LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team strung together another impressive Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) victory, taking down I-84 rival (RV) College of Idaho, 95-74, on Tuesday night at Quinn Coliseum.

EOU led by as many as 22 points, and the Mountaineers forced five turnovers in the final 10 minutes. The Navy and Gold also held the Yotes to a 26.3 percent (10-for-38) shooting clip in the second frame.

KEY PERFORMANCES
Freshman guard Caulin Bakalarski undoubtedly played the best game of his young career, as he paced EOU with a career-high 25 points off the bench. He shot 9-for-14 from the floor and knocked down five critical three's.

Notching his third-straight double-figure effort, senior center Kalvin Johanson worked his way inside for 19 points and nine boards, while senior guard Case Rada netted 17 points and dished out six assists.

In addition, junior guard Kentrell Washington posted 13 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds.

Four players scored in double figures for Yotes, as Joe Nebeker led the way with 18 points and five rebounds.

THE STORYLINE
A midrange jump shot by Washington gave the Mountaineers (10-11, 6-5 CCC) a 19-13 advantage with 9:44 left in the first half. Bakalarski provided an immediate impact off the bench, as he netted four-straight points to extend EOU's lead to 10 (26-16) with 7:13 on the clock.

The Yotes (12-8, 7-4) pulled to within three (28-25), but again Bakalarski had the answer, nailing a deep three on the right wing and then a fade-away jumper on the left side to put EOU back up by eight (33-25) with less than four minutes remaining in the opening stanza.

Rada drilled another three to give EOU a six-point (38-32) edge, but Aitor Zubizarreta netted four of College of Idaho's final six points of the half to knot the game at 38 apiece going into the locker room.

With the game tied at 40 apiece, a Rada three sparked a 14-2 EOU run in a five-minute span, and then Bakalarski swooshed another jumper from downtown to grant the Mountaineers a 59-46 lead with 12:04 remaining.

After College of Idaho closed the gap to seven (61-54), sophomore forward Brandon Hoston nailed a jumper, and the Yotes missed their next six shots to fall behind.

Back-to-back three's by Bakalarski extended EOU's advantage to 18 (73-55) with 7:07 left, and nearly two minutes later, the Washington native drilled another dagger to put the game out of reach.

STATS OF THE GAME
50 – EOU shot 50 percent or higher for the fourth time this season.
25 – Bakalarski booked a career-high 25 points in 25 minutes of play off the bench. 

UP NEXT
EOU will conclude its five-game home stand this weekend against Northwest Christian and Corban. Tipoff on Friday against the Beacons is set for 7:30 p.m. It will be 'Think Pink' for Breast Cancer Awareness. All breast cancer survivors receive free admission for both games, while fans wearing pink will receive half-price admission.