Men's Basketball 12/7/2019 11:15:00 PM Iain Dexter, EOU Sports Information Director Mountaineers Slip to Knights 83-74 LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon men's basketball team looked to finish the weekend with a home sweep, but were defeated in back-and-forth battle Saturday night, 83-74 against Warner Pacific in Cascade Collegiate Conference action. The Mountaineers (6-3, 1-1 CCC) had a tough time finding their shooting touch from beyond the arc, finishing just 4-for-22 from deep. The Knights had a solid all-around performance, making 43 percent of their shots and 31 percent from behind the arc. They also hit most of their free throws late to help keep the Mounties at bay as time expired. WPU's defensive game plan worked to disrupt EOU's high-powered offense, forcing 18 turnovers while playing a clean game with just five of their own. The teams had nearly identical halves to themselves as the Knights led 42-37 at halftime, and outscored EOU 41-37 in the second half. EOU opened the game with a 7-0 lead, but WPU weathered the storm and was aple to take their first lead at 12-11 eight minutes into the first half. The Mounties trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but did a good job to cut it to five points at the end as junior Max McCullough converted an and-one play to end the half. The Mountaineers kept battling back in the second half and cut Warner's lead to one point on multiple occasions, but could not get over the hump to ever tie or take the lead. Both teams had very few runs in the game as it was consistently back-and-forth, with solid defense on both ends. The Knights' Kendall Watson had the game-high with 21 points, finishing with a double-double with 10 rebounds. He made all eight free throw attempts. Kadeem Strickland had 16 points, followed by Kaleb Tompkins and Jalen Ballard with 12 each. McCullough paced EOU with 17 points and 10 boards for his own double-double. Senior Jarek Schetzle had 13 points and three blocks in 19 minutes played. Junior Brandon Porter added 13 points from the bench and junior Josh Brown finished with 11 points. The Mountaineers will have a pair of home non-conference games next weekend before returning to CCC play, hosting Whitman on Friday at 7 p.m. and Pacific on Saturday also at 7 p.m. For more information on Eastern Oregon men's basketball, follow @EOUAthletics or visit eousports.com. FOLLOW EOU ATHLETICS Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube Contact: Iain Dexter; 541-962-3946; idexter@eou.edu