LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 13 Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team advanced to the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament semifinals with a 93-80 victory over Concordia University Wednesday.
The second-seeded Mountaineers (22-7) built a 21-point first-half lead over seventh-seeded CU. Eastern shot a phenomenal 63 percent from the field in the opening period. The Cavaliers shot very well in the first half as well, 55 percent, but could not seem to stop EOU.
Dan Stafford paced Eastern Oregon in the quarterfinal win with 17 points. The senior scored in double figures for the 38th time in his two-year career at EOU. The Auburn, Wash. native shot 6 for 9 from the field.
The Mountaineers led for the entirety of the game, and jumped out to a 7-0 lead three minutes into the game. Concordia kept the lead at single digits until Eastern made a 12-0 run to extend 34-13 with 6:57 remaining in the first half. The Cavaliers closed within 12 points at the half, 49-37.
Concordia (15-15) came within eight points three times in the second half, the latest was with 15:49 remaining in regulation, 57-49. Eastern then put the game out of reach with a 21-2 run that included a scoreless five minutes from the Cavaliers. The Mountaineers took the lead up to 27 points during that time period.
Alex Tiefenthaler led CU with 13 points. Jason Holzwarth and Kevan West each added 12 points, and Drew Preuninger and Jeff Sego each had 10 points. The Cavaliers finished the game shooting 42 percent from the field.
Eastern finished with five scorers in double-digits led by Stafford.
Josh Landsverk chipped in 16 points,
Cody Thurmond had 15, and Steve Sawyers finished with 11.
Jordan Gregg had his 18th career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. EOU finished shooting 54 percent from the field.
The Mountaineers advance to the semifinals where they will face third-seeded Warner Pacific College. The 20th ranked Knights come to La Grande for the second time this season after falling in Quinn Coliseum on Jan. 29, 92-85. WPC (21-8) beat Eastern Oregon in Portland on Dec. 31, 88-80. Warner Pacific knocked off EOU in La Grande in the 2008 conference semifinals the last time the pair of teams met in the postseason.
