Eastern Washington defends final shot, hangs on to beat Northern Arizona 79-76

From staff reports

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Eastern Washington’s unbeaten run in Big Sky Conference play continued Saturday.

The Eagles erased a five-point deficit late in the second half and rallied for a 79-76 win over Northern Arizona in a men’s basketball game.

Eastern boosted its winning streak to 10.

EWU (14-7, 8-0 Big Sky) trailed 74-69 with 2 minutes, 45 seconds left. Steele Venters’ 3-pointer trimmed the margin to two, and Angelo Allegri made three attempts from the foul line after he was fouled shooting a 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 75-74 lead with 1:45 remaining.

Jalen Cone’s two free throws pulled the Lumberjacks (5-16, 1-7) within 77-76 with 9 seconds left, but Dane Erikstrup was fouled and made a pair of free throws to restore EWU’s three-point edge.

NAU’s Xavier Fuller missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Erikstrup scored a team-high 20 points off the bench for the Eagles. Venters and Allegri added 15 and 14, respectively, and Casey Jones chipped in 11.

Erikstrup, Venters and Allegri made three 3-pointers apiece.

The Lumberjacks made 14-of-31 3-point attempts (45.2%) to keep pace on the scoreboard. Cone, who led all scorers with 25 points, made 7-of-15 shots from distance.

Xavier Fuller added 23 points for NAU.

EWU generated assists on 20 of 24 buckets. Allegri and Tyreese Davis shared the team lead with five assists apiece.

The Eagles benefited at the foul line, making 20 of 24 attempts (83.3%). NAU made just 14 of 21 attempts (66.7%).

The Lumberjacks maintained a 39-38 edge at halftime.

The Lumberjacks led by as many as six points in the second half.