SALEM, Ore. – In what was a tightly contested battle for much of the game, the fifth-ranked Mountaineers were able to return to their winning ways, outing Corban, 84-72.
 
Leading the way for EOU was senior guard Kentrell Washington who dropped 27 points, going 3-for-4 behind the arc and grabbing eight rebounds. Senior forward Bryan McGriff was not too far behind, adding 21 points and eight more boards in 29 minutes of action. Junior guard Blake O'Donnell carded 17 points while adding five rebounds and two assists to his resume.
 
EOU (16-5, 9-3 CCC), was dominant in the paint, as 40 of its 84 points came from inside the key. The Mountaineers forced Corban to turn the ball over 10 times adding 13 points off of turnovers.
 
The Warriors (13-9, 6-6 CCC), quickly took a lead in the first stanza, jumping out on a 5-1 run, capped off by a three from Caleb Herzberg (1-5). However, EOU's senior forward Michael Hillman answered with a layup, cutting Corban's lead to only two, 3-5.
 
The Mounties tied the Warriors at 10, just minutes later when O'Donnell snatched a defensive rebound before taking it down the court for a layup at the 14:44 mark, capping a 5-0 run for EOU. The Blue and Gold then took its first lead of the game, 17-16 thanks to a shot from McGriff from behind the arc, breaking a two-point lead for the Warriors.
 
With just under nine minutes until halftime, a Washington trey capped off a 9-0 for EOU, giving the Mountaineers a six-point lead, 25-19. Refusing to give in, Corban answered right back ending a 9-3 run on an old fashion three-point play, tying the game at 28 with just six minutes before the break.
 
A McGriff lay-in at 1:41 delivered EOU its biggest lead of the half, 39-32. Corban then finished the first on a 4-0 run, cutting the lead to only three, 39-36 as the teams took to the locker rooms.
 
Into the start of second, Corban kicked-off another run, scoring five unanswered points from the duo of Herzberg and Johnson (39-41). A three-ball from Washington not only shut down the Corban streak, but also returned the lead to EOU, 42-41.
 
Over the next four minutes the Warriors and the Mountaineers went back and forth with five lead changes between the two teams. EOU then went on a 10-2, ending with a three from McGriff, the other seven points all came from Washington (56-50).
 
Despite Corban cutting the Mountie lead to only one-point multiple times, the Blue and Gold refused to give it up. EOU concluded a 13-1 run with an O'Donnell three-pointer with 5:20 to play, giving the Mounties a 12-point lead, 73-61.
 
The Mountaineers earned their largest lead of the game, 84-70 with only 44 seconds to play, thanks to a pair of free throws from junior Matt Wong. Corban made the final basket of the game but the deficit was too much, as the Mounties broke a three-game losing streak.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
41 – Total rebounds for EOU.
292 – Points on the season for Washington.
40 – Points in the paint for EOU as a team.
 
UP NEXT
EOU returns to Quinn Coliseum on Friday to host Evergreen. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
FOLLOW EOU ATHLETICS
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube