OLYMPIA, Wash. – Senior guard Case Rada nailed five three's and scored a team-high 22 points to lead six Mountaineers in double figures, and the Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team overcame a six-point deficit in the second stanza to take down Evergreen, 103-93, on Friday night at CRC Gymnasium.

EOU improved to 13-11 overall and 8-6 in CCC play, while Evergreen dropped to 8-14 and 5-9 in league action.

KEY PERFORMANCES
In addition to Rada, senior center Kalvin Johanson (19), junior guard Kentrell Washington (18), sophomore forward Brandon Hoston (17), sophomore guard Tate de Laveaga (12), and junior wing Travis Meeker (10) posted double digits for the Mountaineers. Washington also pulled down a team-best 12 boards.  

Taylor Drey paced Evergreen with a game-high 30 points on 10-for-19 shooting.

THE STORYLINE
Evergreen blistered the nets to open the game, as the Geoducks knocked down eight of their first 10 shots to snag a 20-11 advantage with 13:46 left to play. After getting down by as many as 11, sophomore guard Miles Loupe converted a three-point play to kickstart a 14-6 run to cut the deficit to three (28-25) with 6:44 remaining in the opening stanza. 

Loupe nailed another jumper to give EOU its second lead (31-30) of the ball game with 4:10 on the clock. Later in the half, Rada netted seven of the Mountaineers' final 10 points of the half, including a jumper with five ticks left, to give the Navy and Gold a 47-40 halftime advantage. 

Meeker found Rada for another triple to stretch the Mountaineers' advantage to six (52-46) before the Geoducks caught fire, as Drey tallied six points amidst a 13-2 spurt to give his squad a 59-54 lead with 15:32 left in the contest. After falling behind by as many as six (65-59), a Johanson slam sparked a 15-7 run capped by a three-pointer from Hoston to place the lead (74-72) back into the hands of the Mountaineers. 

Washington tossed in a pair at the charity stripe to extend EOU's advantage to seven (79-72) with 8:23 left, but Danny Powell responded with four-straight points to keep Evergreen around. Meeker's tip-in put EOU up four (84-80), and again Evergreen had an answer, as Frankie Johnson buried a three to make it a one-point game. However, nearly 30 seconds later, Rada fired back with a dagger from downtown to spark an 11-0 run and extend the Mountaineers' advantage to 12 (95-83) with 1:32 left to go. 

STATS OF THE GAME
11 – EOU used an 11-0 run in a critical three-minute stretch late in the second half to put Evergreen away.
+8 – While both teams shot over 51 percent for the game, the Mountaineers knocked down eight more free throws than the Geoducks. 

UP NEXT
EOU will look to avenge its December loss to Northwest tomorrow night in Kirkland, Wash., at 7:30 p.m.