Photo by Jeff Barrett
By Logan Corta
It was a huge weekend for the USU Eastern Eagles at the Snow Classic in Ephraim, Utah as they upset the #2 team in the nation, Florida Southwestern. The Eagles were led by Gbenga Olubi, who finished with 19 points.
Eastern put on an impressive rebounding performance with two players in double digits against the Buccaneers. Dyson Lighthall had 11 rebounds to go with his 17 points and Noah McCord had an impressive 15 rebounds. The team finished with 49 rebounds in total. Kevin Bethel helped the team by adding 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Eastern was then able to keep the momentum rolling into the next day as they handled Jumpstart with a 91-54 win. Lighthall had another strong performance as he led all scorers with 12 points to go with his five rebounds and one block. Malek Malual and Mabenny Naam both had impressive performances with 11 points and nine rebounds each. Jael Vaughn added seven assists and 10 points to help push the Eagles to 5-0.
USU Eastern (5-0, 0-0) will travel to Texas for the first time to take part in a three-day tournament hosted by the 7th ranked team in the nation, Odessa College. The Eagles will open the tournament against the Wranglers on Friday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. MST.