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NAIA
71
Eastern Oregon EOU 24-8
104
Winner Bethel (Ind.) BC 30-4
Eastern Oregon EOU
24-8
71
Final
104
Bethel (Ind.) BC
30-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Eastern Oregon EOU 31 40 71
Bethel (Ind.) BC 60 44 104

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Evan House, Sports Information Assistant

No. 14 EOU Men’s Hoops Season Comes to an End, Fall to No. 3 Bethel, 104-71

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – The 2016-2017 season came to an end for the 14th-ranked Mountaineers on Friday afternoon, as EOU failed to cool the hot-shooting, top-seeded Pilots, losing 104-71 inside Keeter Gymnasium.
 
Despite being projected to finish fourth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC), the EOU men's basketball team turned the campaign into an impressive season, finishing 24-9. The Mountaineers carded a second place finish in the CCC regular season, enough to earn an at-large four-seed in the NAIA Division II Championship tournament. The Blue and Gold then picked up its first NAIA tournament win since 2011, defeating 17th-ranked IU Southeast, 92-90.
 
Three Mountaineers scored in double figures in the loss with senior forward Bryan McGriff leading the way with 29 points, shooting 7-for-13, while also grabbing nine boards. Fellow senior Kentrell Washington chalked up 13 points, as the guard played his final contest in the blue and gold. Junior guard Blake O'Donnell finished out the double digit scorers as the Yucaipa, Calif., native added 11 more points and five total rebounds.
 
EOU failed to get things going offensively, getting outshot from Bethel from field goal range 34.8 percent to 56.3 percent and from three-point range, as the Pilots shot 42.1 percent compared to the Mounties 13.8 percent. Bethel controlled the rebounds (47-30), scored more points in the paint (42-34), and chalked up more assists (12-8). EOU won the battle for second chance points, 10-4.
 
The Pilots took flight early, soaring to a 12-point lead, 12-0 as the No. 1 seed held the Mountaineers scoreless for nearly the first three minutes. McGriff finally got EOU on the board with two points from the charity stripe at the 17:13 mark.
 
By the 12:54 mark, Bethel shots continued to fly as Jordyn Coon connected with a three from behind the arc to put the Pilots up, 24-6.
 
Shooting 65 percent for the first 13 and a half minutes, the Pilots led 38-17 before Washington tossed a layup to cut the lead to 19, 38-19.
 
McGriff chalked up an old fashion three-point play, banking a layup then draining the free throw (42-24). Despite the Pilots answering with a two-pointer of their own, junior guard Matt Wong drew in the foul, before making both free throws with just five minutes to play until the break.
 
The Pilots ended the first half on a 17-3 run, hitting a three for the last bucket of the half. At the break, Bethel led, 60-31.
 
Kicking off the second stanza, the Blue and Gold got things going with a pair of points from McGriff. However, the Pilots then responded with a 5-0 run before McGriff ended it with a two-point jumper, starting a 6-0 run for EOU (64-39).
 
Bethel pushed its lead to 30, 69-39 with a pair of free throws and 14 minutes to play. On the next possession the Pilots scored again, this time for three, 72-39.
 
With 13:38 to play EOU cut the lead to 27 points, 66-39 but it would be as close as the Mounties could trim the lead.
 
Over the final two minutes of the contest the Pilots outscored EOU 6-4, including four points in the final minute.
 
 
BY THE NUMBERS
53 – Combined points between Washington, McGriff and O'Donnell.
75 – Percent from the free throw line shot EOU.
4 – Mountaineer careers came to an end in the loss, McGriff, Washington, Michael Hillman and Travis Meeker.  
 
 
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