Eagles sit atop SWAC
The College of Eastern Utah men’s basketball team had a busy Thanksgiving vacation, and had much to be thankful for. They chalked up wins against Sheridan College, Colorado Northwestern Community College, Snow College and Salt Lake Community College, while dropping
two games to Northwest Wyoming College.
This archived article was written by: Nate Davis
The College of Eastern Utah men’s basketball team had a busy Thanksgiving vacation, and had much to be thankful for. They chalked up wins against Sheridan College, Colorado Northwestern Community College, Snow College and Salt Lake Community College, while dropping
two games to Northwest Wyoming College.
First the CEU Eagles took on the NWC Trappers in Price. The Eagles were hurt in the first half by a poor shooting percentage, finishing the first half with only a 34 percent shooting average from the floor. But CEU kept the game close through the first half and at halftime, the Trappers had 41-34 lead. The Eagles looked better in the second half, and were able to make the game close, but in the end CEU couldn’t pull out the win, losing 83-77.
The Eagles were led in scoring by Jonathan Mills. Who had a double-double in the loss with 24 points,
and 19 rebounds.
After the loss to NWC, CEU
went on the road to Wyoming where they faced Sheridan College. The Eagles bounced back from the loss against WNC in this game and played well. Sophomore Nick Thompson had 21 points in an impressive game, going 9-10 from the floor. The Eagles were once again led by the play of Mills, who pulled in another double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. The final score was 85-75 with CEU taking the win.
Next the Eagles once again faced off against WNC. The Eagles were hoping to get a win against the Trappers, but once again fell to the team from Wyoming. CEU kept it close for much of this game, but lost 78-74. Isaiah Williams turned in a strong performance with a season high 31 points for the Eagles.
CEU then returned home to Price where they took on perennial cellar-dwellers Colorado Northwestern Community College. The Eagles had a field day against CNCC and overwhelmed them from the start of the game. Three CEU players had double-doubles in the win. Michael Glover had 10 points and 10 rebounds; Mills had 16 points and twelve rebounds and Jorquim Vander led the Eagles with 19 points and 12 boards. CEU shot 54 percent from the floor and won the game in impressive fashion by a score of 103-69.The Eagles then continued conference play and traveled to Ephraim Utah where they faced off against the rival SC Badgers. Snow opened the game strong and went on an 11-point run, leaving the Eagles down 11-0.
Head Coach Chris Craig, then made some changes in the defensive scheme, which halted the Badgers early run. In the second half, it was all CEU, and at one point the Eagles had a 22-point lead. Coach Craig said he was pleased with his teams balanced scoring, but was still concerned with the amount of turnovers that the team was giving up. The Eagles took the game by a score of 82-67.
Tony Dalton and Thompson led the team with 14 points each. Mills had 10 points and 10 rebounds, getting another double-double which seems to be par for the course for Mills this season.
The Eagles then headed north to face always-tough SLCC. The Eagles and Bruins fought hard the entire game and late the in game CEU’s lead was cut to two points. CEU was aided by good shooting from the foul line with late free throws from Dalton, Thompson and Williams contributing to the win. Dalton and Glover led the Eagles with 11 points each in the 71-65 CEU win.
CEU now sits atop the Scenic West Athletic Conference with a 3-0 record in conference play and a 6-3 overall record. They take on North Idaho College on Friday, Dec. 4, and the College of Southern Idaho on Saturday Dec. 5, at the BDAC. The games will start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
