PORTLAND, Ore. – With a chance to tie the game and force overtime, Austin Dunn’s shot bounced off the rim in the closing seconds as Concordia fell to Eastern Oregon 80-78 in a Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball game Saturday night at Cavalier Gymnasium.

The loss drops Concordia’s record to 8-15 overall, 2-10 in the CCC. Eastern Oregon improves to 17-5 overall and 9-5 in conference play.

The teams exchanged baskets for the first five minutes, with five tie scores by the time the teams reached 15-15. Concordia scored the next seven points to take a 22-15 lead with 13:20 to play before halftime. Eastern Oregon eventually pulled back to within one at 34-33 6:04 before the break, But the Cavs used an 8-0 run to push the lead back to nine with 2:49 left in the half. The Mountaineers used Jamar Johnson’s jumper in the final minute of the period to go into the break within five points at 47-42.

Eastern Oregon opened the second half on an 11-0 run to take a 53-47 lead. Austin Dunn’s jumper ended the run, but Jason Mumm answered with a layup on the other end to maintain the six-point lead. Concordia would eventually regain the lead at 58-57 on an Adam Herman layup with 13:31 to play.

The next five minutes featured eight lead changes with neither team leading by more than a basket until a pair of Travares Peterson free throws gave the Mountaineers a four-point lead at 72-68 with 7:53 remaining.

Jourdan Sweeney’s layup dropped the lead to two, but J.C. Cook answered with a three-pointer at the other end to put Eastern Oregon up by five. Sweeney hit a layup to pull within three, but Mumm dropped a trey with 3:29 remaining to put the Mountaineers up 78-72.

Three-pointers by Drew Preuninger and Dustin Hiebert sandwiched a pair of Eastern Oregon free throws to reach the final score of 80-78 in the final two minutes. Concordia had a chance in the final seconds, taking possession after Mumm’s missed three-pointer attempt with 23 seconds to play, but Dunn’s jumper missed and Johnson grabbed the rebound to clinch the victory for the Mountaineers.

Concordia limited Eastern Oregon to 43.8 percent shooting (32-of-73) from the field, including 11-of-32 from beyond the three-point line. The Cavaliers shot an even 50 percent (30-of-60) for the game, including 5-of-10 from long range.

Herman (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie H.S.) finished with a game-high 24 points for CU, as Dunn (Vancouver, Wash./Mountain View H.S.) and Kevan West (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie H.S.) each scored 12. Gage Aker (Portland, Ore./Wilson H.S.) grabbed seven rebounds and six assists to go with eight points for the Cavs.

Four Mountaineers scored in double-figures, led by Johnson’s 17 points. Anthony Brown scored 16 and grabbed seven rebounds, while Mumm and Cook each tallied 13 points in the win.

Concordia returns to action on Feb. 4, when the Cavaliers visit Corban in a CCC game scheduled for 7:30 p.m.