CEU extends winning streak to seven
For the College of Eastern Utah men’s basketball team it has been a roller coaster of a season. Most games came down to the wire. Their recent games were much the same, with the exception of perennial whipping post Colorado Northwestern Community College; they were once again challenged, but able to pull out wins against CNCC, Snow College, and Salt Lake Community College.
This archived article was written by: Nathan Davis
For the College of Eastern Utah men’s basketball team it has been a roller coaster of a season. Most games came down to the wire. Their recent games were much the same, with the exception of perennial whipping post Colorado Northwestern Community College; they were once again challenged, but able to pull out wins against CNCC, Snow College, and Salt Lake Community College.
On Feb. 13, CEU took on CNCC in Rangely, Colo. This game played out according to the plan for the Eagles. Head Coach Chris Craig said that the game went well, and that “we got a good effort from everybody.” CEU overwhelmed CNCC from the start of the game.
In the first half CEU shot an impressive 66.7 percent from the field, and a staggering 87.5 percent from behind the arc. At halftime the Eagles took a commanding 54-22 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Eagles turned in another solid shooting performance and closed out the game 103-63. Michael Glover and Vander Jorquim led the Eagles with 16 points apiece. Chris Mast turned in 12 points and Tony Dalton contributed 11 in the CEU rout of CNCC.
After the win against the Spartans, CEU returned to Price where they faced off against Snow. This was the fourth meeting between the two teams, with the Eagles winning two of the three previous games. SC started slow, but challenged CEU down the stretch.
By the end of the first half CEU jumped out to a big lead, 54-31. But in the second half SC fought back, and made it a close game. In the end the Eagles were too much for the rival Badgers, winning 94-85. The Badgers were aided by good fundamentals, shooting 16-17 from the foul line. But it was not enough to overcome CEU.
Coach Craig said that “With the game on the line Dalton did his job, it was go get offensive rebounds” he said that the team “found a way to win.” Jonathan Mills and Nick Thompson each racked up 16 points. Mills pulled in nine rebounds.
After the win against Snow, the Eagles played their last regular season home game against the SLCC Bruins. The Bruins struggled from the field in the first half of the game shooting 24 percent, but went 12-12 from the foul line in the first half. At the second media timeout, SLCC had a 22-15 lead. The Eagles fought back and at the half, CEU had a slim 32-31 lead.
In the second half, the two teams played hard, and kept the score close. With 1:19 left in the game the Eagles clung to a one point 65-64 lead. In the end the Eagles were too much for the Bruins winning the game 70-65. Glover turned in another strong performance for the Eagles leading the team in scoring with 26 points.
CEU will now head on the road, on Thursday Feb. 25 where they take on No. 11 in the nation North Idaho College, and on Saturday Feb. 27 they will close out the regular season in Twin Falls, Idaho against the College of Southern Idaho. Craig said of the final regular season games that “I think they’ll probably come down to one-possession games, we’ve got to find a way to win on the road.”
After the close of the regular season the Eagles will return to the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center for the Scenic West Athletic Conference Tournament, which will be held at the BDAC from March 4-6.
