Box Score
LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team cruised to a first round win in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament over fifth-seeded Corban, 75-62.
The fourth-seeded Mountaineers (19-9) advance to the semifinals for the sixth straight year, the longest current streak in the conference. EOU travels to top-seeded Oregon Tech for a semifinal meeting Saturday.
Eastern has won five straight games, the longest current win streak in the conference, and one win shy of matching its longest win streak of the season after starting 6-0. The Mountaineers have shot 49.6 percent from the field over the past five games, and made 53 three-pointers during the stretch.
Jamar Johnson paced Eastern Oregon with 16 points. The senior was 6-of-9 from the field, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc.
Anthony Brown and
Ervin Felder each added 12 points and five rebounds.
Cody Thurmond threw a game-high six assists.
Travares Peterson had three steals.
The Mountaineers were 55 percent from the field, shooting 51 percent in the first half and 59 in the second. EOU made five of its nine three-pointers in the first half, and finished the game 7-of-19 from three-point range. Eastern made all four of its free-throw attempts in the game.
Eastern Oregon grabbed a season-low 28 rebounds, and was outrebounded 37-28. Corban finished with 19 offensive rebounds. EOU committed 16 turnovers, while the Warriors had 17.
Eastern Oregon jumped out to a 14-2 lead six minutes into the game. Over the next four minutes, Corban closed the gap to 21-15. That would be as close as Corban would get in the first half after a closing 17-10 run by the Mountaineers that handed Eastern Oregon a 38-25 halftime advantage.
The Mountaineers held a double-digit lead throughout the second half. Corban came as close as 11 points twice. A Jacob Kopra three-pointer cut the lead to 62-51, and another Kopra three with 4:17 remaining in regulation made the margin, 65-54. Eastern Oregon outscored the Warriors by two points over the final four minutes en route to securing its 13-point victory.
After scoring 24 points and 28 points against EOU in the regular season meetings, Kopra finished with 15 points Wednesday. He made three of his five three-point attempts. This week's NAIA Div. 2 National Player of the Week, Jordan Carter, also had 15 points. The sophomore was 4-of-14 from the field, including 3-for-7 from behind the arc. Jake Mauermann and Erik Cronrath scored 11 and 10 points respectively. Cronrath added a game-high nine rebounds and a team-high three assists.
The Warriors (18-13) shot 36 percent from the field, 9-of-26 from three-point range, and 9-for-14 from the free-throw line. Corban threw 11 assists, compared to Eastern's 15.
Corban travels to southern California for the NCCAA West Regionals. The Warriors' first game in the regionals will be on March 6, at either California Baptist or Hope International.
Eastern faces the nation's third-ranked team, Oregon Tech, Saturday at Danny Miles Court. The Mountaineers last win in Klamath Falls was on Feb. 16, 1979. OIT has won 32 straight games over Eastern Oregon at home, including an 88-78 victory on Jan. 22. Tech and EOU meet for the second straight season in the CCC Tournament. The Owls won last year's tournament championship over Eastern.
The Mountaineers are one win shy of their sixth straight 20-win season. Before the previous five-year streak, EOU had four 20-win seasons in the 82-year history of men's basketball, with the last coming in 1965-66.
Saturday's semifinal tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Live video and stats will be on EOUSports.com. A live EOU broadcast will be available locally on KUBQ 98.7 FM with pregame beginning at 6:30 p.m.
