Paul Carollo sinks the free throw to sent game in to OT.
LA GRANDE, Ore. - The Eastern Oregon Mountaineers (4-0, 0-0 CCC) were in for a fight against the #22 ranked NAIA Division-I Warriors of Lewis-Clark State College. The game was forced into overtime on a last second free throw from senior Paul Carollo to send the game into extra time.
It was there that the Mountaineers would get their strongest defensive performance of the year, holding the Warriors to just five points, while the Mounties knocked down their free throws to give themselves an 85-75 win in the final game of the 10th annual Aramark Quinn Classic.
Junior Dan Stafford came in off the bench to give Eastern a huge lift with 21 points and five rebounds. Carollo had another double-double with fifteen points and fourteen rebounds, while senior Jeremy Templeton filled the stat sheet with twelve points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
The Warriors took a 38-36 lead into the halftime break, but the Mounties found a way through hard nosed play to climb back into the game. Despite shooting just four-of-ten from the charity stripe in the first half, the Mounties shot 18-22 on free throws in the second half.
The Warriors were paced by senior Curtis Allen, who 23 points and seven rebounds. Drew Arnold had seventeen points on the night, and Brian Duckworth chipped in with twelve points of his own.
After the overtime thriller, the all-tournament team was announced. Allen was named MVP of the tournament, accompanied by Carollo, Stafford and Kris Groce of Eastern Oregon and Josh Monagle of Montana Tech.
The Mounties next take the court against the Bengals of Idaho State on Friday, November, 14th. The game will be played in Pocatello, Idaho and is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. MST.