| Mindaugus Katelynas soars above the competition as he pulls down the rebound during a preseason game earlier this year. Katelynas has offered the Eagles consistant rebounding as well as excellent shooting this year. |
The College of Eastern Utah men’s basketball team traveled to Arizona prior to the Christmas holidays. The team competed in a three game road trip which ended in disappointment for the Eagles squad.
The team competed against Mesa Community College on Dec. 19. The game ended in a fashion which the Eagles were not expecting.
After playing strong against every competitor, the Eagles entered the game with a 10-1 overall record. By the time that the smoke had cleared, the Eagles were handed their second loss of the preseason by the final, 82-64.
With the road loss behind them, the Eagles moved on to compete the following day against the Phoenix College Bears.
In this match up, CEU picked themselves up and played a lot stronger and made fewer mistakes. The improvement lead to a 75-61 victory for the Golden Eagles.
To round out the three day roadie, the eastern Utah team stepped up to compete against Glendale Community College.
Once again, the Eagles struggled to make things happen on the court as they squared off against the talented Glendale team. Only shooting 47 percent from the field, the Eagles fell to the Gauchos, 77-64.
The loss brings the Eagles overall preseason record to 11-3 with the regular season scheduled to begin Jan. 2 in Orem as CEU faces the Utah Valley State College Wolverines.
The final preseason game may have proved to be disastrous as the team struggled to sink their shots as well as giving up 16 turnovers. The Eagles know that these difficulties have to be worked out by the time that the opening whistle blows in Orem.
Against the Gauchos, GJ Macon lead the Eagles in scoring with 19 points. Macon was followed by first year Eagle, Anthony Grant who posted 10 points while PJ Stinnett and Corey Brown each scored seven points.
The Eagles not only shot poorly from the field, but they also struggled from the free throw line as they shot only 50 percent while their opponents shot 89 percent from the line.
Although the team suffered two losses in one weekend, the team is not worried about how well it will perform in the Scenic West Athletic Conference this year. The team is lined with talented players and is bound to be a strong competitor this year against conference opponents.