PORTLAND, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University men's basketball earned an 81–70 road win over Warner Pacific University on Thursday night.
Setting the tone early,
Trent Rogers jumped out with the opening jumper. After Warner Pacific answered with a jumper of their own, Eastern Oregon rattled off a decisive 10-0 run, while the Knights went cold for nearly five minutes. A Rogers layup followed by a Monahan three capped the surge and pushed the lead to 17–6.
Warner Pacific began to find its rhythm from deep midway through the half as Eastern Oregon's shooting cooled, trimming the deficit with a 6–0 run to make it 25–21. After a WPU foul, the Mounties answered at the line as
Keilan Torkornoo knocked down all three shots. The two continued to trade layups, as more trips to the stripe helped Eastern maintain control. After missing an initial jumper, Orchard tracked down his own offensive rebound and hit one from deep, sending EOU into the locker room up 42–34.
Warner Pacific came out firing in the second half, opening with back-to-back three-pointers. Eastern responded with layups from
Porter Abrams and Torkornoo, but with the Knights still within striking distance, a shot from deep cut the lead to just a three point advantage. A short scoring drought followed, marked by fouls and turnovers, until
Isaiah Jones broke it open.
From there, the Mountaineers regained control. With a combination of layups, three-pointers, and efficient free throw shooting, EOU pushed their lead to 54-47 with 13 minutes left. Monahan further ignited the lead with a three, followed by a quick steal and layup. A few more threes from EOU provided breathing room as WPU made one final push with a five point run. The Knights hit a few shots from deep, but Torkornoo sealed the outcome with a put back layup with just over a minute remaining. A last second WPU dunk closed out the scoring, but it wasn't enough as the Mounties had already secured the 81-70 victory.
Five Mountaineers reached double figures, with Monahan leading the way with 14 points on 42.9% shooting, including two three-pointers, while adding five rebounds and a steal. Jones followed with 12 points on an efficient 83.3% shooting, going a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and recording a block. Orchard chipped in 11 points, eight assists, and three steals.
Warner Pacific's Isiah Salim led all scorers with 16 points on 75% shooting, knocking down three shots from the arc. Chad Napoleon added a strong double-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks.
Eastern Oregon will return home to host Evergreen on February 6th in Quinn Coliseum at 7:30 PM.
