Men’s Basketball: Mountaineers Outlast Wolves
Paul Starkebaum, Sports Information Director
College Place, Wash. – After jumping out to a 16-9 lead, the Wolves failed to hold down Eastern Oregon University's high-powered offense. Walla Walla kept things close, but the Mountaineers got the win today 85-74 over Walla Walla.
Alec Calloway got things started for the Wolves with a bank shot to put the Wolves up to start the game. Walla Walla worked the ball inside early and took advantage of their superior size of the Mountaineers. Things looked good early, and Cameron Silver put in a layup with 14:19 to go to give the Wolves a seven-point lead. Over the next four minutes, Eastern Oregon began to chip away at the lead. With 10:25 in the first half, a layup from Jordan May gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the game, something they would hold on to the rest of the way. Over the final 10 minutes of the period, Eastern's Max MuCullough heated up and scored 16 of his 19 first-half points down the stretch. The Mountaineers took a 40-24 lead into the break.
Scoring in the second half was fairly even, with Walla Walla outscoring Eastern Oregon by five points, but it would not prove to be enough to take back the lead. Walla Walla's Michael Isotalo scored 16 points in the second half, connecting on four of his five three-point attempts. While Walla Walla was able to generate 50 points, they failed to slow down the Mountaineers. Cole Ashby and Jordan May combined for 20 points in the second half, but that was just part of a team effort to keep things rolling as they had 9 different players score at least 2 points in the final 20 minutes. With 2:13 on the clock, Calloway cut the lead to single digits, 72-63. That would be as close as the Wolves would get, as they lost 85-74 to the Mountaineers.
Eastern Oregon's Max McCoullough led all players in scoring and assists with 27 points and 6 assists. Walla Walla had four players finish in double-figures, with Michael Isotalo's 16 being the team high. Dylan Browning pulled down a team-high 7 rebounds.
The Wolves and Mountaineers battle it out again tomorrow night. Game time is 8:00 p.m. at home.