LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 16 EOU men's basketball team extended its home winning steak to 11 games as the Mountaineers took down in-state rival Southern Oregon, 94-83.
 
Leading the way for EOU (20-6, 13-4 CCC), was senior forward Bryan McGriff who chalked up 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting with four boards. Two other Mounties racked up double-digit scores, senior guard Kentrell Washington tallied a double-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and a trio of assists. Rounding out the top scorers for EOU was junior guard Blake O'Donnell who added 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.
 
For the game, EOU shot 52.2 percent from field goal range while going 40.7 percent from three-point land. The Mountaineers were hot in the first, as the team went 68.4 percent from field goal range, while also going 66.7 percent behind the arc. EOU narrowly outrebounded the Raiders (17-10, 11-6 CCC), 36-35 and the two teams notched the same amount of assists (15) and blocks (4).
 
Starting the first, the Mountaineers kicked things off with a 5-2 run, with all five points coming from McGriff. The Raiders however responded with a quick 4-0 run to take the lead, capped off by jumper from Tate Hoffman (5-6).
 
Later in the first, the Blue and Gold ended a 10-4 run with a huge trey from junior wing Austin Strock. 30 seconds later, Washington connected a 2-point jump shot, putting EOU up by 13 (25-12).
 
EOU extended its lead to 20 points, 34-14 with 9:34 until the break thanks to a deep three-ball from McGriff that capped off a 9-0 run.
 
By halftime, the Mountaineers lead had been cut to 19, 62-43 as the teams took to the locker room. In the first alone McGriff racked up 22 points, going 9-for-11 from field goal range and 4-for-4 from behind the arc.
 
Over the first five minutes of the second stanza, the Raiders jumped on a 10-5 run that was finished by a split pair of free throws from Jordan Hunt (67-53).
 
At the 10:57 mark, Southern Oregon took the EOU lead down to single digits, 76-67 thanks to a huge three pointer from Ben DeSaulnier. The Mountaineers responded with a 7-2 run over the next three minutes, refusing to let their rivals back into the game.
 
With 4:11 to play Strock went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe, rebuilding the Mounties lead to 18 points, 93-75.
 
Southern Oregon ended the game on a 10-1 run, as the Raiders only gave up one free throw the final four minutes. However, the Mountaineer lead was too much for the Raiders to come back from, as EOU revenged a 3-point loss in Ashland earlier this season.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
31 – Points from McGriff.
71 – Total rebounds between EOU and SOU.
11 – Home wins in a row for EOU.
 
UP NEXT
EOU hosts the Owls of Oregon Tech tomorrow for Senior Night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and fans are encouraged to "whiteout" Quinn Coliseum.
 
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