Eastern's Cody Thurmond had 13 points and 7 assists Friday.
BOX SCORE
LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 9 Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball team knocked off The Evergreen State College Friday, 77-59, to open Cascade Conference play.
On ‘70s Night in Quinn Coliseum, the Mountaineers (9-1) wore throwback uniforms and won their third straight game behind 22 points from JC Cook. The Canby, Ore. native returned to the starting lineup after an ankle injury earlier in the season. The senior shot 8 for 14 from the field, and 5 for 9 from behind the perimeter. He added six rebounds and six assists.
Eastern’s Jamar Johnson scored in double digits for the ninth time this season finishing with 18 points. The Portland, Ore. native shot 7 for 10 from the field and 4 of 6 from behind the arc. He had a team-high eight rebounds. Cody Thurmond added 13 points and seven assists.
A Cook three-pointer with 42 seconds left in the first half gave EOU its largest lead of the half at 39-23. The Mountaineers had a 39-26 lead at halftime. The final 18-point margin was the largest lead of the night. Eastern led through the entirety of the game.
The Geoducks (1-7) lost its seventh consecutive game after opening the season with a win. Evergreen finished with three double digit scorers Friday led by Marice Tolliver’s 17 points. The junior finished with a game-high 11 rebounds. Johnny Sarysz and Ramone Johnson added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Eastern Oregon improved to 9-0 this season when outrebounding its opponent. EOU had 38 rebounds to Evergreen State’s 37. The Mountaineers had a 21 to 9 assist advantage, but turned the ball over 15 times compared to TESC’s 13. Evergreen outscored Eastern 30 to 14 in the paint.
The Mountaineers shot 50 percent from the field and 60 percent from behind the perimeter. EOU made 11 of its 15 three-pointers in the first half. Evergreen was 34 percent from the field and 26 percent from three-point range.
Eastern won its 26th consecutive Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season game at home. The Mountaineers are now 33-1 in their last 34 regular season games at home, and 56-4 in their 60 games at Quinn Coliseum. The EOU victory evens the all-time series with Evergreen, 12-12. Eastern Oregon has now won three straight games over TESC.
Eastern will host No. 14 Northwest University in a top 15 battle Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The Eagles (7-1) won their fifth straight game Friday at The College of Idaho, 72-57. It will be ‘80s Night in Quinn Coliseum and fans are encouraged to dress in ‘80s attire or wear royal blue to support the Mountaineers. There will be live video and live stats on EOUSports.com.