LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball team shot a blistering 57.1 percent (36-for-63), and the Mountaineers amassed 25 assists to take down Walla Walla, 98-70, in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) play on Saturday night.
Key Performances
Senior forward Kalvin Johanson netted a career-high 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting, while sophomore guard Tate de Laveaga added 20 points, nine boards, and seven assists.
Junior forward and double-double machine Kentrell Washington pushed his streak to 12 games after scoring 15 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. In addition, sophomore forward Brandon Hoston and senior guard Case Rada added 10 points apiece.
Chad Torkelsen led Walla Walla with 21 points on 6-for-14 shooting.
The Storyline
EOU (5-7, 1-1 CCC) opened the game with a 13-2 run capped by a three from de Laveaga at the 17:36 mark. A pesky Walla Walla team clawed their way back into the game thanks to some aggressive outside shooting, as the Wolves cut EOU’s advantage to one (23-22) after a three by Adrian Osias.
The Mountaineers responded with a 16-7 burst to push it back to 10 (39-29) after a long-ball by sophomore guard Miles Loupe, but again Walla Walla scrapped the advantage to just five with just over two minutes left in the half.
Senior forward Christian Parrott muscled his way inside for back-to-back buckets in a span of 30 seconds, and Rada swooshed a three in the final seconds of the stanza to extend EOU’s lead to 10 (51-41) at halftime.
After the Wolves (4-7, 0-1 CCC) got to within eight on two separate occasions early in the second frame, back-to-back buckets by Johanson sparked a 22-4 run capped by a pair of three’s from junior wing Stuart Bartoldus
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EOU carried that momentum and led by as many as 29 after de Laveaga’s fastbreak layup gave the squad a 98-69 lead with 1:50 left, and the Mountaineers ultimately sealed their fifth victory of the season.
Stats of the Game
25 – EOU recorded 25 assists as a team – the third time the Mountaineers tallied 20 or more assists this season.
57 – The Navy and Gold tossed in a season-best 57.1 percent from the field.
Up Next
The Mountaineers return to the hardwood on Dec. 18 against Corban in Salem, Ore., at 7:30 p.m.