Eastern Washington University’s men’s basketball team suffered its first home defeat against California Baptist on Friday, Dec 12. The Lancers won 88-83 against the Eagles behind 32 points from senior guard Dominique Daniels Jr.
The Eagles’ two victories this season have both been on Roos Court. EWU beat Eastern Oregon 91-73 on Nov. 17 and Kansas City 90-66 on Dec. 6. However, the Eagles were unable to extend the home winning streak to a third game.
EWU started the game quickly by scoring the first eight points. A layup from graduate student forward Kiree Huie shortly after gave the Eagles a 13-4 lead. The nine-point advantage was the team’s largest.
California Baptist responded with a 9-3 run to tie the game at 16. Daniels Jr. scored his first three points during the stretch. He is the Lancers’ leading scorer and is averaging 19.3 points per game.
The two teams went back and forth, trading the lead for the rest of the first half. Neither squad was able to earn greater than a five-point lead until Daniels Jr. made a three-point shot with six seconds left to put California Baptist up by six, 47-41. He scored 15 points in the first half.
Huie was the top EWU scorer during the first half. He scored 10 of his 23 points during the first period. His 10.6 points per game are the second-most on the team this season. He also led the team on Friday with six rebounds.
The Lancers began to pull away early in the second half. Daniels made two free throws and assisted on a dunk from junior forward Thomas Ndong that put California Baptist up by 11 points.
CBU maintained a lead of eight points or more until the last eleven seconds of the game, when graduate student guards Isaiah Moses and Johnny Radford both made three-pointers to cut the final lead to five points.
Moses led the team in scoring with 23 points. His 18.8 points per game average is first on the Eagles and second in the Big Sky Conference.
The Eagles also got a strong scoring performance out of junior forward Alton Hamilton IV. He scored 18 points and made 50% of his attempts. Hamilton IV ranks third on the team in scoring, second in assists, and first in rebounds.
EWU is now 2-8 this season. The team will search for its first road victory this week against Washington State on Dec. 17 in Spokane and Utah on Dec. 20 in Salt Lake City. The Eagles’ next home game is their first Big Sky game of the season. Eastern Washington will host Montana State on Thursday, Jan. 8.
