EOU's Strong Second Half Drops Eagles

12/30/2016 11:22:33 PM

KIRKLAND, Wash. - Trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, No. 16 Eastern Oregon closed the gap to come from behind with a strong second half to defeat No. 13 Northwest U, 92-71, tonight in a Cascade Conference contest. EOU outscored the Eagles 50-26 to improve to 5-0 in CCC play. A standing room only crowd was on hand for the game and a tribute to former Eagle men's player, Taylor Cliett, who passed away from cancer in November.
 
NU came out fast hitting 9 of their first 12 shots to take an early 22-11 lead in the first six minutes of the half. The Eagles hot hand continued as an offensive tip in by Tre’ Benton and a 3-pointer by Ben Tucakovic would give NU a 32-12 lead with 10:10 left in the half. But, the No. 16 Mountaineers would slowly get back in the game with a 25-8 run in the final eight minutes of the half to cut the Eagles’ lead to just three, 45-42, as the half would end.
 
Northwest U’s shooting would cool from a 48 per cent first half to 32 per cent in the second as the Mountaineers would find high percentage shots to blister the nets with 61 per cent shooting in the second period. The half would be tightly contested for the first eight minutes as the game would see three ties. With the game tied at 55-55, Eastern Oregon would then go on a 12-2 run capped off by a 3-pointer by Max McCullough as the Mounties would take a 10 point, 67-57 lead, which they would not give up the remainder of the game. McCullough would hit 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch as EOU would post their fifth straight CCC win.
 
Northwest U (12-2, 4-2 CCC) was led by Tre' Benton's 18 points and 6 assists with NU hitting 41 per cent from the field. Dak Shagren and Paul Loranger each scored 15 for the Eagles with Loranger grabbing a game high 13 rebounds. NU was just 1 for 10 from the 3-point line in the second half, but out rebounded EOU 44-43.
 
Bryan McGriff led Eastern Oregon (13-2, 5-0 CCC) with 23 points and 10 rebounds with teammate Kentrell Washington scoring 18 points adding 4 assists. EOU shot 52 per cent for the game. McGriff hit 8 of 13 shots and was a perfect 7 for 7 from the free throw line. Washington was 7 for 9 from the field.

“A disappointing loss tonight as we couldn’t seem to find our way in the second half after a good start to the game,” commented John Van Dyke, NU head coach. “Credit goes to Eastern Oregon who defended us well and who shot the ball really well in the second half. We’ll have to bounce back tomorrow as we face another good team in the College of Idaho. But it was also a night to honor the memory of Taylor Cliett, who lost his battle with cancer at the age of 26. Taylor will always be remembered as an outstanding person and great teammate. We learn to keep basketball in perspective.”