CALDWELL, Idaho. – The EOU men’s basketball team shot 53 percent from the field Friday evening en route to its third win of the campaign at the J.A. Activities Center.
Sophomore guard Max McCullough led a quartet of Mounites in double-figures, scoring 25 points to go along with six assists, shooting 10-of-17 (59 percent) from the floor in 28 minutes of action. Senior guard/forward Blake O’Donnell added 20 points and seven boards, freshman guard Jordan May finished with 11 points, while senior guard Brennan Pope also chipped in 11 points and cleaned up on the glass snagging seven rebounds.
Ottawa’s Tanner Riley netted a game-high 31 points and six rebounds. Desmond Ross added 11 points and two assists.
“Our goal is to get better every game and solidify roles,” stated head coach Carlito Labarda Jr. “Blake and Max are certainly doing that. [McCullough] has become an efficient shooter and scorer, and [O’Donnell] is doing his damage in the trenches. He’s so physically strong that he utilizes his strength to his advantage in the post. Overall, I’m pleased, but we can continue to get better.”
EOU (3-0) trailed the first two minutes and twenty seconds of the match and did not surrender it afterwards. After O’Donnell knocked down a couple of shots from the charity stripe, the Blue and Gold built an eight-point lead, 22-14 at the 12:19 mark. OUAZ proceeded to go on an 8-2 spurt, bringing the contest to a one possession game, 26-24, after a Ross jumper went through (8:24).
The Spirit would make it a six-point game three times over the next four minutes before EOU ultimately capped off the first stanza on a 26-15 run, spearheaded by eight points from O’Donnell down the stretch. At the half, EOU held a 54-41 advantage.
Despite getting outscored in the second half, 40-38, the Mountaineers connected on a 50-percent (5-of-10) clip from beyond the arc to stay distant from OUAZ. McCullough kept answering dropping 11 of his 25 points in the period. EOU constructed its largest lead of the game (19) with 5:49 showing on the clock. The Spirit narrowed it down to 11 points, 90-79, but it’s as close as they would get as the Mounties cruised to the final tune of 92-81.
UP NEXT
EOU closes out the tournament against Northwest Indian tomorrow at 4 pm.
BY THE NUMBERS
19 – Bench points tallied by the Mounties.
173 – Combined scoring from both squads.
24 – Points off turnovers EOU created.
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