LA GRANDE, Ore. – Mountaineer Men's Basketball picked up their biggest win of the season Tuesday night with a 93-91 upset of No. 13 College of Idaho inside Quinn Coliseum. A jumper by Phillip Malatare in the final seconds of overtime lifted Eastern Oregon to the win over the rival Yotes and snapped a 10-game skid against them.

With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 13-9 overall and 7-7 in CCC play. The loss is just the second one in CCC play for C of I who falls to 18-4 overall and 12-2 in conference action. Along with snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Yotes, it is EOU's first win over a ranked opponent under head coach Chris Kemp and the team's first since the 2019-20 season.

How it Happened
• Malatare's heroics came in the final three seconds of overtime. He drove the right side and created enough separation off the to create his shot. His pull up fadeaway jumper hit smoothly and lifted EOU to the win.
• The game was a battle the whole night as neither team led by more than two possessions. Free throws nearly plagued both teams who both put up over 25 in the contest.
• Eastern finished 23-32 at the charity stripe for 71.9%, while C of I was 22-29 for 75.9%. Both teams' reserves played well with the Yotes bench having the slight scoring edge, 30-27.
• The Yotes also won the rebounding battle and scored more points in the paint. They outrebounded EOU 36-28 and had a 34-30 in post scoring. The difference was from three-point range.
• The Mountaineers racked up 10 triples on 27 attempts to finish at 37% for the night. C of I was 9-18 from deep for 50%, but late game buckets from deep helped OEU not only stay in the game, but helped put them in position to win.
• The first half saw C of I barely outscore EOU by one point, 39-38. 13-26 shooting for the Yotes gave them the one-point lead at the break, but EOu kept pace going 12-25 for 48%.
• C of I grabbed a 5-0 lead to start, but EOU responded scoring six straight to lead 6-5 in the first three minutes. A jumper from Ismael Valdez in the paint gave EOU its first lead of the game.
• The two teams then traded the points the rest of the way and neither managed to establish any dominance, setting up what was a fight the entire night.
• Through the first 10 minutes of the half, EOU clung to a one-point lead, 17-16, following a pair of made free throws from Xavier Lovelace. Malatare made it a 19-16 game on a jump shot before Lovelace nailed a three-pointer to put EOU up 22-16.
• The Mountaineers six-point lead was their largest of the night, but it did not last by any means. A quick 5-0 run got the Yotes back within one, 22-21. The Mounties answered with a 9-2 run to go back up six, 29-23.
• The six-point edge for eastern came with 5:40 left to play in the half. The Yotes did not falter though and finished the frame outscoring EOU 16-8 to lead by one at the break.
• Setting up the OT period was a 44-43 scoring edge for Eastern in the second half. Both teams had chances to potentially put the game away on free throws, but fate had other plans in store.
• Through the first five minutes of play, both teams put up quick shots, but it was a 46-all game. A 1-2 trip at the free throw line by Justin Jeske tied the game up with 14:57 left to play.
• As time went on, the Yotes managed to stay in front by as much as four points a few times. C of I led 55-51 with 11:56 on the clock, but deep threes from Cooper Lumsden and Kendall Williams helped EOU piece together an 8-2 run.
• The scoring surge from EOU gave the team a 59-57 lead at the midway point of the half. Shot continued to fall for both teams, which set up a wild finish inside Quinn Coliseum.
• As the game progressed, neither team led by more than five in the final minutes. The Yotes went ahead 76-71 with 2:46 left to play, but a 9-6 surge by Eastern sent the game to OT.
• A jumper in the paint from Zane Wright put EOU ahead 82-80 with 27 seconds left to play. C of I answered at the 14-second mark, tying the game to force OT.
• With five minutes on the clock to start the extra period, it was anyone's game to win or lose. C of I jumped ahead 84-82 in the first minute, but Malatare scored three points to put Eastern ahead 85-84.
• Free throws nearly plagued EOU as the team went 2-4 from the line. For the Yotes, they did not fare much better going just 1-3. It did not matter for EOU though as Malatare took over scoring all 11 points for the Mounties.
• EOU trailed 87-86 with 2:43 to play, but a key offensive rebound from Lovelace led to them going ahead. Lovelace missed a pair of free throws but got the rebound and found Malatare for a three to make it an 89-87 lead for EOU.
• C of I cut the score to one on a 1-2 trip at the charity stripe but Malatare made it 91-88 on the next possession. The Yotes were able to tie it up though as key offensive rebounds on the next trip down allowed them to make a three and tie it at 91-all with one minute to play.
• EOU missed a shot on its next possession, but an offensive foul by C of I on the ensuing trip gave the Mounties the ball back and a shot at the win. Enter Phillip Malatare once again.
• With 17 seconds on the clock, Malatare walked the ball down court and patiently waited. When the time was right he got the green light from Coach Kemp and played the role of hero.
• Malatare nailed the fadeaway jumper with three seconds and sealed the win for the Mountaineers. C of I was out of timeouts and chucked up a desperation shot that fell well short as EOU walked away with the 93-91 victory.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Phillip Malatare led all scorers with 27 points. He shot 50% (10-20) and dished out five assists.
• Xavier Lovelace added 13 points on 3-6 shooting and had a game-high nine rebounds.
• Cooper Lumsden added 11 points off the bench on 4-9 made shots and was 3-7 from deep.
• Zane Wright chipped in 10 points, going 3-4 from the floor and was 2-3 from three-point range.
• Preston Chandler put up nine points to go along with two steals.
• Ismael Valdez had a game-high three blocks and tallied five assists to go along with seven points.
• Paul Pennington dished out a game-high seven assists and added seven points in the win.

For the Yotes
• Ricardo Time led the team with 26 points on 7-10 shooting and was 7-7 at the free throw line. He also went 5-6 from deep.
• Drew Wyman put up 18 points and grabbed five rebounds.
• Tyler Robinett added 11 points in the loss on 5-7 shooting.
• Jake O'Neil led the way in rebounding with eight boards and scored nine points.

By the Numbers
61 - The Mounties and Yotes combined for 61 free throw attempts on Tuesday night.
8 - EOU racked up eight steals in the win over C of I.
32 - Eastern attempted a season-high 32 free throws on Tuesday night.
1 - This is the first OT game for the Mountaineers since the 2019-20 season.
1 - Tuesday's win is also the first win over a ranked opponent for head coach Chris Kemp.
10 - The Mounties' win over the Yotes also snaps a 10-game skid against C of I.
7 - Eastern improves to 7-2 at home this season.

Up Next
• EOU will have a quick two-day break before returning to the hardwood. The Mountaineers play host to Bushnell Friday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. The following day, Jan. 29, they host Corban at 5 p.m.

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