BOX SCORE

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The No. 13 Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team finished its regular season with a win at The Evergreen State College Saturday, 95-89.

The Mountaineers (23-5) (14-4) will be the second seed in the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament. EOU hosts the seventh seed Southern Oregon University Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

Saturday, Eastern was led by Thomas McCarthy's 21 points. The senior surpassed Ryan Orton's 15-year-old three-pointers in a single season record, as he finished 6 of 12 from behind the arc. McCarthy has now made 94 three-pointers this season, and needs 17 more to break Mark Carollo's career mark.

Jamar Johnson added 17 points for EOU. The junior was 11 of 14 from the free-throw line. JC Cook chipped in 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the field. Cody Thurmond dished out four assists, and Jeff Ranstrom grabbed 10 rebounds.

Eastern led for much of the first half jumping out to a 7-1 lead and then stretching it 28-17 at the 8:49 mark of the first half. Trailing 30-19 with 7:47 left in the first half, the Geoducks stormed back with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to cut the lead to one. Johnny Sarysz gave Evergreen a 35-34 lead after hitting a pair of free throws with 2:52 remaining in the first half. EOU responded with a 14-2 run to end the half and lead 48-37 at halftime.

Evergreen State chipped into the lead over the first 10 minutes of the second half. A Sarysz three-pointer with 10:53 remaining in regulation cut the Mountaineer lead to 63-62. Eastern stretched the lead back to 81-74 with 5:09 left in the game with a Cook three-pointer. However, TESC didn't give up as it went on an 11-3 run to take the lead on a Larry Green put-back dunk with 2:38 remaining. After a McCarthy three-pointer at the one-minute mark gave EOU a four-point lead, Eastern would close the game at the line.

The Geoducks (8-20) (5-13) ended their season with the loss. Evergreen had a 36-26 point advantage over Eastern in the paint, and a 39-37 rebound lead over the Mountaineers. TESC turned 13 EOU turnovers into 17 points, while Eastern Oregon forced 14 turnovers and had 11 points off of them. The Mountaineers' bench outscored Evergreen, 43-27.

Green led Evergreen State with 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field. He added 10 rebounds. Mike Hope finished with 17 points, Sarysz had 13, and Marice Tolliver and Michael Brumsey each scored 10. Tolliver threw a game-high seven assists.

Evergreen shot 42 percent from the field, while EOU made 51 percent of its attempts from the field. The NAIA Div. 2 leader in total threes and three-pointers made per game, Eastern, finished 11 of 27 from behind the arc. TESC was 9 of 22 from three-point range.

The Mountaineers will host a postseason game for the fourth straight season. Southern Oregon (14-15) (6-10) slides into La Grande Wednesday on a three-game losing skid. The Raiders have lost six of their last seven and nine of their last 11, including a 95-53 setback in Quinn Coliseum on Jan. 22. Eastern rides the conference's longest win streak into the postseason at seven games.

Wednesday's first round game will feature live video and stats on EOUSports.com, along with a live broadcast on KEOL 91.7 FM. Fans are encouraged to wear blue all day Wednesday to support Eastern Oregon Athletics.