CALDWELL, Idaho – Eastern Oregon men's basketball took the defending national champions to the wire on Tuesday night, but a late free-throw finish from (RV) College of Idaho proved to be the difference in a 76-71 loss at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.
The Mountaineers (9-4, 4-1 CCC) went into one of the toughest environments in the Cascade Collegiate Conference and played with the edge and urgency of a rivalry game, erasing a five-point halftime deficit and briefly taking a second-half lead before the Yotes (9-4, 4-1 CCC) closed it out at the stripe.
Eastern's shooting flipped the game after the break. After hitting 10-of-35 in the first half, the Mountaineers caught fire in the second, going 15-of-28 from the floor and 9-of-14 from three to match College of Idaho point-for-point in a 43-43 second half.
James Bodily keyed the surge, pouring in 24 points off the bench and knocking down six triples to help Eastern climb back into it. Midway through the half, Bodily buried a three and drew contact, completing the four-point play to pull EOU within two. Moments later,
Eamon Monahan finished a clutch and-one layup, converting the free throw to give the Mountaineers their first lead of the night at 55-52.
From there, neither team blinked.
Trent Rogers provided steady production and timely shot-making, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and hitting three threes. Monahan led Eastern with 16 points, while
Logan Orchard impacted the game without scoring—dishing out eight assists and battling for six rebounds.
College of Idaho answered every push with execution, leaning on Dougie Peoples' 22 points and Rey Johnston's 17, including a perfect 8-for-8 night at the free-throw line as a team. The Yotes' interior scoring (30 points in the paint) and late-game trips to the line helped them create the final separation.
Eastern still had a chance late as Rogers drilled a clutch three in the final seconds to make it a one-possession game, but College of Idaho's free throws sealed it as the Mountaineers simply ran out of time in a hard-fought rivalry loss.
Eastern Oregon returns home to Quinn Coliseum on Saturday, January 3, to face Warner Pacific at 5 p.m.
