UTAH STATE EASTERN PRESS RELEASE
PRICE – Utah State Eastern men’s basketball defeated the Yakima Valley Community College Yaks 123-86 on Friday in Ontario, Oregon.
Not only did the Eagles win give them their second in two days, Friday night’s victory gave Head Coach Vando Becheli his 100 win at the helm of the program.
“It’s a honor and a privilege to coach and represent USU Eastern, its an institution that I love and respect so much. I am grateful to achieve my first milestone here as the coach of this program. I want to say thanks to the administration, my former players and coaching staff and everyone who has helped been a part of this program. I’m very happy and feel blessed here at USU Eastern and I hope there are many more wins still to come,” said Becheli.
After a close first half, the Eagles made adjustments and took control of the game in the second half.
“We put things together in the second half on defense and that led to more transition baskets. We also had a different approach and the results were much better with multiple guys finishing the game in double digits,” said Becheli. The Eagles would go on to outscore the Yaks by 30 points in the second half.
Sophomores Ognjen Pantovic and Matija Novkovic along with freshmen Blaze Nield and Flip Milosevic each had 18 points on Friday night. Milosevic, Keon Berghout, and Vojtech Ruzek each were in double figures coming off the bench.
As a team the Eagles shot 91% from the foul line, something that Coach Becheli was happy to see from his team. “We were so focused on shooting free throws and it helped us improve our percentage. I hope that we can keep improving our free throw percentage going forward,” said Becheli.
On the final day of the TVCC Holiday Classic the Eagles will take on tournament host Treasure Valley Community College at 7 p.m. on Saturday.