LA GRANDE, Ore. – Mountaineers Men's Basketball suffered a setback loss Friday night at home falling 65-58 to Oregon Tech inside Quinn Coliseum. With the loss, Eastern Oregon is now 11-9 overall and 5-7 in CCC play.

How it Happened
• Three-point shooting was key in the win for OIT (15-5, 11-0 CCC) who went 8-16 for 50%. They shot 44% for the game overall and held the Mountaineers to 37.5% from the field.
• Playing a big role in the win for the Hustlin' Owls was their bench play. Their reserves outscored the Mountaineers bench 48-12. They also had the edge in points in the paint at 22-16.
• In the first half, OIT managed to put up 39 points and held EOU to 32 to lead by seven at the break. Despite the low scoring affair, a 55.6% shooting percentage by the Owls helped them secure the lead.
• Early on it was EOU that had the hot start as the team grabbed an 8-3 lead in the first five minutes. By the midday point, the Mountaineers clung to a 17-16 lead.
• Despite the low scoring affair, Eastern managed to lead by as much as six, 22-16, with just over nine minutes to play. OIT then used a 10-2 run over a three-minute span to go ahead 26-24.
• The Hustlin' Owls never relinquished their lead after going up by two and led by as much as nine in the half, 36-27. Phillip Malatare scored EOU's final five points in the half to make it a 39-32 game at the break.
• Eastern managed to keep the game within single digits despite shooting just 37.1% in the first half. In the second frame, both teams scored 26 points, but the late first half rally by OIT proved to be the difference.
• OIT jumped ahead by 10, 42-32, in the opening minutes of the second half, but it was short lived. A 13-0 run by the Mountaineers put them ahead 45-42 with 14:14 to play in regulation.
• The two squads then traded points for a few possessions before a run by Tech gave them some breathing room. OIT led 49-47 and then scored six unanswered to lead 55-47 with 9:16 left to play.
• The 6-0 run by the OIT helped the team maintain a 2-3 possession lead the rest of the night. They managed to lead by as much as 12 before escaping with the seven-point win.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Phillip Malatare led all scorers with 20 points on 8-20 shooting to go along with six rebounds and five steals.
• Preston Chandler added eight points and grabbed a game best seven boards.
• Zane Wright scored seven points in the loss.
• Isamael Valdez finished with six points and six rebounds.

For the Hustlin' Owls
• Joey Potts paced the offense with 13 points on 5-9 shooting.
• Matt Van Tassell added 12 points in the win going 4-7 from the floor.
• Kellen Gerig was 5-9 from the field for 12 points and had a game-high seven rebounds.

By the Numbers
9 - The Mountaineers tallied nine steals, which is the most in a conference game this year.
65 - Eastern held OIT to its lowest point total in a conference game this season at 65 points.
2 - EOU attempted just two free throws on Friday, compared to 16 by OIT.

Up Next
• The Mountaineers will be back in action at home on Saturday, Jan. 22 (tomorrow) against another in-state rival in Southern Oregon. Tip-off against the Raiders is set for 5 p.m. inside Quinn Coliseum.

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