HELENA, Mont. - Mountaineer Men's Basketball went the distance against Frontier Conference preseason favorite Carroll College on day two of the Comfort Suites Classic, but came up short in a 77-74 loss to the Saints. With the loss, Eastern Oregon is now 1-1 on the year.

How it Happened
• Both teams shot the ball well with EOU leading the way at 54%, while the Saints (3-0) finished at 47.4%. From deep, both teams struggled a bit with EOU shooting just 37.5%, while Carroll was at just 30%.
• Helping the Saints in the win, was a 27-24 edge in rebounds and a 13-4 edge in second chance points. Keeping EOU in the contest was a 12-9 advantage in bench scoring and a 36-28 edge in points in the paint.
• Early on, EOU played from behind trailing 4-0 but answered with a 7-2 run to jump ahead 7-6 on Carroll with 15:17 left to play in the half.
• The two squads traded points and the lead over the next four minutes before the Saints jumped ahead for good in the half.
• EOU led 17-16 with 11:43 on the clock but a 6-0 surge by the Saints gave them a 22-18 edge. A layup from Justin Jeske snapped the run but Carroll once again had an answer.
• The Saints went back ahead by five on a layup to make it 24-19 just under 8:30 to play in the half. Defense then picked up as neither team scored again until the 5:48 mark on the clock.
• Carroll snapped the scoring drought with a layup to go up 26-19. A Phillip Malatare layup ended the Mountaineers drought and a Preston Chandler bucket got the team within five, 28-23.
• Eastern got within three in the final 4:20 of play after Max McCullough nailed a pair of free throws. EOU managed just two more points though and went into halftime trailing 36-27.
• Despite being down nine, EOU still shot the ball well at 47.6% on 11-23 made shots. Helping the Saints lead though was a 59.3 shooting percentage thanks to 16-27 made buckets.
• Xavier Lovelace paced the offense with 10 points. As a unit EOU outrebounded Carroll 12-8 but 11 turnovers by the Mounties to just four by the Saints played a role.
• In the second half of play, EOU outscored Carroll 47-41, but a pair of late shots by the Saints was enough to escape with the win.
• McCullough was a force in the second half scoring 22 points and Malatare found a rhythm scoring 12 second half points to keep Eastern in the game.
• The Saints pushed their lead to nine, 38-29, with a pair of quick buckets before EOU slowly started to chip away at the lead.
• In the first five minutes EOU got within two points at 44-42 and 46-44 but each time the Saints had an answer to keep a slim two possession lead.
• The two squads continued to trade shots and free throws through the middle portion of the half and for Carroll, they managed to stay in front by 3-5 points until the final three minutes of play.
• A pair of Malatare free throws with 3:14 to play gave EOU a 65-64 lead. Carroll tied it up with a free throw at 32:49 but a Lovelace layup on the next possession put EOU back in front, 67-65.
• Looking for an answer, the Saints went to guard Shamrock Campbell who nailed a three-pointer and jumper in the final two minutes to put them ahead for good.
• EOU saved time as best as possible with fouls and a late triple by McCullough made it a one-point game, 75-74, but Campbell nailed a pair of free throws to secure the win for Carroll.
• The Mountaineers defense played well in the second half limiting the Saints to a 36.7 shooting percentage and surrendered just one three-pointer. Offensively, EOU shot 59.3% overall (16-27) in the second but went just 3-8 from deep for 37.5%. 

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Max McCullough led the way with a game-high 26 points on 8-11 shooting and was 8-9 from the free throw line.
• Phillip Malatare added 16 points on 60% shooting (6-10). He also went 4-6 at the free throw line.
• Xavier Lovelace had a near double-double with 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. 
• Ismael Valdez dished out a game best 11 assists in the loss.

For the Saints
• Jovan Slijivancanin posted a double-double with 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
• Shamrock Cambell led the way in scoring with 23 points on 8-12 shooting and was a perfect 5-5 at the free throw line.
• Ifeanyi Okeke rounded out the double figure scoring with 18 points.
• Jonny Hillman led the way in assists with five.

By the Numbers
30 - The Mountaineers dished out 30 assists over the weekend.
3 - Eastern has now dropped its last three match-ups against Carroll College.
36 - EOU's 36 points in the first half on Sunday is the lowest in any half of the young season.
50 - The Mountaineers have shot 50% or better in each of their last three games, dating back to last season.

Up Next
• Eastern will be back in action next weekend when it hosts its 2021-22 home opener. The Mountaineers will take on Montana Western on Saturday, Oct. 30, with tip-off set for 10:30 a.m. inside Quinn Coliseum. 

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