by By William McLaughlin, EOU communications
ATHERTON, Calif. – Mountaineer Men’s Basketball had a bounce back win on Saturday afternoon in a hard fought 78-76 win over previously unbeaten Menlo College (8-1). With the victory, Eastern Oregon is back on the winning side of things and improves to 4-3 on the year.
How it Happened
• Despite the score being close in both halves, the Mountaineers shot lights out going 60.4% from the floor and were 53.8% from three-point range. They also went 72.2% from the free throw line.
• Defensively, Eastern allowed the Oaks to shoot 49.1% overall, but corral them from deep allowing just a 27.8 shooting percentage.
• Also playing a role in the win for EOU was the work from the reserves. The Mountaineers bench scored 26 points in the triumph compared to just 11 the night before.
• In the early going, the Mountaineers offense found their rhythm making shots and led by five, 15-10, against the Oaks.
• A triple from Preston Chandler gave EOU the five-point edge with 13:19 to play in the half. The fast start for the Mountaineers helped them lead by as much as 10 in the first half.
• The first 10-point edge for EOU came on a pair of Manny N’tula free throws at the 7:54 mark to make it a 26-16 game. The Oaks got within single digits before a layup and free throw by Phillip Malatare (Salish/Kootenai) put the score at 29-19.
• The Oaks made a push in the final 6:44 and cut their deficit to just one going into halftime. They used a 12-5 scoring surge that made it a 34-33 game. Nonetheless, EOU held a wire-to-wire lead the entire first half.
• In the second half, the Oaks were the ones that had the fast start. Eastern kept pace to start as the two teams traded buckets before Menlo pushed ahead 47-40 in the first five minutes of play.
• The Mountaineers stayed within striking distance and never allowed the Oaks to lead by more than eight points. It was not until late in regulation when EOU tied the game and things got interesting.
• With 6:27 to play in the game a deep three-pointer from N’tula capped a quick 5-0 run for the Mountaineers. His shot tied the game at 65-all and the two teams once again traded shots.
• Menlo responded to the 5-0 run with one of its own to go back ahead 70-65. Eastern was not phased and battled back to tie the game at 72-all with 3:03 left to play.
• Xavier Lovelace scored on a driving layup to tie the game and from then on, Malatare and Kendall Williams closed out the game.
• Malatare made a layup to give EOU the 74-72 edge before Menlo tied the game on free throws. A foul against Williams sent him to the line and he delivered, going to 2-2 to make it a 76-74 game with 1:36 to play.
• Two free throws tied the game back up at 76-76. Malatare then drew contact for a foul and nailed both free throws with 60 seconds to play. Eastern then locked down on defense and held off the Oaks for the 78-76 road win.
Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Phillip Malatare led all scorers with a game-high 23 points on 9-17 shooting. He was a perfect 5-5 at the free throw line and grabbed six rebounds.
