CALDWELL, Idaho – Eastern Oregon hit the road Tuesday night for a CCC matchup with the No. 1 team in the country, the Yotes of the College of Idaho. The Mounties hung with C of I in the first half but couldn't keep up in the second as the Yotes took a 74-56 win at home. With the loss the Mounties drop to 15-9 overall and 12-6 in conference play.
Phillip Malatare kept Eastern in the game in the first half with 16 of the Mounties' 33 points on 7-10 shooting. Aside from Malatare the Mounties struggled shooting going 3-11 from deep and 13-31 from the field. Despite the struggles Eastern held a lead over nine minutes into the game. Then Tyler Robinett turned the momentum with a slam kickstarting an 18-7 run in the Yotes' favor. At the half the College of Idaho led 38-33.
The Yotes took away any good looks for Malatare in the second half suffocating the Mountie offense. Eastern's shooting fell to 26% from the field and 18% from deep as the College of Idaho built on their lead. Even while going 0-10 from deep the Yotes outscored EOU 36-23 in the second half to take the 74-56 win.
Eastern will look to turn the page and return to the win column this weekend for their last home stretch of the regular season. The Mounties will take on Bushnell on Friday evening followed by Corban on Saturday. Tipoff against the Beacons is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The Yotes dominated inside outscoring EOU 50-20 in the paint
- The College of Idaho didn't hold a huge advantage on the glass but they took advantage of offensive rebounds scoring 16 second chance points
- Eastern had on off-night shooting the ball dipping well below their season average in shooting percentages across all categories
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
