Eastern Oregon head coach Ryan Looney gives instructions during a timeout in the Mounties' 81-65 win over NCC Saturday night.
EOU Claims CCC Title; Men's Hoop Pairings Set
Click here for a roundup of Saturday night's CCC men's basketball action.
PORTLAND, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University clinched its first regular season Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball title in school history and first conference basketball title of any kind in 34 years Saturday night. The Mountaineers defeated Northwest Christian 81-65 to finish the CCC regular season with a 17-3 mark, one game ahead of runner-up Oregon Tech (16-4).
By virtue of winning the regular season crown, EOU earned the top seed in the CCC tournament and claimed one of the CCC’s two automatic berths in the NAIA Division II tournament March 12-18 in Point Lookout, Mo. The league’s second automatic berth to the national tourney will be awarded to the CCC tournament champion (or runner-up if EOU also wins the conference tourney).
The top eight teams in the CCC’s regular season standings advance to the league’s postseason tournament, which gets underway Wednesday night at campus sites.
In first-round matchups, top-seeded EOU will host eighth-seeded Northwest Christian, second-seeded Oregon Tech will host seventh-seeded College of Idaho, third-seeded Evergreen will host sixth-seeded Northwest, and fourth-seeded Warner Pacific will host fifth-seeded Concordia. All games begin at 7:30 p.m. Both Evergreen, which tied with Warner Pacific for third place, and Northwest, which tied with College of Idaho for sixth place, won tiebreakers in the seeding process.
CCC Men’s Basketball Tournament Pairings
Wednesday, Feb. 27 (Quarterfinals)
#8 seed Northwest Christian at #1 seed Eastern Oregon, 7:30 p.m.
#7 seed College of Idaho at #2 seed Oregon Tech, 7:30 p.m.
#6 seed Northwest at #3 seed Evergreen, 7:30 p.m.
#5 seed Concordia at #4 seed Warner Pacific, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 1 (Semifinals)
Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed, 7:30 p.m.
Second lowest remaining seed at second highest remaining seed, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 4 (Championship)
Lowest seed at highest seed, 7:30 p.m.