HELENA, Mont. - Eastern Oregon University Men's basketball tipped off the 2021-22 season Saturday afternoon with a quality win as the Mountaineers took down Montana Tech, 92-82, in game one of the Comfort Suites Classic. With the win, EOU starts the season 1-0.
How it Happened
• Helping the Mountaineers secure what was a come-from-behind win was a 68.2% shooting percentage in the second half while shooting 55.8% for the game. Redshirt senior
Max McCullough was key in the win scoring 38 points in 35 minutes of playing time.
• On the flip side, the Orediggers (0-1) shot a bit better than the Mountaineers at 59.2%, but it was the three-ball that made the difference. Tech was just 5-13 for 38.5% from beyond the arc, while Eastern shot 12-22 for 54.5%.
• Free throw shooting also fell in EOU favor as the team missed just one free throw all afternoon finishing 18-19 for 94.7%. The Orediggers were just 14-23 for 60.9%.
• In the early going of the first half, Tech jumped ahead 11-3 before a triple by McCullough sparked a 7-0 run to make it 13-11 in the first seven minutes of play.
• Over the next two minutes, Tech responded, going on a 7-0 run of its own to lead by nine, 20-11. EOU then held the Ordiggers to just two points and battled back to jump ahead 23-22. Putting the Mounties ahead was a layup by
Ismael Valdez.
• Over the final 8:33 of play in the first half, the Mountaineers and Orediggers traded points and the lead. Neither ruled by more than four points in what became a back-and-forth affair.
Tech took a slim 42-41 lead into halftime thanks to a 61.5 shooting percentage. Despite the slow start EOU shot 46.7% in the first 20 minutes led by 17 points from McCullough.
• In the second half both teams continued to shoot the ball well overall but free throw and three-point shooting lifted EOU to the win. Tech was just 12-17 at the charity stripe and went 0-6 from deep. EOU was a perfect 15-15 at the free throw line and nailed six three pointers on nine attempts.
• EOU got the second half started with an 11-4 run that gave them a six-point lead, 52-26. Tech answered and tied up the game at 52-all before jumping back ahead by a score of 58-52.
• EOU closed the gap and once again tied the game at 58-all with 12:43 to play. The two teams then traded points once more before EOU finally created some separation at the 9:29 mark.
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Preston Chandler nailed a layup to make it 69-66 in EOU's favor. The Orediggers scored just two points over the next three next 2:30 of play while the Mountaineers put up 10 points in that span to jump ahead 79-68 with 6:37 on the clock.
• The 10-2 run by the Mountaineers was all the difference as they never let the Orediggers get any closer than seven points the rest of the half and secured the 10-point win.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
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Max McCullough was 10-16 from the floor and 8-14 from deep for his 38 points. He also went a perfect 10-10 at the free throw line.
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Zane Wright added 12 points in the win and did not miss a shot. He was 3-3 from the floor, all from beyond the arc, and went 3-3 at the free throw line.
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Paul Pennington chipped in nine points off the bench shooting 4-4 in the win. He also dished out a team best five assists.
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Phillip Malatare added eight points in 29 minutes of action and led the team in rebounds with six.
For the Orediggers
• Caleb Bellach led five players in double-digit scoring with 23 points. He went 10-15 from the floor and was 3-4 from deep.
• Taylor England added 17 points on 70% shooting (7-10).
• Keeley Bake scored 13 points off the bench and was 4-6 from the field and a clean 3-3 at the free throw line.
• Drew Huse and Sindou Deiallo scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, to round out the double figure scoring.
By the Numbers
1 - Saturday's win marks the first collegiate win for head coach
Chris Kemp.
1 - EOU missed just one free throw the entire game going 18-19 in the win.
12 - Eastern connected on 12 three pointers and shot 54.5% from deep.
5 - The Mountaineers have now won their last five season openers, dating back to the 2017-18 season.
13 - Dating back to last season,
Max McCullough has scored in double figures in each of the last 13 games.
Up Next
• The Mountaineers are back in action tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 24 to take on tournament host Carroll College. Tip-off against the Fighting Saints is set for 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT.
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