Photo by Jeff Barrett
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The Utah State Eastern men’s basketball team has entered the holiday break with a 9-5 overall record, 1-3 in conference play. After a 5-0 start to the season, including an upset win over then No. 2 Florida Southwestern State, the Eagles have fallen in three of their last four games.
The season started on Nov. 3 with a convincing 80-47 win over Central Wyoming at the three-day Western Wyoming Tournament. Dyson Lighthall led all scorers with 16 points and added eight rebounds as well. Jael Vaughn was just behind him with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Day two of the Western Wyoming Tournament was another win for the Eagles over Northeastern Junior College, 76-67. Gbenga Olubi led the Eagles with 20 points and Jael Vaughn had 15 points, four assists and four steals.
The final game of the three-day Western Wyoming Tournament was a thriller as Jael Vaughn hit a game-winning floater with less than a second in the game to claim a 76-74 win over Western Wyoming. Vaughn finished with a career-high 24 points. Gbenga Olubi had 23 points and eight rebounds.
Eastern and Florida Southwestern State squared off on Nov. 11 in the Snow Tournament, held in Ephraim, Utah. The Eagles outscored the Bucs 44-34 in the second half to upset the then No. 2 team in the country. Dyson Lighthall posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Noah McCord scored seven points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
To cap off the 5-0 start, USU Eastern beat Jump Start 91-54 with 62 total team rebounds. Dyson Lighthall scored 12 points with five rebounds. Jael Vaughn recorded a double-double of his own with 10 points and 10 assists.
Eastern’s first blemish of the season came against Odessa College at the Odessa Tournament. The Eagles struggled to make outside shots in the 81-55 loss. Gbenga Olubi led USUE with 12 points and five rebounds. Dyson Lighthall added 11 points as well.
A 57-49 win over New Mexico Junior College on day two of the Odessa Tournament was led by 14 points from Jael Vaughn. Noah McCord pulled down 14 rebounds to go with six points.
The final game of the Odessa Tournament resulted in a win for USU Eastern. Dyson Lighthall’s 20 points, three rebounds and two blocks led Eastern to a 68-64 win over Midland College. Kevin Bethel contributed 16 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Eagles hosted a tournament of their own over the Nov. 25 weekend. Green River was the first opponent Eastern faced, but the team unfortunately fell 68-64. Gbenga Olubi scored 13 points and Noah McCord grabbed 13 rebounds.
The next day, The Eagles overwhelmed Umpqua Community College, 85-68. Dyson Lighthall posted a career-high 22 points and seven rebounds. Mark Huber added 12 points and five more rebounds.
Conference play began on Dec. 3 for USU Eastern with a trip to Southern Idaho. No. 5 CSI dominated Eastern in a 80-60 USUE loss. Jael Vaughn led the Eagles with 14 points and Noah McCord added 12 rebounds, 10 offensive.
Eastern hosted its conference home-opener on Dec. 10 against then No. 2 Salt Lake. Gbenga Olubi had 16 points and Kevin Bethel put up 11 points and six rebounds. Unfortunately, it was not enough as Eastern fell 76-60.
A second-straight home conference game saw Snow College travel to Eastern and play a classic rivalry game. Gbenga Olubi dropped 19 points, but Jael Vaughn’s three-pointer at the buzzer failed to fall as Eastern lost 66-64.
A trip to Redlands, California provided Eastern with a 105-40 win over Community Christian to break the losing streak. Tige Voorhees hit three three-pointers as part of his 19 points. Jack Jamele added another two shots from deep for 16 points.
Gbenga Olubi enters the holiday break as the leading scorer with 12.9 points per game. Noah McCord leads all Eagles with 10.1 rebounds per game. Kevin Bethel spreads the ball with a team-high 4.7 assists per game.
Defensively, the Eagles are one of the best teams in the conference. Unfortunately, the offense has not been able to provide the same production.
“We need to make some changes after the break,” said head coach Bill Evans. “We play good defense, we are one of the best in the conference defensively. Our offense, however, lacks the ability to score from the outside, so we need to make changes that allow us to score more from the outside.”
A tough non-conference schedule included eight-straight games on the road against teams that have proven to be formidable opponents. “We have some good quality wins over Midland College and Florida Southwestern State,” added Coach Evans. “Three of our five losses have come to teams currently ranked in the top 5. We have had one inexcusable loss and lost another we should have won, but I am pleased with where this team is currently at.”
Coach Evans knows that Eastern’s conference schedule will continue to be difficult as the season rolls to 2023. “Our schedule has been brutal,” said Coach Evans. “I hope down the stretch that we can continue to get better because of it. We still have six games against ranked teams left this season, and four of those six are on the road. We have some work to do, but I know this team is capable of winning those games.”
The Eagles will next take the court on Jan. 4 against the Colorado Northwestern Spartans. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center.