Box Score

Caldwell, Idaho – Despite five Mountaineers scoring in double figures, the 16th-ranked EOU men's basketball team fell to No. 25 College of Idaho, 91-79 on Thursday evening.
 
Leading the way for EOU (21-7, 14-5 CCC), was freshman guard Max McCullough who tallied 15 points, going 6-for-7 from field goal range and 3-for-4 from behind the arc. Next was senior forward Bryan McGriff as the Las Vegas native chalked up 14 points, a pair of boards and a pair of assists.
 
Guard Kentrell Washington joined the 1,000-career points club as the senior added 12 points, grabbed seven boards and put out three assists. Junior wing Austin Winegar put up 10 points on 5-of-8 from field goal range while, senior wing Travis Meeker rounded out the double digit Mountaineers with 10 more points.
 
College of Idaho (21-8, 14-5 CCC), out-shot EOU from field goal range, shooting nearly 53 percent compared to EOU's 47. The Mountaineers secured more rebounds, 35-31 but the Yotes scored more points off turnovers (19-8) and more bench points (26-18).
 
Coming out of the gates both EOU and College of Idaho were hot, as each team answered the opponent over the first five minutes. The Yotes developed the first lead by more than 2 points with a big Joey Nebeker dunk (11-7).
 
A lay-in from Winegar and a huge trey from Meeker put the Blue and Gold in front, 12-11 with less than 15 minutes until the break. EOU took its largest lead of the half, 20-15 three minutes later off back-to-back buckets, a three-ball from junior guard Cole Ashby and a lay-up for McGriff.
 
College of Idaho then answered with a 7-0 run to retake the lead, 22-20. EOU then tied it up off a pair of free throws but the Yotes responded with a 9-3 run over the next five minutes (31-25).
 
Over the last five minutes of the half it was all Mountaineers as EOU finished it out on a 8-3 run, cutting the Yotes lead to only one, 34-33 as the teams took to the locker rooms.
 
Into the second the Mounties finally retook the lead, 37-36 with a tip-in from Washington. Twenty seconds later the same Mountaineer was back at the bucket with a lay-up (39-36). College of Idaho then rallied a 6-0 run, finished off by a Nebeker lay-up, 42-39.
 
The Yotes continued their hot shooting, starting a 5-0 run after a pair of free throws from EOU. The Mounties responded with a 5-0 run of their own cutting the lead to only one (47-46).
 
Later in the half, EOU found themselves down by nine, 65-56 with 10 minutes to play as College of Idaho capped off a 10-2 run with a pair of free throws.
 
With five minutes to play the Blue and Gold found themselves down by 17, 77-60 before the Mountaineers started a 7-2 run, jumpstarted by a pair of points from junior guard Blake O'Donnell and the charity stripe.
 
The final five minutes saw EOU outscore College of Idaho, 19-14 but the Yotes lead was just too much, as the Mounties fell in their second straight road contest.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
1,000 – Career points for Kentrell Washington.
66 – Total rebounds between EOU and COI.
 
UP NEXT
EOU closes out its regular season by hosting Walla Walla on Sunday. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
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