Eastern Oregon University Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team leaned into the nation's top 15 in Monday's NAIA Div. 2 Top 25 poll.

The Mountaineers (18-6) (11-3) reached their highest ranking so far this season at No. 13 after defeating The College of Idaho Friday.

EOU joined three other Cascade Collegiate Conference teams in the national poll. Oregon Tech remained at No. 3, but received a first-place vote for the first time this season. Eastern was picked second in the league by the conference coaches for the first time this season, and come in at No. 13. The Evergreen State jump from No. 25 to No. 21 after falling at Oregon Tech and beating Southern Oregon. Warner Pacific fell from No. 7 to No. 23 after losing at home to Northwest Christian and Corban.

Walsh of Ohio (23-2) took the No. 1 spot away from Oklahoma Wesleyan, this week's No. 2. OWU (22-2) has been the top team in the country for the last 12 polls. OIT is third, Indiana-Southeast is No. 4, and Indiana Wesleyan comes in at No. 5.

Eastern's 258 points in Monday's poll is the highest it has received since the final poll of last season when it had 312 at No. 10. The Mountaineers were No. 11 in last year's poll at this time before it made it's run to the national quarterfinals. There are two more polls this season.

Eastern Oregon received 11 votes in the preseason poll before moving up to No. 23 in the first rating. EOU rose all the way to No. 5 last season in the first poll of the season. Eastern finished in the national quarterfinals. On Jan. 9, 2008, the Mountaineers climbed to No. 3, the highest ranking in school history.

The Mountaineers were predicted to have a fifth-place finish in the conference in the league preseason poll. Eastern travels to Corban (7-19) (2-13) and Northwest Christian (12-15) (8-7) Friday and Saturday to close out it's 2009-10 regular season road schedule.