CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team fell to Eastern Washington University, 104-87, on Sunday afternoon in an exhibition contest. EOU shot 46 percent from the game and were led by
Bryan McGriff, who scored 32 points.
De'Sean Mattox followed with 27 points and dished out a game-high nine assists.
The Mountaineers and Eagles were locked in a competitive first half as both teams shot over 50 percent from the floor. After a layup by McGriff, with 12:52 left in the half, the Mountaineers found themselves down four points, 20-16.
Eastern Oregon continued to battle and a McGriff three pointer tied the game at 27-27. EOU could not take the lead and the Eagles went on a 9-0 run, to take a 36-27 advantage over EOU, with seven minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the half.
Eastern Washington extended its lead to as many as 11 points, with just over three minutes to go before halftime. EOU trimmed the lead down to eight points, 53-45, to go into the half.
To start the second half the Mountaineers battled and cut the Eagles lead down to six points, after a jumper by McGriff, however, Eastern Washington started to extend their lead and grew the lead back to double-digits.
EOU continued to battle and found themselves down eight, 63-55, with 14 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game. Over the next three minutes of the game, Eastern Washington went on a 13-2 run, extending their lead to 19 points, 76-57, after an old fashion three point play by Ognjen Miljkovic. The Eagles offense continued to click and Eastern Washington grew their lead to as many as 24 points in the second half.
After falling down by 24 points, EOU continued to battle and after a dunk by
Kalvin Johanson the Mountaineers had the Eagles lead down to 16 points, 98-82. EOU could not get any closer and fell to Eastern Washington, 104-87.
The Mountaineers return to action on Friday, Dec. 5 when they host The Evergreen State College in their opener of the Cascade Collegiate Conference schedule. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
