Saturday, February 23rd, 9:05 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion (2,734) -- Greeley, Colorado. Television: None. Home Record: EWU 8-5, NC 8-4. Away Record: EWU 3-10, NC 2-11. Neutral Record: EWU 0-2, NC 1-0. Conference Record: EWU 6-8, NC 4-9. Series Record: Eastern Washington leads, 4-0.

GAME NOTES: The Northern Colorado Bears play their final home game of the season tonight, as they host the Eastern Washington Eagles in a Big Sky Conference affair. The Bears come into the contest on a down note, as they were defeated by Portland State, 88-79, on Wednesday. It was the second loss in three games by NC, which fell to 11-15 overall and 4-9 in conference play. Despite the setback, though, the Bears have played well at home, where they own an 8-4 mark. As for EWU, it has had some success of late, winning two straight and three of its last four outings. The team has been out of action since last Saturday, when it downed Idaho State 63-53. With the win, the Eagles stepped up to 11-17 overall and 6-8 in conference action. EWU is a perfect 4-0 all-time against NC and that includes a 91-85 victory in overtime last month.

The Eagles haven't had all that much success on offense this season, as they are scoring just 62.8 ppg on 40.4 percent shooting from the field. Kellen Williams tops the roster in both scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (8.4 rpg) and his 34 steals also represent a team-high. Adris DeLeon chips in with 12.0 ppg and he has been in charge of running the offense, dishing out a team-best 3.2 apg. In the squad's last contest, Williams scored 13 points and snared nine caroms to pace EWU in a win over Idaho State. The Eagles shot 46.0 percent from the floor and they converted 24 Idaho State miscues into 27 points.

The Bears were outscored at the charity stripe, 28-14, and they also turned the ball over 17 times in a loss to Portland State on Wednesday. NC was also outdone from behind the arc, where it went 7-of-19 compared to 12-of-19 by Portland State. Jabril Banks guided the team with 16 point and five boards, while Sean Taibi posted 15 points and six rebounds. For the season, Banks leads the club in scoring (12.8 ppg) as well as rebounding (6.0 rpg) and he is shooting 55.7 percent from the floor. Taibi checks in with 10.8 ppg for NC, which is averaging 68.0 ppg on 42.2 percent shooting from the field and 70.0 percent at the foul line.

This is the last home game of the season for the Bears, so expect them to come out with a lot of energy and use that to defeat the Eagles tonight.

Predicted Outcome

Northern Colorado 66, Eastern Washington 60