EOU Men’s Basketball Downed by NCAA Division II Northwest Nazarene, 87-71
NAMPA, Idaho – NCAA Division II opponent Northwest Nazarene (NNU) ended the first half strong and started the second stanza with a 7-2 run, and the Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team ultimately suffered an 87-71 setback on Friday night in the team's final non-conference game of the 2015-16 campaign.
Key Performances
Junior guard
Kentrell Washington extended his double-double streak to 10-straight games, as the Nevada native recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds.
A pair of seniors also registered double figures for EOU in guard
Case Rada (15) and forward
Kalvin Johanson(12).
Bouna N'Diaye shared game-high honors with Washington, as he led NNU with 24 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
The Storyline
EOU led twice in the opening six minutes thanks to three's by Rada and sophomore forward
Brandon Hoston.
After the game saw its third tie (10-10) with a jumper by sophomore guard
Miles Loupe, the Crusaders netted 22 of the next 33 points to build a 32-21 lead with 4:23 left in the opening frame.
Washington drilled a three-pointer to cut it to six (32-26), but NNU closed the half on a 7-3 run to lead by 10 (39-29) at halftime.
The Crusaders scored 24 points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes.
N'Diaye mustered nine of the first 13 points for NNU to start the second half, and the Crusaders built a 17-point (52-35) advantage just over three minutes into the stanza.
EOU (4-6) never got closer than 16, and NNU (3-0) remained perfect on the season.
Stat of the Game
33 – Bench points by NNU, while EOU only tallied nine in the losing effort.
Up Next
EOU will take on No. 6 College of Idaho in the squad's Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) opener on Tuesday in Caldwell, Idaho, at 7:30 p.m. MT.