KIRKLAND, Wash. – Eastern Oregon men's basketball kept rolling on Friday night, blasting Northwest University 97-81 on the road to lock up its fourth straight win and move to 8-3 overall and 3-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference play.
EOU set the tone early and never trailed, building a 46-29 halftime lead behind scorching perimeter shooting and a defense that forced Northwest into a tough first 20 minutes. The Mountaineers opened the game with a quick punch from deep as
Trent Rogers buried a three in the first two minutes, and Eastern continued to keep Northwest chasing. Rogers was the headliner in the opening half, pouring in 17 points before the break on 4-for-6 from three, as Eastern stretched the margin to as many as 18 late in the half.
Northwest made its push coming out of the locker room, erupting for 52 second-half points and shooting over 54 percent after halftime. The Eagles got hot from deep, with Logan Stempniak scoring 14 of his 16 in the second half and Northwest drilling eight threes after the break to keep the game from fully getting away.
But every time Northwest tried to string stops together, Eastern answered.
Eamon Monahan flipped the second half with a flurry, scoring 14 after halftime and finishing with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting while adding three assists.
James Bodily continued his strong stretch, scoring 17 points and going 8-of-9 at the line, including a key sequence that extended the lead when Northwest was scrambling defensively in the second half. Eastern's depth showed again, getting 36 bench points while maintaining control despite the Eagles' surge.
Rogers finished with a game-high 21 points, hitting 4-of-7 from three and adding three steals. Monahan's 19 and Bodily's 17 gave EOU three double-figure scorers, while
Keilan Torkornoo delivered a steady two-way line of 10 points and seven rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting.
Logan Orchard directed traffic with five assists and four steals, and
Caleb Schroeder provided energy on the glass with seven rebounds.
As a team, Eastern shot 49.3 percent from the floor and 44.0 percent from three, got to the line for 18 makes, and turned Northwest's turnovers into 15 points. The Eagles were led by Stempniak's 16 and CJ Bayak's 14 off the bench, but Eastern's first-half separation and steady second-half responses ensured the Mountaineers left Kirkland with another conference win.
Eastern Oregon continues its CCC road swing on Saturday, traveling to The Evergreen State College for a 5 p.m. tip.
