LA GRANDE, Ore. – Playing its last regular season game of the 2016-2017 campaign, the 16th-ranked EOU men's basketball team took care of Walla Walla, 97-75.
 
With the win and the Corban loss to Southern Oregon earlier today, the Blue and Gold wrapped up second place in the Cascade Conference.
 
Four Mountaineers scored in double figures but leading the way for EOU (22-7, 15-5 CCC), was senior forward Bryan McGriff who chalked up 25 points and 11 boards while going 4-of-7 from three-point land.
 
Freshman guard Max McCullough tallied 20 points, going 7-for-11 from field goal range while tossing out four assists. Next was junior guard Cole Ashby who added 16 points, three boards and a pair of assists. Rounding out the double-digit scorers was senior guard Kentrell Washington who put up a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
As a team the Mounties were outshot by the Wolves (3-25, 2-17 CCC), who shot 46.6 percent from field goal range compared to EOU's 41.8. Eastern won the three-ball battle, shooting 26.8 percent compared to Walla Walla's 23.8.
 
The Mountaineers quickly got things going offensively to start the game as they leaped out on an 8-2 run in the first three and a half minutes, capped off by a McGriff three. An old fashion three-point play from McCullough two minutes later put EOU up 18-7.
 
The Wolves refused to play discouraged and thanks to a Dylan Browning layup, Walla Walla found themselves only down two, 22-20 with eight and a half minutes until the break. The next three minutes were controlled by EOU as the team went on a 9-5 run (31-25).
 
Over the last five and a half minutes of the first, the Mountaineers outscored Walla Walla 19-14, taking an 11-point lead to the locker rooms (50-39).
 
In the second half the Mountie offense once again got going, scoring 14 unanswered points in the first two and a half minutes, finished with a bucket from the charity stripe from McGriff, 64-41.
 
The Wolves got as close as 17 points, but EOU refused the let them get any closer. EOU closed out the regular season on a 13-game home winning streak, with the last loss coming from Bethesda in October.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
13 – Double-doubles on the season for McGriff
83 – Total rebounds between EOU and Walla Walla.
45 – Combined points from leading scorers McGriff and McCullough.
 
UP NEXT
EOU hosts Warner Pacific in the Quarterfinals of the CCC Tournament, Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
 

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