Eagles Finish Strong for Win Over EOU
KIRKLAND – Northwest overcame a dozen first-half turnovers and took a 78-68 win over Eastern Oregon Monday in the Kristi Brodin Pavilion.
"That was ugly," said NU Head Coach Jeff Drinkwine. "We found a way to play in the second half, and I'm pleased about that. Sometimes you just have to find a way to win the ugly games."
Cesar Sandoval hauled down 17 rebounds to go with 15 points in the game after suffering through a frustrating first half.
"We regained our composure there in the second half," Drinkwine said. "If Cesar hadn't regained his composure, we wouldn't have won. We needed his 15 points and 17 rebounds."
Northwest led by eight points with 8:29 remaining in the game, but the Mountaineers finished the half on a 17-7 run to take a 34-32 lead at halftime. NU had seven turnovers in that EOU run.
The Eagles found themselves down 59-53 with 8:36 to play in the game. Kelvin Omojola scored five unanswered points, and J.R. Delgado knocked down a three-pointer to give NU a 61-59 lead just over a minute later.
EOU recaptured the lead on a three-point play, but Delgado answered with another three-pointer to ignite a clutch 13-2 Northwest run. Delgado had five points and Sandoval four in that spree, which left NU ahead 74-64 with 1:51 to go.
"I really liked the spark J.R. gave us off the bench tonight," Drinkwine said.
Cacoa Chatman led the Eagles with 17 points, with Pa'Treon Lee and Delgado scoring 10 each. Chatman, Lee, and Dionte Dixon had three assists each. Omojola had two steals to go with his nine points.
NU out-rebounded the Mountaineers 44-26.
Paul Pennington scored 14 points to lead EOU, followed by Zane Wright with 13 and Max McCullough with 11.
"Our guys learned tonight that no matter how many games you've played, our conference teams are tough,"
Drinkwine said. "It's always good to win, especially against a conference opponent."
Northwest finishes the current version of the schedule with two home games against Multnomah Friday and Saturday.