BOX SCORE
LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 24 Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball team used a 54-point second half to beat Lewis-Clark State Saturday, 85-64.
The Mountaineers (8-3, 1-1 Cascade Collegiate Conference) were paced by a 27-point performance by Trent Roos. The junior was 9-for-11 from the field, including 7-of-8 from behind the perimeter. He had 19 points in the second half. The Salem, Ore. native added three assists. Roos was coming off of a 25-point game at Warner Pacific last Saturday, the previous high-scoring total for EOU this season.
Roos had the second-highest point total by an individual under Isaac Williams. The seven made three-pointers is the new high under Williams, surpassing Thomas McCarthy’s previous high of six made three-pointers in a single game. The previous-high for three-pointers made in a game was Mark Carollo’s eight shots made from behind the perimeter on Feb. 23, 2008.
Eastern had a 31-30 lead at halftime, before it outscored the Warriors in the second half, 54-34. The Mountaineers shot 44 percent from the field in the first half and 63 percent in the second. EOU hit 17 of its 27 attempts from the field in the second half. Eastern Oregon made 14-of-23 from behind the arc in the game, 60.9 percent.
The Mountaineers’ Cody Thurmond had 12 points and nine assists. The junior was 3-for-3 from the field, including 2-of-2 from behind the arc. John Buhler finished with 10 points. Ervin Felder and Jeff Ranstrom each recorded seven rebounds. Anthony Brown finished with five steals, a season-high for EOU.
Eastern opened the game with a 10-4 lead, but Lewis-Clark State went on an 11-5 run to even the score at 15 at the 10:06 mark of the first half. Forty seconds later, a Spencer Drury three-pointer gave the Warriors their first lead of the game, 18-17. Eastern Oregon reclaimed the lead and held off LCSC for the one-point halftime advantage. The first half featured three ties and five lead changes.
The Mountaineers opened the second half with three consecutive three-pointers from Roos. EOU scored the first 11 points of the half, to take a 42-30 lead. A pair of Thurmond free throws ended the scoring and gave Eastern its largest lead in the game. Roos’ lone three-point miss came in the final seconds.
The game matched the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in NAIA Div. 2, Eastern Oregon, against No. 3 offensive rebounding team in NAIA Div. 1, the Warriors. LCSC met its average of 17 offensive rebounds, while Eastern had 12, six fewer than its average.
The Mountaineers did outrebound Lewis-Clark State, 34-32. Eastern committed 19 turnovers, while Lewis-Clark State had 17. EOU had 18 assists, and the Warriors had 12.
Lewis-Clark State (6-2) finished 35 percent from the field. The Warriors made 5 of their 18 three-pointers and 15-of-20 free throws. PJ Bolte led LCSC with 16 points, making 4-for-15 from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. He grabbed a team-high seven rebounds as well. Donte Archie added 12 points and five assists.
In the 125th meeting between the schools, the Mountaineers won for the 54th time in the series. EOU has now won three straight over Lewis-Clark State. Eastern has now 19 of its 20 games under Williams against non-conference opponents in Quinn Coliseum. Overall, the Mountaineers are 27-3 under Williams at home. EOU has won 68 of the last 75 games in La Grande.
Eastern Oregon will hope that home-court advantage continues Friday when it welcomes Southern Oregon for the first home conference game of the season. The Raiders (8-4, 2-0) have won three straight games. Roos’ brother, Taylor, led SOU with 16 points in a 75-73 win over Holy Names Saturday.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Live video and stats will be on EOUSports.com. Live radio will be on KUBQ 98.7 FM.