12/14/07: EOU Unimpressive in Victory

December 14, 2007

LA GRANDE- The Eastern Oregon University men did not appear to live up to its first game as a top ten team in their Thursday night victory over Walla Walla University (3-10), 80-62.

Eastern (9-1) (2-0) entered the evening as the sixth ranked team in the NAIA, the highest in school history. This was EOU’s first game since cracking the top ten on December 5.

The Mountaineers led by only six at halftime, 31-25. WWU then began the second half on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to just three, the closest the Wolves would come for the rest of the game. Eastern then made a run of their own, 20-6, to give some breathing room with 9:15 remaining, 53-36.

There were seven lead changes and one tie in the first half. EOU shot 46.7 percent from the field in the first period, compared to Walla Walla’s 47.6 percent.

The Mountaineers finished shooting 47.6 percent from the field, behind multiple double-digit scorers. Mark Carollo and Neil Fryer each scored 16 points to lead EOU, while Kyle Janke added 15 points.

Brett Weisner led all scorers with 17 points for Walla Walla. Gerard Dauphin also had 14 points for the Wolves. WWU finished shooting an impressive 72.7 from the perimeter, and 47.8 from the field.

This was a rematch of the opening season game in which Eastern cruised to a 108-78 victory in Hermiston. EOU will have almost no break as the Mountaineers travel to Northwest Nazarene (7-0) Friday evening for an exhibition game.

Also, following his 16 point performance, Hermiston native Mark Carollo is only 20 points away from breaking Eastern Oregon’s all-time scoring lead. His next chance to break it will be December 18 at Cascade College.