LA GRANDE, Ore. – Mountaineer Men's Basketball rebounded from a tough loss on Friday with a 10-point win, 84-74, Saturday night inside Quinn Coliseum over in-state foe Corban University. The victory brings Eastern Oregon's overall record to 14-10 and 8-8 in conference play.

How it Happened
• The Mountaineers put together a staggering 56.9 shooting percentage to secure the win and their defense held Corban (14-10, 9-7 CCC) to just 38.8%.
• The Warriors' bench kept them in the game outsourcing EOU's reserves 34-34, but a 36024 edge in points in the paint helped EOU secure the win. 
• Playing a big role in the win for the Mounties was a 41-29 edge in rebounding. EOU also had an 11-6 advantage in fast break points.
• The first five minutes of play was somewhat low scoring but saw Eastern grab an 8-2 lead over Corban. EOU eventually pushed its lead to 10, 12-2, with 12:35 to play in the half.
• Despite going up by 10, the Mountaineers lead did not last as the Warriors eventually battled back. Corban trailed 14-4 but used an 8-0 surge to cut the score 14-12 at the midway point.
• Eastern never allowed the Warriors to tie despite getting within one possession. The Mounties outscored Corban 14-6 over a near five minute span to lead 28-18 with 5:20 left on the clock.
• Corban made one last push before halftime and managed to cut EOU's lead to just three, 36-33, at the break. 
• In the second half, the Mounties outscored the Warriors 48-41 to hold on for the 10-point win. Eastern led by double figures for much of the second half en route to the victory.
• The closest the Warriors got was two in the first 13 seconds of the second half. A 1-2 trip at the free throw line made it 36-34 early on.
• Eastern then went on a 10-3 run to go ahead 48-37 with 16:22 to play. The Warriors never got any closer than eight points the rest of the night.
• Hot shooting paced the Mountaineers the rest of the second half as they held a 10-point lead or more through the final 14 minutes of play. EOU led by as much as 19 three times in the second half before walking away with the 10-point win.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Xavier Lovelace led all scorers with 29 points on 12-16 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Phillip Malatare had 14 points on 6-11 made shots and dished out four assists.
• Zane Wright chipped in 10 points in the win, going 5-11 from the floor.
• Ismael Valdez had a game-high five assists and grabbed seven rebounds.
• Preston Chandler grabbed a game best eight boards and added seven points in the win.

For the Warriors
• Psalm Maduakor paced the offense with 16 points and grabbed five rebounds.
• Taylor Adnerson scored 14 points and pulled down a team-high six boards.
• Mateo Esheik and Denis Kirichenko each scored 13 points in the loss.
• Kendall Moore chipped in 12 points to round out the double-digit scoring.

By the Numbers
29 - Xavier Lovelace's 29 points are an EOU single game career-high.
56.9 - The Mountaineers 56.9% field goal percentage is the highest in a CCC game this season.
3 - Eastern has grabbed 10-plus offensive boards in three straight games.
13 - EOU racked up 13 total blocked shots over the weekend.

Up Next
• EOU will be on the road next weekend against two out-of-state foes. They battle Walla Walla on Friday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. followed by Lewis-Clark State on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 5 p.m. 

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