CALDWELL, Idaho – Eastern Oregon University men's basketball played its second game of the season Thursday night in a non-conference matchup with College of Idaho. The Mountaineers dropped the contest, 90-80, to fall to 1-1 on the year.
 
How it Happened
• Both squads shot over 40% for the game with C of I (8-9) holding the advantage at 57.9% while EOU shot42.6%.  The Yotes also shot over 50% from deep at 51.7, while EOU finished 11-25 from beyond the arc for 44%.
• Helping the Yotes was 25 points from their bench to 19 from EOU's reserves. C of I also had more points in the paint at 36-28. Neither team did well at taking care of the ball as both had 10-plus for the night. C of I had 16 while the Mountaineers had 13.
• The Mountaineers managed to grab the lead early in the game. They held a 6-5 edge as Zane Wright hit back-to-back triples to give EOU the one-point edge. Wright missed his next three pointer but went on to hit five straight after that to help EOU stay in the game.
• EOU and C of I traded the lead for a quick minute after Wright's second triple before the game was knotted at 11-11 with 14:01 to play in the first half. The Yotes then pieced together and 13-0 run to grab a 24-11 run.
• The Yotes run ended with a Brandon Porter jumper in the paint at the midway point of the first half. Eastern looked to get back into the contest but the Yotes managed to grow the lead to as much as 17 when they led 39-22 with just over 5:00 to play in the half.
• Despite the double-digit deficit, the Mounties slowly chipped away at the C of I lead, and it was the hot hand of Wright from deep that made the difference. He nailed five consecutive triples in under five minutes to help EOU climb back into the game.
• Helping the Mounties cut into the Yotes lead was a revamped intensity on defense. EOU managed to hold C of I to just seven points in the final five minutes, while the offense found a groove and scored 19 points.
• Justin Jeske got things started for the Mounties with a layup at the 4:44 mark. The next possession down Andre Batiste hit a deep three to make it a 41-27 game. After the media timeout with 4:07 on the clock, EOU scored five more on a layup from Max McCullough and another triple from Wright.
• In a blink of an eye, Eastern had put together a 9-0 run and trailed by just nine, 41-29. The Yotes ended the 9-0 spurt with a layup at the 3:01 mark but Wright quickly responded with a three pointer and the Mounties trailed by just eight, 43-35.
• The Yotes looked to trade triples with the Mounties and hit another one to stay in front by 11, 46-35, with just over two minutes to play until halftime. Wright had the upper hand though as he hit back-to-back three balls to cut the Yotes lead to five, 46-41, entering the halftime break.
• Despite the drought midway through the frame, EOU still shot 43.2% in the first 20 minutes of action on 16-27 made buckets. Helping the Yotes cling to the five-point edge was an 18-29 made shots in the first half for 62.1% shooting.
• Coming out of the break, the Mountaineers' offense found a rhythm early and outscored the Yotes 11-6 to go back in front 52-51. It was the Mounties first lead since early in the first half when they led 11-9. EOU managed to push the lead to 54-51 before C of I tied the game and ultimately retook the lead.
• A three ball by the Yotes with 15:02 gave them the lead back at 57-54 and they never relinquished it the rest of the night. Eastern looked to stay in the contest but a 19-4 run in the middle of the second half was too much to overcome.
• The Yotes run started with under 10 minutes to play in the regulation. They led 66-62 with 9:44 remaining when the 19-4 run started. Part of the 19 unanswered points by the Yotes included a 12-0 run that put them up 81-64 before a jumper by Porter ended the EOU scoring drought.
• EOU tried to respond but was never able to put together consistent stops on defense or find a rhythm on offense to get back into the contest. The Mountaineers shot 41.9% in the second half, but only managed 2-9 made shots from deep for 22.2%.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Zane Wright led the way in scoring with 21 points, all of which that came in the first half. He was 7-8 from the floor with all his made shots coming from three-point range.
• Justin Jeske poured in 17 points in 22 minutes of play. He shot 8-11 from the field and tied the team lead in rebounds with eight.
• Preston Chandler added 12 points in 30 minutes on the floor. He was 3-5 shooting overall went 5-6 from the free throw line. He also grabbed eight boards to tie the team lead.
• Off the bench, Brandon Porter chipped in 11 points in 21 minutes of play. He went 4-12 from the floor and was a clean 2-2 at the charity strip.
• Max McCullough led all players on the night with seven assists in his first game of the season.
 
For the Yotes
• Jalen Galloway led all scorers with a game-high 26 points on 10-14 shooting. He also went 5-7 from deep.
• Derek Wadsworth added 19 points on 7-11 made shots, He also had five made triple sin eight attempts to go along with six assists.
• Paul Wilson chipped in 10 points in the win on 3-4 shooting. He was 4-5 from the free throw line and had a game best three blocks.
• Jake O'Neil led the way in rebounds with a game-high of eight and scored eight points in 26 minutes of action.
 
By the Numbers
55 – EOU and C of I have now squared off in 55 consecutive seasons and played in 190 games all-time.
30 – C of I scored 30 points on 11 Eastern turnovers, while Eastern had 20 in 13 by C of I.
26 – The Mountaineers and Yotes combined for 26 made triples in the contest.
25 – The Yotes reserves scored 25 points, while the Mountaineers bench scored 19.
13 – EOU had 13 fast break points, while C of I had just 11.
 
Up Next
• The Mountaineers will look to add more non-conference games to their schedule as they await the release of the newly formatted CCC schedule. Their next game is still to be determined.

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