During a two day home stay, the College of Eastern Utah hosted North Idaho College and Ricks College (BYU). The men split the two games, opening well against the Cardinals of North Idaho, but faltering to the Vikings of BYU Idaho.
The men opened up the game against the Cardinals strong. The Eagles lead throughout the game, at times, leading by as much as 20 points, but the Cardinals rallied back in the last few minutes of the game, reducing CEU’s lead by three. The Eagles did hold on however to win 68-65.
Renaldo Knowles, who is ranked fifth in the Scenic West Athletic Conference in three point field goals completed 2-3 long distance shots, along with the completion of 14 points to lead the team in scoring.
Nick Whiting tied Knowles in points with 14, while dishing out three assists, blocking one shot, and pulling down seven rebounds. Whiting also shot 100 percent from the free throw line with 2-2 shots completed.
Skyler Wilson and Terrence Wiggins followed in scoring with 10 points each. Wiggins also completed two assists, one steal, and seven rebounds. Currently, Wiggins is ranked in tenth place in the SWAC in rebounding with an average of 6.6 per game.
The victory against North Idaho boosted the self-esteem of the Eagles team and prepared them for the game against Ricks College the following night. The Eagles however seemed to play with less enthusiasm the second night of competition.
The Eagles played well during the first half of play, leading at half time by three points. The second half found the Eagles struggling against the Vikings, losing the lead and the game 68-65.
According to assistant coach Keith Berard, “the team didn’t play well in the second half. They held on tight, but not enough to hold on to the win. They just didn’t seem to click at the end of the game.”
The team did not seem to be on the same wavelength, but several players contributed quite strongly to the efforts of the team.
Wilson lead the team in scoring with 15 points, while completing 3-9 three point shots and completing four rebounds.
Whiting and Josh Hatch followed in scoring with each player scoring nine points against the Vikings. Whiting also completed 3-5 free throws, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals against the visiting Idaho team.
Defensively, Knowles contributed quite well with four steals, while Mindaugas Katelynas blocked one shot and pulled down two defensive rebounds.
The Eagles two game split makes the teams record 6-5 in the SWAC and 16-7 in all games played, leaving the teams game percentage at 69 percent for the year thus far.
The Eagles will host the Utah Valley Wolverines Thursday night at the BDAC at 8 p.m. and hit the road bound for Salt Lake Community College on Saturday.
The team hopes to rebound from the two game split this past weekend and close the door to any chance of victory for the opposing SWAC teams as the Eagles continue to climb up the ladder of success.
Eagles soar over Cardinals, but fall to Vikings
