CALDWELL, Idaho – The Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team erased a 13-point second-half deficit and clung to a one-point lead with under a minute left, but the Mountaineers ultimately dropped a 72-69 heartbreaker to No. 20 College of Idaho on Tuesday night.

Key Performances
Junior guard Kentrell Washington recorded his 11th double-double in a row with 17 points and 19 rebounds, while sophomore guard Tate de Laveaga netted 16 points to go along with 11 rebounds.

Senior guard Case Rada drilled four three's en route to a 16-point effort, and senior forward Christian Parrott tallied nine points and six rebounds off the bench.

Joey Nebeker led the Yotes with 26 points on 7-for-20 shooting.

The Storyline
After C of I (6-4, 1-0 CCC) leaped to a 22-13 lead with 6:41 left in the opening half, Parrott subbed in and provided an immediate spark for the Mountaineers, as the Caldwell native scored five points amidst a 9-1 EOU run to cut the deficit to one.

With 1:39 on the clock, Washington drilled a jumper to give EOU its first lead (28-27) of the contest. A layup by senior forward Kalvin Johanson put the Navy and Gold up by three, but Curtis Brever knocked down a three-pointer to make it 30 all going into intermission.

EOU's up-tempo offense helped bring the squad back into the contest, as the Mountaineers scored 13 fast-break points in the opening 20 minutes.

The early stages of the second half saw Nebeker score 10-straight points to build a 45-33 advantage for the Yotes with 15:23 left in the game. However, de Laveaga's aggressiveness helped the Mountaineers hang around, as the squad kept the margin under 13 points.

Back-to-back buckets by Washington cut C of I's lead to just four (50-46) with nine minutes remaining, but the Yotes managed to stretch their lead back to eight.

In a span of 33 seconds, both Rada and de Laveaga drilled downtown jumpers to make it a two-point (57-55) game, and with 2:33 on the clock, Rada silenced the crowd with a fadeaway bucket to tie the affair at 62 apiece.

EOU ultimately snatched a 66-65 lead after a 17-footer by Washington, but C of I's Emanuel Morgan tossed in a pair of free throws to put the lead back in the hands of the Yotes.

A pair of free throws by Washington was answered by a scoop shot and a free throw from Aitor Zubizarreta to put C of I up by two (70-68), and with three seconds left, EOU went 1-for-2 at the line to come up just short. 

Stats of the Game
10 – C of I went 10-for-31 from three-point range, which ultimately proved to be the difference.
21 – EOU simply dominated the glass, outrebounding the Yotes 56-35 in the losing effort.

Up Next
EOU (4-7, 0-1 CCC) will have a chance to bounce back on Saturday against Walla Walla in La Grande at 7:30 p.m.