EOU Gets Win No. 21, Defeats Northwest
KIRKLAND, Wash -- No. 10-ranked Eastern Oregon recovered from a 4-point halftime deficit to edge Northwest University, 86-80, tonight in Kirkland and remain tied for the lead in the Cascade Conference. With the victory, the Mounties earned their 21st win of the season.
After the teams got off to a nervous start going 0 for 7 from the floor, Derek Miller put Northwest U. up with his jumper at the 18:23 mark. While EOU continued to miss the mark, NU would increase their lead to 6-0 on Nate Rheaume’s jumper with 16:24 left in the half. NU would go on a 12-4 run to hold an 18-4 lead with 11:06 remaining. After an offensive rebound and tip in by freshman Greg George, the Eagles would lead 23-9. But then the #10 Mounties would show their toughness going on a 7-0 run of their own as Neil Fryer’s two free throws would help pull EOU to within 7 points at 23-16 with 6:40 left in the half. After being fouled on a 3-point attempt, NU’s Pat Mattson made all three shots from the charity stripe to give NU a 29-21 advantage with 4:27 to go until halftime. Paul Carollo’s jumper with 2:29 left would get the Mounties within one point, 31-30 and EOU would take their first lead of the game at the 1:45 mark with Jeremy Templeton’s 3-pointer. NU wouldn’t be denied and would go on a 10-5 run to end the half up, 42-38.
EOU would start the second half off fast with a 6-0 run as they regained the lead, 44-42, but a 3-pointer from NU’s Eddie Coulson would put the Eagles back in front, 45-44 with 19:01 left in the game. A 3 pointer by senior Pat Mattson would give NU a 57-50 lead at the 15:02 mark for over 8 minutes until Paul Carollo’s free throw knotted the score at 66 with 6:53 left in the game. The game would see 4 more ties but with 2:26 remaining, and the score tied at 76, a costly turnover by the Eagles would lead to a 3 pointer by Mark Carollo which would put EOU in the lead for good at 79-76. Two free throws by EOU’s Steve Sawyer with 23 seconds remaining would clinch the victory for the Mounties giving them an 83-76 lead.
EOU (21-4, 14-3 CCC) had four players in double figures on the night led by Mark Carollo’s (Sr., Hermiston, OR) 19 points. Neil Fryer (Jr., Bremerton, WA) scored 18 points, Dan Blanchard (Sr., Bothell, WA) dropped in 16 points and Paul Carollo (Jr., Hermiston, OR) added another 14 for the winners. Eastern Oregon shot 44% from 2-point range and 45% from the 3-point arc on the night. EOU out rebounded NU 39-35 including 16 offensive boards.
Northwest U. (12-14, 8-9 CCC) also had four players in double figures led by Derek Miller’s (Jr., Cheney, WA) 21 points and 6 rebounds while teammates Eddie Coulson (Jr., N. Las Vegas, NV) added 18, Pat Mattson (Sr., Everett, WA) and freshman Greg George (Seattle, WA) contributed 12 points and 9 rebounds. NU shot 47% from 2 point range and 91% from the free throw line (11 for 12).
Northwest U. continues play at home tomorrow night as they take of the College of Idaho in Kirkland, and Eastern Oregon travels to Olympia to play the Evergreen State College.