| CEU’s Jake Nelson, wearing head gear to protect him, dribbles the ball down court in a game against SLCC this past weekend. |
With no room left to move in the standings, the College of Eastern Utah men’s basketball team went after number three Salt Lake Community college for some positive momentum before heading into the Region 18 tournament.
Out of two games the Golden Eagles came away with a split by losing on Friday night 93-86 but finding victory on Saturday evening pounding the Bruins 91-65.
Friday night did not go as planned for the Eagle squad as the Bruins came out hot. CEU was determined not to let the game slip away and kept it close through the half. They faded in the waning minutes of the first period to fall behind by six.
In the second period of action the teams squared off with even more intensity. The offense of both teams picked up as did the scoring.
Tyler Kepkay was on fire with 22 points. Mike McCrary added another 21 points, but the first period hole was a bit more than CEU was able to come back from.
On Saturday night the Eagles enjoyed the pleasure of a 5 p.m start time. It seemed to be a blessing for the team as they jumped out to a fast paced lead. The Bruins were cold, hitting 40 percent while the CEU squad was smoking at 67 percent. A 25 point lead going into the locker room gave the Eagles a lot to smile about.
The second period of play saw the Eagles shooting go ice cold. Their percentage dropped to 20. But the free throw line was there saving grace. They were sent to the line for 32 attempts and they hit 25 of them.
That kept them in the game and they were able to walk away with the victory.
Now the team goes into the region playoffs by traveling to North Idaho. There CEU will face Snow College on Thursday night at 5 p.m. Snow College is 7-11 in regular season play.