LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball team changed a 15-point deficit into a six-point ball game midway through the second half, but the Mountaineers ultimately suffered a 93-81 setback to Northwest for the squad’s first home loss of the 2015-16 campaign.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Junior guard Kentrell Washington recorded his 14th double-double of the season with a career-high 31 points and 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, senior guard Case Rada and senior center Kalvin Johanson added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Michael Dupree sliced and diced his way to 29 points for Northwest (7-9, 3-3 CCC), while Dak Shagren and Ben Tucakovic mustered 18 and 17 points, respectively.
THE STORYLINE
EOU (6-9, 2-3 CCC) leaped to an early 5-0 lead in the opening minute thanks to buckets by Washington and Rada. However, the Eagles responded with a 31-12 burst over the next 14 minutes to take a 31-17 advantage with just under five minutes remaining in the opening frame.
Sophomore wing Austin Strock tipped in a miss to make it a 39-28 game, but EOU ultimately trailed at the half, 43-28. The Mountaineers shot just 26.7 percent (8-for-30) in the opening 20 minutes compared to a 44.4 percent (16-for-36) clip by the Eagles.
After Johanson’s slam made it a five-point (48-43) game four and a half minutes into the second half, Northwest used a 12-6 run to stretch its lead back to double digits (60-49) following a three by Alex Smith.
The Mountaineers got to within six on two more occasions and even got to within eight (82-74) with 2:28 left after a pair of free throws by Rada, but EOU went 2-for-7 from the field for the remainder of the game en route to the defeat.
STAT OF THE GAME
10 – EOU dished out just 10 assists, tying its second-lowest total of the season.
UP NEXT
The Mountaineers return to the hardwood tomorrow against Evergreen in La Grande at 7:30 p.m. All high school students receive free admission with ID.