LA GRANDE, Ore. – The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team fell victim to a strong Eastern Oregon squad, 88-70, on Day 1 of the Quinn Classic in La Grande, Ore. Senior Mountaineers guard Case Rada drilled six three-pointers and scored a season-high 27 points as the home side found victory on their home hard wood.

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After trailing for nearly two minutes to start the contest, Rada's jumper from downtown gave the Mountaineers the lead for good. In addition to 27 points, Rada dished out four assists and had zero turnovers on the evening. Sophomore guard Tate de Laveaga tallied 19 points and eight assists, including five three-pointers.

Causing the Vikes nightmares in the paint for 31 minutes, senior forward Kalvin Johanson recorded a career-high 18 points to go along with nine boards. Meanwhile, junior guard Kentrell Washington nearly had a triple-double with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists. 

Three players scored in double figures for the Vikes, as Jordan Charles (16), Reiner Theil (15), and Joshua Charles (11) carried the load offensively. Theil also put up a team-high 12 rebounds, while Jordan Charles was 3-for-8 from distance. The Vikes shot 70 per cent from the field, while conceding 15 turnovers to Eastern Oregon's five.

After Mack Roth's jumper from beyond the arc tied the contest at 17 apiece with 12:15 remaining in the first half, the Mountaineers responded with back-to-back three-pointers by Rada and de Laveaga to keep pace.

Victoria crept to within one (28-27) with 9:13 left to play, but jumpers by Washington and Johanson ignited a 17-4 EOU run over the next seven minutes to put the Navy and Gold on top, 45-31.

EOU led at the break, 47-35. Both squads shot over 42 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but the Mountaineers shared the wealth offensively, dishing out 15 assists compared to only six by the Vikes.

Victoria opened the second half with a 27-16 burst to pull within three (61-58) at the 10:10 mark. A three-pointer by de Laveaga and a trio of free throws by Johanson stretched the Navy and Gold's advantage to seven (67-60), and then Rada drilled a dagger from downtown to put the Mountaineers back up by double digits (70-60) for the remainder of the game.

Up next the Vikes will play College of Idaho on Oct. 31 at 3:00 p.m. The game will be live streamed here: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/eou/

SCORING BY HALF
               1       2       F
UVIC:    35     35    70
EOU:     47     41    88
 
SCORING LEADERS
UVIC: Jordan Charles (16), Reiner Theil (15), Joshua Charles (11)
EOU: Case Rada (27), Tate De Laveaga (19), Kalvin Johanson (18)