PORTLAND, Ore. – Friday night's CCC battle between the Mounties and Lions came down to the very end with the Mounties coming out on top thanks to a
Phillip Malatare jumper at the buzzer. It was a tight game from tipoff to the final horn, but EOU took the win 72-71. With the win Eastern advances to 15-7 overall and 12-4 in CCC play.
The first half was a tight one as the Mounties battled back from down by as much as nine taking their first lead with under five minutes to go. From there the lead exchanged hands six times in the last five minutes. EOU thought they had a lead going into the half until a last second jumper by Multnomah's Zach Richardson put the Lions up one, 39-38.
With the game up for grabs, the two teams jockeyed for position in the second half with neither able to find an advantage. The biggest lead was four as the Mounties went up two scores after a Chandler Preston jam with about 16 and a half minutes to go. Buckets continued to be traded down the stretch as Malatare went head to head with Richardson as time ticked down. With just 24 seconds to go Richardson drove in and got a layup to drop to make it 71-70. Malatare did what he has done all year which is deliver when the Mounties need him most. The senior took over knocking down a jumper at the buzzer to take a 72-71 win.
Eastern will look to add another win to the column tomorrow evening when they take on Warner Pacific at 5 p.m. The evening game will wrap up Eastern's weekend road trip.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Malatare and Adam Orr combined for more than half of Eastern's point total with 23 each
- Offensive rebounds and second chance points came up big for the Mounties down the stretch as they notched 11 second chance points in the second half
- Multnomah's bench came up big keeping them in the game lead by Quentin Jones' 23 points
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
