PORTLAND – Eastern Oregon University Men's Basketball matched up against Multnomah University for the fifth time this season Friday afternoon as the two teams matched up. The Mountaineers once again the victors as they cruised to a 101-74 win in the Cascade Collegiate Conference opener.
 
How it Happened
• Eastern (5-2, 1-0 CCC) shot 46.8% from the floor on 37-79 buckets to put up 101 points on the Lions (0-15, 0-1 CCC). Multnomah was just 28-74 from the floor for a measly 37.8%. EOU also had help from its reserves who scored 43 points and held the Lions' reserves to just 11.
• Points in the paint and second chance points also helped the Mountaineers eclipse the century mark. They had a 32-22 scoring advantage in the paint over Multnomah and scored 15 second chance points off 15 offensive boards. EOU also grabbed a season-high 52 rebounds in the win and dished out a season best 29 assists.
• The two squads traded shots to start the first half as neither managed to get ahead of the other by more than two possessions. Eastern jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first four minutes of play before the Lions clawed their way back into the game to tie things up at 9-all.
• It was a back-and-forth affair for a short time before EOU managed to push its lead to 23-14 with 11:56 to go in the half. The game was tied at 14-all before a 9-0 run by the Mountaineers allowed them to go by that much. Three-pointers by Kobi Gardea and Brandon Porter were key in opening up EOU's lead.
• The Lions continued to be a problem regardless of the deficit and worked the score back to within two, 25-23, with just over 8:30 to play. Multnomah eventually cut the Mountaineers lead to one, 27-26, but that was the closest the Lions got for the rest of the first half.
• EOU pieced together a 15-0 run that opened up its lead to double figures, 42-26, with just over 4:15 to play in the half. The surge was too much for the Lions as they went into the locker room trailing 50-37. Paul Pennington was the hot hand scoring seven of the team's 15 unanswered before the Lions scored again.
• As a team, the Mountaineers shot an even 50% from the floor on 19-38 made buckets. Helping EOU take a 13-point lead into the break was 16 points from the reserves. Multnomah's bench was unable to score in the first 20 minutes.
• The Lions looked to keep pace with the Mountaineers to start the second half but was unable to find the bottom of the net early on. On the flip side, Eastern got its offense in a rhythm right away and managed to take a 70-48 at the under 14-minute media timeout.
• The score was at 52-42 before an 18-6 scoring run by the Mountaineers allowed them to jump in front by 22. The game was never close the rest of the way as EOU was in the driver seat the whole second half. A big help was double-digit points from five different players.
• By the under seven-minute media timeout, the Mountaineers were up by 21 with an 85-64 lead. They did not slow down by that point either as the team scored 16 more points in the final seven minutes to rout the Lions by 27.
 
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Justin Jeske posted a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds to lead EOU. He also dished out six assists in the win.
• Preston Chandler also had a double-double scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 boards. He was 5-11 from the floor and went 4-5 from the free throw line.
• Max McCullough was the leading scorer with 17 points on 6-17 shooting and was 4-9 from deep.
• Zane Wright also had 14 points on 5-7 made shots and went 4-6 from three-point range.
• Brandon Porter rounded out things with 13 points. He shot 4-7 overall and was 50% (3-6) from beyond the arc.
 
For the Lions
• Zach Richardson was once again the game's leading scorer with 31 points. He shot 11-26 for the contest and went a clean 7-7 from the free throw line.
• Forrest Smith had a double-double performance with 21 points and 11 boards. He was 9-14 from the floor in 35 minutes of action.
• Wallace Ungwiluk chipped in seven points and grabbed three boards in the loss.
 
By the Numbers
4 – In each of the last four games against Multnomah, EOU has eclipsed the century mark in points every time.
14 – The Mountaineers tied a single-game high for the season in offensive rebounds with 14.
52 – The 52 boards by EOU on Friday is the most in a game this season.
29 – Eastern dished out 29 assists in the win, which is also the most in a game this year.
4 – The Mountaineers have now pushed their win streak this season to four-straight.
 
Up Next
• Eastern Oregon and Multnomah will square off one more time tomorrow (Saturday) in another CCC matchup. Tip-off between the Mountaineers and Lions is set for 3 p.m. PT in Portland.

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