BOX SCORE
CALDWELL, Idaho – The No. 10 Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball team outscored Montana Tech, 58-37, in the second half to beat Montana Tech, 93-77, Friday.
The Mountaineers’ (4-0) Anthony Brown finished with a career-high 18 points, 15 in the second half, in the first game of the Wendy’s Classic hosted by The College of Idaho. The junior was 6 of 12 from the field, including 2 for 6 from behind the arc. Brown added seven rebounds.
Brown was one of six double-digit scorers for EOU. Jamar Johnson recorded 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field. The senior was 3 for 5 from behind the arc. Travares Peterson added 17 points and seven rebounds. Cody Thurmond, Jeff Ranstrom and Trent Roos each had 10 points. Thurmond finished with a game-high six assists. Ervin Felder recorded a game-high 11 rebounds.
EOU trailed by as many as nine points, 36-27, at the 3:24 mark of the first half. Tech had a 40-35 advantage at halftime. The Orediggers jumped out to a 7-0 lead to begin the game.
Montana Tech led 12-5 with 15:47 left in regulation after a Trent Thompson three-pointer. The Mountaineers stormed back with a 7-0 run to tie the game, completed by a Ranstrom jumper. Felder gave EOU its first lead, 19-18, two minutes later with a steal and basket.
The Orediggers responded by taking its largest lead of the game, 36-27, and then it’s five-point halftime advantage.
Brown completed a 13-7 second half-opening run with a dunk. Brown scored 10 consecutive EOU points to go from being down, 47-43, to leading, 53-50. Eastern continued to stretch its lead, including Kyllian Wood’s jumper with seven minutes left in regulation which gave the Mountaineers a double-digit advantage.
The Mountaineers failed to make it to the free-throw line once in the first half, but finished 20 for 21 from the free-throw line in the game.
Eastern finished 49 percent from the field, after shooting 45 percent in the first half. The Orediggers were 46 percent from the field in the game, but went 34 percent in the second half. EOU made 9 of its 28 three-point attempts, while Tech was 9 for 24. Montana Tech finished 16 of 24 from the free-throw line.
The Mountaineers had a 36-22 point advantage in the paint, but Tech (2-1) had a 26-20 bench-point advantage. EOU outscored the Orediggers, 25-14 in points off of turnovers, and 13-9 in second-chance points.
Montana Tech had five double-digit scorers led by Tyree Haynie’s 13 points. Daniel Simon added 12 points. AJ Paine, Thompson and Bryan Bock each had 11. Thompson had a team-high five rebounds.
Eastern Oregon remains in Caldwell for game three against Portland Bible College (2-2) Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Pregame on 98.7 FM in La Grande begins at 4:45 p.m. Pacific Time. Live video and stats will also be available on EOUSports.com.