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Cascade Collegiate Conference

Eastern Men Fly into Conference Finals

Eastern Men Fly into Conference Finals

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BOX SCORE

LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 11 Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball team advanced to the Cascade Collegiate Conference championships with an 83-73 win over No. 23 Northwest University Saturday.

The Mountaineers (25-5) also clinched their fourth straight trip to the NAIA Div. 2 National Tournament with the victory, coupled with an Oregon Tech win over Corban in the other CCC tournament semifinal. Eastern and Oregon Tech will meet in the conference tournament championship game Tuesday.

Saturday, EOU jumped out to a 10-2 lead three minutes into the game. Eastern stretched the margin to 18-6 after an Anthony Brown three-pointer. Nine minutes later another Brown three-pointer gave Eastern its largest lead of the first half, 36-15. The Eagles would come as close as 12 points twice in the final five minutes of the half, but trail, 43-28, at halftime.

The Mountaineers extended the conference’s longest win streak to nine games. Eastern shot 58 percent from the field in the first half, including 8 of 14 from behind the perimeter. EOU held Northwest to 27 percent shooting from the field, and 1 for 7 from three-point range.

Eastern Oregon stretched the margin back to 20 points three minutes into the second half, and a Thomas McCarthy three-pointer with 13:01 remaining in regulation gave the Mountaineers their largest lead of the game, 62-39.

EOU finished with five players in double figures led by three players with 15 points. Jason Mumm, Brown, and McCarthy each had 15 points. Brown was 3 of 4 from behind the arc, McCarthy was 5 for 7 from three-point range, and Mumm added six rebounds. Cody Thurmond had 13 points and Travares Peterson chipped in 10. JC Cook finished with team-highs of 10 rebounds and four assists.

The Mountaineers shot 53 percent from the field, 11 of 23 from behind the arc, and 12 for 17 from the free-throw line. EOU outrebounded Northwest 38-30, and had an 18-9 assist advantage over the Eagles. NU committed 11 turnovers to Eastern’s 20.

Northwest (21-8) was led by Rich Skillman’s game-high 25 points. The junior was 9 of 14 from the field. Jordan Call added 11 points. Greg George grabbed six rebounds, and Tyson Christie threw a team-high four assists. The Eagles were 38 percent from the field, 7 of 16 from behind the arc, and 16 for 21 from the free-throw line.

Eastern knocked off Northwest for the third time this season. The Mountaineers are one win from matching the school-record for victories in a season. Tuesday, EOU will attempt to break a few records at Oregon Tech. Eastern Oregon has not defeated OIT in Klamath Falls since Feb. 16, 1979. The No. 8 Hustlin’ Owls won their 55th straight home game Saturday with the victory over Corban.

EOU will be playing in its second Cascade Conference tournament championship game, but will be looking for the school’s first win in the title game. Top-seeded Oregon Tech and Eastern have met twice this season, and both were won by the Owls. The game will feature live video and stats on EOUSports.com, and a live EOU radio broadcast on KEOL 91.7 FM.

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