 0-1 record in conference. They are 2-5 on the road, 3-1 at home and 1-2 in neutral site games. In the Vikings' conference opener, the team lost to Sacramento State, 63-74 in Sacramento. Portland St. closed its non-conference schedule with a 74-72 win over California Baptist. The Vikings boast the top scoring offense in the Big Sky, averaging 78.7 points per game. They are allowing 73.2 points per game and have a plus-5.5 scoring margin to rank third in conference.

Junior guard Jorell Saterfield leads Portland St. and is eighth in the Big Sky with 15.2 points per game. Junior forward Hunter Woods is the team's top rebounder, averaging 5.1 per game and coming in at 15^th in the Big Sky.

Series History
Eastern Washington has a 28-24 record against Portland State at the Division I level, and 29-27 overall. The Eagles are 18-8 at Reese Court against the Vikings and are on a five-game winning streak overall. In the last meeting, Eastern defeated the Vikings, 83-75, with Angelo Allegri and Linton Acliese III each scoring 27 points in the win.

Scouting the Hornets
Sacramento State is 8-6 overall this season with a 1-0 record to begin Big Sky play. The Hornets defeated Portland State, 74-63 at home this past week. They are 3-3 on the road, 5-0 at home and 0-3 at neutral sites. Sacramento St. is the top defensive team in the conference, allowing opponents 67.6 points per game. Comparing to the offense, the Hornets average 67.6 points per game to sit at 10^th in the Big Sky. From behind the arc, Sacramento St. leads the conference with a 36.6 percent.

Callum McRae does the work in the paint for the Hornets, holding the top rebounding average in the Big Sky with 9.9 per game. McRae is also third in the conference with a 51.8 shooting percentage and averages 11.8 points per game, 21^st in the Big Sky. On offense, Zach Chappell is the top scorer with 15.2 points per game and ninth in the conference.

Series History
In program history, Eastern is 41-16 against Sacramento State, with a 24-5 record at Reese Court. The Eagles and Hornets split the season series last season, with Eastern winning at home (75-62) and falling on the road (75-81).

Up Next
Eastern will play one game the following week, hosting Idaho on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 3:30 p.m.