LA GRANDE, Ore. - Eastern Oregon Men's Basketball went the distance Friday night at home against No. 17 Lewis-Clark State College but came up short of the upset bid in a 76-72 loss. The Mountaineers battled all night against the Warriors but late buckets by the visitors allowed them to escape Quinn Coliseum with a slim four-point win.

How it Happened
• Despite the loss, Eastern Oregon (5-6, 0-4 CCC) shot 41.7% from the floor and held LC State (11-1, 4-0 CCC) to 37.7%. Helping the Warriors secure the win was a 9-24 performance from deep, while Eastern was just 4-13 three-point range.
• The Mountaineers won the battle in the paint, out-scoring the Warriors 26-24, but an 11-6 edge in bench points went to LC State. The Warriors won the rebounding battle, 41-39, and had 10 on offense that led to nine second chance points.
• Eastern grabbed an early lead at 6-2, but it was short lived as LC State went ahead 9-6 on a 7-0 run. EOU got within one but did not tie things up again until after the midway point of the half.
• The Warriors managed to lead as much as six, 15-9, in the first 10 minutes but it did not last. A 6-0 start by EOU tied the game at 15-all. Preston Chandler was key in the run scoring the first three points.
• A pair of made free throws by Ismael Valdez gave EOU the lead back at 16-15 with 8:45 to play in the half. The two squads traded points but had cold spurts to keep it a low scoring affair.
• LC State went ahead 23-18 with just over three minutes to play in the half, but only mustered three more the rest of the way. A jumper from Xavier Lovelace with 2:20 on the clock gave EOU the lead back at 25-23.
• The game was tied up one last time at 25-all late in the half, but a 5-1 run by the Mountaineers gave them a 30-26 lead going into the break.
• The second half was a shootout as the Warriors put up 50 points, while EOU had 42. Early on EOU led by five a pair of times, but LC State tied the game at 33-all in the first two minutes.
• It was then a back-and-forth affair the rest of the night as the two teams traded buckets. LC State led by as much as five in the first 10 minutes of action, but clung to a 50-47 lead at the midway point.
• The game was tied at 47-all before the Warriors jumped ahead by three and they never surrendered the lead the rest of the night.
• EOU battled back multiple times and got within one at various points in the final 10 minutes of play. Despite their best efforts though, LC State had an answer each time to stay in front and held on for the win.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Phillip Malatare put up 23 points to pace the offense and had 10 rebounds for a double-double to go along with seven assists.
• Preston Chandler added 20 points on 7-10 shooting. He also had three blocked shots.
• Xavier Lovelace chipped in 10 points and had a game-high 15 boards and two steals.
• Justin Jeske added seven points and grabbed six rebounds in the loss.

For the Warriors
• All Sommerfield led all scorers with a game-high 25 points on 8-14 shooting and was 5-11 from deep.
• Khalil Stevenson scored 14 points on 50% shooting (4-8) and dished out three assists.
• Brennen Newsom had a double-double with 13 points and a game best 15 boards.
• Nathan Fromm scored 11 points off the bench and pulled down six rebounds.

By the Numbers
6 - EOU had six blocks on Friday night which is the most in a game this season.
4 - All four of the Mountaineers' CCC games have been decided by less than 10 points.
20 - Preston Chandler's 20 points on Friday are a single-game career best.
5 - Eastern has made 20-plus shots in each of their last five games.

Up Next
• The Mountaineers are back in action tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 18 when they take on Walla Walla University. Tip-off against the Wolves is set for 8:30 p.m. PT inside Quinn Coliseum.

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