LA GRANDE, Ore. – The EOU men’s basketball team looked to rebound Saturday afternoon against Trinity Western, after losing a heartbreaker Friday evening to Bethesda.
In the Blue and Gold’s second game of the season and second game of the Quinn Classic, the Mountaineers did just that, bouncing back to defeat the Spartans, 89-73.
Once again senior forward Bryan McGriff and freshman guard Max McCullough led the way for EOU offensively, with McGriff scoring 20 and McCullough dropping 19. McGriff also notched 13 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
After big first halves from junior guard Matt Wong and McGriff who each tallied nine points in the first stanza, EOU (1-1), took a 43-41 lead into the locker room.
Going into the second half, neither the Mountaineers nor Trinity Western (0-2), could pull away from each other, with each team tying the other as they took the lead. That all changed when a pair of three’s from McCullough found their way into the net, giving the Mounties a 55-49 lead.
The Mountaineer offense used the McCullough shots to build off of, going on a 13-2 run and forming a 62-51 lead with 10:46 left in the second frame.
That 11-point lead for EOU would stand strong throughout the second half, occasionally being cut down to nine of less before the Blue and Gold then built the lead back up thanks to layups by senior forward Michael Hillman or jump shots from senior guard Kentrell Washington and junior guard Austin Winegar.
With under a minute to play, EOU took a 14-point lead, its biggest lead of the game off a pair of free throws from McCullough. However, the Mountaineers were not done as McGriff rolled in a layup to wide the margin to 16 points.
BY THE NUMBERS
1ST – Win of the season for EOU
20 – Points scored by McGriff, to lead the way for EOU
40 – Amount of points scored in the paint for the Mountaineers
UP NEXT
The Mountaineers travel to Atherton, Calif. On Friday to take on Menlo College with tip-off set for 4 p.m.