Eastern Washington University Athletics

 COLUMBIA, Mo. — Eastern Washington (1-2) battled hard but ultimately fell short against Missouri (2-1), losing 84-77 despite a strong second-half performance.
 
"I think we really battled for 30 minutes there," said head coach Dan Monson. "I'm really proud of the guys when the wheels came off in the last ten minutes in the first half and they were able to regroup well in the second half."
 
Andrew Cook and Mason Williams led the Eagles offensively, each scoring 24 and 20 points, respectively. As a team, Eastern outscored the Tigers 44-39 in the second half and capitalized on turnovers, scoring 22 points off Missouri's mistakes compared to just 17 points from Eastern's turnovers.
 
"We fought all the way down to end, and I am really proud of these guys."
 
The Eagles jumped out to an early 12-4 lead, with baskets from Sebastian Hartmann and Emmett Marquardt, and Cook contributing seven points in the opening minutes. However, Missouri quickly regained control, exploiting Eastern's turnovers to go on an 11-0 run and take a 15-12 lead.
 
The Tigers extended their lead with a dominant stretch, eventually pulling ahead by 15 points, 42-27, with 5:46 left in the first half. Despite the deficit, the Eagles fought back, trimming the lead to 10 points before Missouri scored a late bucket to take a 45-33 advantage into halftime.
 
"I feel like we outplayed them in the second half, but we made to many mistakes on Grill and let him get into a flow."
 
In the second half, Eastern came out firing, keeping pace with Missouri and chipping away at the Tigers' lead. A crucial three-pointer from Tyler Powell brought the Eagles within single digits. With 7:23 remaining, Eastern made a push, going on a 6-0 run to pull within two points at 68-70.
 
"We played better defensively in the second half it felt like it was free throws and Grill from them."
 
The Eagles continued to fight, staying close in the final minutes, but Missouri regained control with a 7-point lead at the 1:15 mark. Despite their late surge, Eastern ultimately fell to the Tigers 84-77.
 
Up Next
The Eagles will return home to face off against Cal Poly on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m.
 
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.

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