PORTLAND, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team used a 10-0 run midway through the first half and opened the second frame with a 10-1 spurt to break away from Multnomah, 86-73, on Saturday night in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) play.
EOU improved to 8-10 on the year and climbed back to .500 (4-4) in conference play, while Multnomah dropped to 4-12 and 1-7 in league action.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Junior guard Kentrell Washington led the effort with 18 points and 12 rebounds, including no turnovers in 33 minutes of play. Senior guard Case Rada tallied 16 points and tied a career-high with nine boards, while senior center Kalvin Johanson and junior wing Travis Meeker added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Multnomah was led by Blake Updike's 31 points and six boards.
THE STORYLINE
With the affair knotted at 10 apiece with 12:44 left in the first half, sophomore wing Austin Strock converted an old-fashioned three-point play, ultimately igniting a 10-0 EOU run to break the frame open. The Lions crawled to within four on two occasions via some outside shooting, but the Mountaineers remained in front thanks to a stifling 54.5 percent (18-for-33) first-half effort from the floor.
Rada netted five points in a span of 52 seconds to start the second half, and EOU mustered a 10-1 run in the opening five minutes to build a 59-38 advantage. Multnomah ultimately got to within 11 (61-50), but Strock, Rada, and freshman guard Caulin Bakalarski notched buckets amidst a 7-0 run to stretch the lead back to 18 (68-50).
The Lions assembled one final push and cut the deficit to eight (80-72) with 1:35 left, but EOU held on the for 13-point triumph.
EOU dominated the glass, 49-31, and shot 47.8 percent (32-for-67) for the game while holding Multnomah to a 37.9 percent (22-for-58) clip.
STATS OF THE GAME
17 – Washington now has 17 double-doubles on the season.
10 – EOU used a 10-0 run in the first half and a 10-1 burst to open the second frame to give itself some breathing room.
UP NEXT
EOU returns home to La Grande on Jan. 15-16 for games against Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon. Tipoff on Friday against the Owls is set for 7:30 p.m.
