CALDWELL, Idaho - Mountaineer Men's Basketball fell short of another top-25 upset Tuesday night in a 64-61 road loss to No. 18 College of Idaho. With the loss, Eastern Oregon's record falls to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play. 

How it Happened
• Despite falling short of the win, EOU had a substantial edge in shooting percentage, 51.0%-39.3%. Neither team shot well from deep as EOU went just 1-7 for 14.3, while C of I (6-2, 1-0 CCC) was 5-20 for 25%.
• 18 turnovers by Eastern led to 21 C of I points, which proved to be the difference maker. Also helping the Yotes in the win was 30 points from their reserves. 
• The Mountaineers used a fast start to grab the lead at the beginning. They led 8-2 in the first four minutes before the Yotes tied the game at 10-all with 12:46 to play.
• The two squads traded points and C of I never led by more than four points in the first half until the final three minutes of play.
• A deep three-pointer from the Yotes in transition gave them a seven-point lead, 31-24 with 2:33 to play in the half. EOU got within five, 31-26, late but a 6-0 run to end the half gave the Yotes a 37-26 lead at the break.
• Both teams shot the ball well in the first 20 minutes of play with EOU going 11-22 for 50%, while C of I was 15-31 for 48.4%.
• In the second half, the Mountaineers outscored the Yotes, 35-27, but late in the game the Yotes' defense did just enough in the final minutes to avoid the upset.
• In the first two minutes, the Yotes pushed their lead to 12, 40-28, and seemed to be clicking out of the break. EOU held composure though and slowly battled back into the game.
• The game became a back-and-forth scoring affair and it seemed the C of I run at the end of the first half into the second half was going to be the difference maker.
• With 12:28 left on the clock, the Yotes led by eight, 48-40, before a surge by the Mountaineers made things interesting. A 12-0 run by EOU gave the team a 51-48 lead.
• Both squads traded buckets and C of I led 55-54 with 5:10 left to play. EOU then scored six straight points to lead by five, 60-55.
• C of I responded in the final three minutes of play holding Eastern to just one more point the rest of the night. Timely defense and late free throws prevailed as the Yotes escaped with the three-point win.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Ismael Valdez led the way scoring 17 points on 6-9 shooting. He also grabbed seven boards and dished out a game-high six assists.
• Phillip Malatare scored 14 points and had five assists. He also tallied three steals and grabbed six rebounds.
• Xavier Lovelace rounded out the double-digit scoring with 13 points. He shot 5-9 and led the way in rebounding with eight boards. 
• Preston Chandler chipped in eight points in the loss on 4-7 made shots.

For the Yotes
• Ricardo Time was the lone double figure scorer with 15 points.
• Tyler Robinett added nine points in the win and led the team in rebounding with seven boards.
• Drew Wyman and Charles Elzie each added eight points.

By the Numbers
1 - EOU had just one made three pointer on the night.
50 - The Mountaineers have shot over 50% in three games this season.
2 - Eastern had a two game win streak snapped in Tuesday's loss.
3 - The Mountaineers have battled in both losses, with both contests being just a three-point difference.

Up Next
• The Mountaineers will head to California for a trio of games in three days. Eastern will begin it's West Coast trip at William Jessup on Friday, Nov. 26. Tip-off against the Warriors will be at 3 p.m. PT inside Warrior Arena.

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