Sitting comfortably third in conference play, Eagles face SLCC this weekend
After a huge win against nationally ranked Northern Idaho College, the College of Eastern Utah men proved once again that they are superior.
Having beaten NIC 77-62 earlier in the year, winning 5 of 9 conference games, CEU came into the game ranked third in their conference.
The game started with both teams shooting the ball, putting up 30 shots each. CEU only converted on 11, while NIC converted on 14, and NIC quickly took the lead.
This archived article was written by: Riley Spears
After a huge win against nationally ranked Northern Idaho College, the College of Eastern Utah men proved once again that they are superior.
Having beaten NIC 77-62 earlier in the year, winning 5 of 9 conference games, CEU came into the game ranked third in their conference.
The game started with both teams shooting the ball, putting up 30 shots each. CEU only converted on 11, while NIC converted on 14, and NIC quickly took the lead.
Neither team went to the line much in the first half, combining for only eight free throws in the first half. CEU had two attempts and converted both. Going into the half CEU was down 29-35.
CEU needed to make up a lot of points. They started to score in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field. However, NIC was right behind them.
CEU got to the free-throw line more, making 11 of 16 attempts. With a final score of 88-72 the men lost despite scoring more than their season average of 67 points.
Felix Caspari and Steve Godell led in points, scoring 12 each. Caspari added eight rebounds to his stats, and Aaron England and Darington Hobson both contributed 11 points. Hobson also had eight boards.
NIC win
The next day the Eagles needed to come out strong. First half play started off identical to the first game, with NIC outscoring the Eagles from the field and the free-throw line. CEU shot 40 percent from the field in the first half and at the end of the half CEU was down 25-35.
In the second half, CEU played much better defense holding NIC to only 26 percent from the field, while CEU shot 46 percent. Including 5 three-pointers CEU out scored NIC 26-39, getting the win with a final score of 64-61.
Every CEU player scored in the game, and Rafael Moreira scored in double figures with 10 points, and 7 rebounds. Hobson had 10 boards in the game, and Stephen Franklin and Felix Caspari had nine each.
Snow games
The following weekend the men traveled to Ephraim to play cross-state rival Snow College. CEU won the last contest 84-78. But, all bets are off in a rivalry game.
In the first half CEU shot the ball 7-20 from the field while Snow shot 11-28. Three of CEU’s Field goals were from behind the arc. From the free throw line, CEU shot 5-14 while Snow went 6-9. Free-throw shooting has been a weakness for CEU all year, with the team average being .473.
In the second half CEU outscored Snow 50-45 but could not overcome the deficit. Both teams shot the ball better in the second half, with CEU shooting 59 percent from the field, In the end, CEU lost 75-72 in a close game.
The leading scorer in the game was Hobson with 21 points and nine rebounds. Caspari was right behind him with 19 points and three boards. Franklin also broke double digits with 10 points.
In the second game, both teams were hungry for the win. Snow came out in the first half, shooting an amazing 63 percent from the field, while CEU shot 40 percent.
Going into the second half, CEU was down by eight points, but they played much better during the second half, converting 14 of 22, and outscoring Snow in the second half and winning 70-75.
Kal Bay led the Eagles, scoring 23 points with four assists followed by Hobson with 16 points and Franklin with 12 points and 10 boards.
With CEU going 2-2 their last 4 games brings their record to 7-6 in conference play, sitting comfortably in third place. Their next two games are against Salt Lake Community College, ranked number five in the nation. The games are Feb. 29 and March 1 in Salt Lake City.
