LEWISTON, Idaho – Mountaineer Men's Basketball nearly pulled off the upset Wednesday night taking No. 3-seeded LC State to the brink in a 58-57 road loss in the CCC Tournament Quarterfinals. With the loss, Eastern Oregon finishes the year at 18-13.

How it Happened
• Helping the Warriors (22-9) in the win was a 43.8 field goal percentage, while their defense held EOU to 38.9%. LS State was just 5-15 from deep, while EOU finished 3-12. 
• 14 turnovers by the Warriors led to 16 points for Eastern to keep the game close. Bench scoring was nearly even with Lc State having a 17-15 advantage.
• The game was a close one the entire night as neither squad led by more than three possessions the majority of the contest. The largest lead for either team was seven points.
• The first five minutes was a low scoring affair as the Warriors led by just two, 8-6. EOU tied it at 8-all with 13:23 on the clock on a jumper from Paul Pennington.
• The Warriors then found a rhythm, going on a 9-2 run to go up 17-10. A jumper from Pennington and Cooper Lumsden got EOU within three, 17-14, midway through the half.
• LC State pushed ahead 19-14 before Phillip Malatare got the Mountie snack into the game. He nailed back-to-back jumpers to get EOU within one, 19-18, with 7:24 to play in the half.
• A pair of Preston Chandler free throws gave EOU the lead at 20-19 with just over five minutes to play.
• A surge by the Mounties late in the half helped them lead by six, 29-23, with 2:12 to play. Malatare and Ismael Valdez were key in the run scoring a combined nine points.
• Despite the surge by Eastern, LC State closed out the final two minutes of the half with a 5-0 run to cut the score to 29-28 at the break. All five points came from the free throw line.
• Leading by one. EOU was paced by Malatare who had 12 first half points. The team shot 50% overall on 12-24 made shots and was 3-6 from deep.
• Free throws helped the Warriors stay in the contest as they went 6-7 overall with a 5-6 mark in the final two minutes of play. 
• The first five minutes of the second half belonged to EOU as the team opened with a 9-3 run. Malatare established his rhythm, scoring six of the nine points to give the team a 38-31 lead.
• Defense then became the theme for a quick span in the second half. EOU led 38-31 with 15:51 to play in the game and the team's lead was at six, 39-33, with 12:23 to play in the game.
• The Mountaineers defense was stout though the first eight minutes, holding LC State to just one field goal in that span. The Warriors responded and went on a 10-4 run to tie the game at 43-all.
• The Warriors run helped them even things up with just over nine minutes to play in the game. The game was back-and-forth the rest of the night.
• The Mounties fell behind 54-50 with 3:04 to play but rallied late to go ahead by three. A 7-0 run, with Malatare scoring five gave the Mounties a 57-54 edge with 32 seconds to play.
• LC State held composure though and did not let EOU score the rest of the way. Eastern had a chance to win at the buzzer but Malatare's jumper rattled in and out to give the Warriors the win.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Phillip Malatare led all scorers with 23 points on 10-20 made shots to go along with 10 boards for a double-double.
• Xavier Lovelace chipped in eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds. 
• Preston Chandler and Justin Jeske each scored six points.

For the Warriors
• Silas Bennion led the offense with 16 points and grabbed a team best seven boards.
• Nathan Fromm added 12points in the win on 5-9 shooting. 
• Oreon Courtney chipped in nine points and grabbed five rebounds.

By the Numbers
3 - Phillip Malatare posted his third consecutive double-double.
2 - Two of the mountaineers three games against the Warriors came down to the wire.
3 - LC State held Eastern to just three made triples on the night.
10 - EOU outrebounded LC State by 10, 40-30. 
4 - The Mountaineers were held to a season low four assists in the loss.

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