USUE opens SWAC home game against #20 in nation
The Utah State University Eastern mens basketball team is still looking for its first conference win of the season after its two road games during the past two weeks.
“We went into each of these games prepared, optimistic and ready to play,” said assistant coach Ray Jones Jr. “We know we can play 40 minutes of good basketball and that’s what we intend to do.”
The coaching staff is disappointed with the outcome of the prior games and the 0-2 win-loss ratio in conference play. However, they are still optimistic for the future and that’s why they keep coming back to work hard and play basketball.
CSI 69-Eastern 55
The Eagles basketball team lost its first conference game of the season 69-55 to the College of Southern Idaho on Jan. 4, in Twin cae Eagles scored 25 points in the first half and 30 in the second while CSI scored 39 points in the first half and tied Eastern at 30 points in the second.
The Eagles had several players score, with all of them scoring at least a few points.
Top scorers of the gamer were Donoval Avila Jr., Turahn Thompson and Gabriel Oliveira. Avila scored 10 points with six rebounds and three assists. Thompson scored nine points, nine rebounds and three assists. Oliveira scored eight points and had two rebounds.
Eastern had a 39 shooting percent in the field, 18 shooting percent from the three-point line and 45 shooting percent from the free-throw line.
Snow 71- Eastern 56
Eastern lost its second game of conference 71-56 to Snow College on Jan. 9 in Ephraim, Utah.
Eastern was outscored in both halves as they scored 27 points in the first half and 29 in the second while Snow scored 35 points in the first half and 36 in the second.
The Eagles did well in terms of scoring. Top scorers of the game were Donoval Avila Jr., Dillon Sorenson and Vojtech Ruzek. Avila scored 10 points, five rebounds and five assists. Sorenson scored six points, two rebounds and two assists. Ruzek scored five points, four rebounds and one assist.
The Eagles are now 9-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The next game will be against Salt Lake Community College on Thursday, Jan. 16, at the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center in Price, Utah.
Salt Lake Community College is 17-4 overall and has a SWAC record of 3-0. SLCC is also the #20th-ranked junior college basketball team in the nation. This will be the first home conference game for USUE.
“I’ve been really excited for this game since the beginning of the season. I put a star next to it on the schedule,” said Christian Haffner. “It’s going to be a really fun and competitive game.
This game is a rivalry game between the two schools and could determine how the rest of the season goes for the Eagles.
