The Outrigger Rainbow Classic was underway in Honolulu, Hawai'i on Friday (Nov. 11) and Eastern Washington opened up its tournament play. Eastern fell to Yale, 74-60, in the first of three games in Honolulu.

The Eagles had a one-point lead at halftime, but Yale surged in the second to win by double digits. Steele Venters led Eastern with 15 points, connecting on 3-of-8(37.5%) three-point shots. Ethan Price added 14 points and six rebounds.

"We moved the ball well as a group in the first half. But then we did it individually in the second half, where in the first half we were playing as a team," head coach David Riley said. "We didn't shoot a good percentage and we didn't have the needed energy. It was the second game that we were outrebounded. I think we need to trust in our plan. We've worked on rebounding this week and we need to work together to get that fixed for Sunday."

The first half was a back-and-forth contest as the teams worked to run their offense and out maneuver the other. Eastern had a 12-10 lead at the first media timeout after Price had drained a three-point shot. The Eagles would fall behind 14-17 but charged back in front with baskets from Deon Stroud and Venters. Cedric Coward would score five points that gave Eastern a 31-24 lead at the four-minute mark in the first half.

The first half would end with the Eagles holding a slim, 33-32 lead. Eastern shot 44.8 percent in the half, while Yale was right behind with a 40.0 line.

As the second half began, the Bulldogs took the lead with a 6-0 run in the first three minutes. After two made free-throw from the Eagles, Yale ripped off a 19-0 run to put themselves in complete control of the game. Eastern did not let the lead get any bigger than 19, but they were not able to put together enough scoring runs and defensive stops to make up any ground on the Bulldogs.

Yale defeated Eastern Washington, 74-60. Eastern falls to 0-2 on the season, with Yale improving to 2-0.

Key Statistics
Eastern forced 16 turnovers from Yale but had 16 of its own.

Steele Venters was 5-of-11(45.4%) from the floor and had four rebounds in the game.

Ethan Price was tied for the game-high in rebounds and was 3-of-6(50%) from three-point range in the game.

Casey Jones scored in double figures for the second consecutive game with 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting.

The teams tied with 20 points each in the paint.

Up Next
Eastern Washington will be off on Saturday and then play Hawaii on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. Pacific Time.