BOX SCORE
LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 15 Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball team held off The College of Idaho Friday, 83-80, to reclaim the I-84 Cup trophy.
The Mountaineers (19-5) (10-4) broke the school record for three-pointers in a single season. The 2003-04 EOU team made 240 shots from behind the arc in 26 games. This season’s team has hit 250 three-pointers in 24 games. Eastern leads the nation in total three-pointers made and three-pointers made per game (10.42).
Eastern Oregon watched a Kelly McCarty three-pointer miss off of the back of the rim as time expired to hold on for the victory. It was the second straight conference game that came down to the final possession for EOU. The Mountaineers led 35-19 at halftime, before C of I scored 61 second half points in a comeback effort.
EOU stretched a 10-7 lead to 26-7 over a six-minute span in the middle of the first half to take its largest lead of the half. The Mountaineers shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, including 6 of 12 from behind the arc. Eastern held the Yotes to just 28 percent shooting from the field and 19 points in the opening half.
A Jeff Ranstrom shot inside the paint gave the Mountaineers their largest lead of the game, 57-32, with 12:44 left in regulation. The C of I crept into the game and slowly cut into the Eastern Oregon lead behind outside shots from Matt Ballenger and Duncan Koga. A McCarty lay-up with 3:11 left in the second half cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the 11:37 mark of the first half.
A Cody Thurmond three-pointer spread the margin back to 11 points, 78-67, with 2:34 left. An 8-0 run by the Yotes over the next minute put the lead at one possession for the first time since the 13:14 mark of the first half. A Ballenger three-pointer with eight seconds left would bring the C of I as close as it would get, 82-80. Jamar Johnson would then make one-of-two free throws on the next EOU possession. McCarty grabbed the rebound and had his last second miss.
Thurmond and Thomas McCarthy led Eastern Oregon with 16 points each. Thurmond was 3 of 7 from the field, while McCarthy was 5 for 12, all from behind the perimeter. McCarthy is 10 three-pointers from breaking the school record for three-pointers made in a single season. The senior is 25 away from the all-time record for makes in a career. JC Cook added 15 points, and Jamar Johnson had 11.
Eastern made 12 of its 26 three-point attempts in the game, and was 45 percent shooting from the field. The Mountaineers were 21 of 34 from the free-throw line. C of I shot 28 percent from the field in the first half and 72 percent in the second. The Yotes finished 51 percent from the field, 10 for 20 from three-point range, and 8 of 12 for free throws.
The Mountaineers outrebounded The College of Idaho, 41-27. The College of Idaho threw 20 assists to EOU’s 17. Each team committed 12 turnovers.
Ballenger led the Yotes (11-14) (8-6) with 22 points, 19 coming in the second half. Krispin Banks tallied 17 points, McCarty had 16, and Koga added 10. Banks had a team-high six rebounds, McCarty threw five assists, and Ballenger had four steals.
Eastern hosts Corban University in Quinn Coliseum for its next game on Feb. 11. The Mountaineers are looking to complete a regular season sweep over the Warriors. A win in that game would mark the fifth straight 20-win season. Before the five-year streak, the Mountaineers had four 20-win seasons in the 81-year history of men’s basketball, with the last coming in 1965-66.