NEW TOWN, N.D. – Eastern Oregon No.15 ranked Men's Basketball continued their strong start to the season, defeating Dickinson State 79-61 on the opening day of the Bismarck Classic at the 4 Bears Event Center.
The Mountaineers established an early lead as a three-pointer from
Isaiah Jones put EOU ahead 5-4.
Eamon Monahan,
Porter Abrams, and
Logan Orchard each added baskets to extend the advantage to 10-6 as the Mountaineers began to find their rhythm. Eastern Oregon continued to build separation with defensive pressure that limited the Blue Hawks' offensive opportunities. After Dickinson State pulled within three, the Mountaineers closed the half with a strong surge, putting together a 17-5 run over the final seven minutes to take a 36-21 lead into the break.
The Mountaineers carried that momentum into the second half, with Abrams, Jones, and
Keilan Torkornoo continuing to attack the basket and extend EOU's advantage. Eastern Oregon eventually built its largest lead of the afternoon at 67-44. Dickinson State attempted to chip away at the deficit with trips to the free-throw line, but the Mountaineers responded with free throws of their own from
Drake Devin,
Jaden Hansen, and
Cole Hammack to maintain a comfortable 75-56 lead. The Blue Hawks added two layups and a free throw in the closing minutes, but
Tye Cornwall answered with consecutive baskets to seal the 79-61 victory.
Cole Hammack led all scorers with 14 points, adding four field goals and going 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Logan Orchard contributed 12 points and six rebounds, while
Isaiah Jones reached double figures with 10 points.
Jaden Hansen added eight points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from the floor. Eastern Oregon also received contributions throughout its lineup, with all 12 players seeing action and 11 finding the scoring column and the Mountaineer bench providing 40 points.
Defensively, EOU forced 14 Dickinson State turnovers and converted them into 19 points. The Mountaineers also held the Blue Hawks to 35.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc and limited them to just seven made field goals in the first half.
Britton Cranston led Dickinson State with 12 points, while Adesoye Onaleye added 11 points and two steals. Detavius Frierson paced the Blue Hawks on the glass with eight rebounds and added a steal.
With the victory, Eastern Oregon improves to 2-0 on the season and continues its North Dakota trip Saturday, Nov. 7, against Bismarck State. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. CT.
