LA GRANDE, Ore. – Senior guard Case Rada drilled six three-pointers and scored a season-high 27 points, and the Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball team handled Victoria, 88-70, on day one of the Quinn Classic.
After trailing for nearly two minutes to start the contest, Rada’s jumper from downtown gave the Mountaineers the lead for good.
“I’m extremely proud of the effort we played with tonight,” said head men’s basketball coach Jared Barrett. “That is one of our goals as a team, to outwork our opponents. And I think we did that for about 35 minutes against a good Victoria team.”
Key Performances
In addition to 27 points, Rada dished out four assists and had zero turnovers on the evening. Sophomore guard Tate de Laveaga tallied 19 points and eight assists, including five three-pointers.
Causing the Vikes nightmares in the paint for 31 minutes, senior forward Kalvin Johanson recorded a career-high 18 points to go along with nine boards. Meanwhile, junior guard Kentrell Washington nearly had a triple double with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists.
Three players scored in double figures for the Vikes, as Jordan Charles (16), Reiner Theil (15), and Joshua Charles (11) carried the load offensively.
The Storyline
After Mack Roth’s jumper from beyond the arc tied the contest at 17 apiece with 12:15 remaining in the first half, the Mountaineers responded with back-to-back three-pointers by Rada and de Laveaga to keep pace.
Victoria crept to within one (28-27) with 9:13 left to play, but jumpers by Washington and Johanson ignited a 17-4 EOU run over the next seven minutes to put the Navy and Gold on top, 45-31.
EOU led at the break, 47-35. Both squads shot over 42 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but the Mountaineers shared the wealth offensively, dishing out 15 assists compared to only six by the Vikes.
Victoria opened the second half with a 27-16 burst to pull within three (61-58) at the 10:10 mark. A three-pointer by de Laveaga and a trio of free throws by Johanson stretched the Navy and Gold’s advantage to seven (67-60), and then Rada drilled a dagger from downtown to put the Mountaineers back up by double digits (70-60) for the remainder of the game.
“We were also really unselfish,” said Barrett. “We have a group that loves to share the ball. Twenty-five assists to five turnovers is one of the best ratios I have ever been a part of. When we get our bigs to run the floor, everything opens up and shooters like Case and Tate get open looks. It was a great all-around effort by our whole team.”
Stat of the Game
25 – Assists by the Mountaineers, the most since Dec. 13, 2014.
Up Next
EOU (3-2) returns to the hardwood tomorrow with an exhibition against Langara in La Grande at 5 p.m.
Game One: College of Idaho 93, Langara College 66
Five players tallied double figures for College of Idaho, as the Yotes shot 54.5 percent (18-for-33) in the second half to race past Langara College, 93-66, in game one of the Quinn Classic.
Joey Nebeker led the way for C of I with 20 points on 9-for-18 shooting, while Dominique Jordan drilled a quartet of three-pointers en route to his 16-point effort. Meanwhile, Dominic Hulsey (12), Emanuel Morgan (11), and Aitor Zubizarreta (11) also recorded double figures for the Yotes.
Drake Downer’s 16 points paced the Falcons, while Gary Minhas netted 13 points and grabbed six rebounds.
The two squads were neck-and-neck for a majority of the first half until a Nebeker bucket at the 4:21 mark sparked a 16-4 run by C of I to end the first half. The Yotes carried that run into the second half, drilling five of their first six shots of the frame to take a 61-38 lead.
C of I led by as many as 32 in the second stanza.