Press Release
The Utah State Eastern men’s basketball team picked up a much-needed road win Thursday by defeating the Colorado Northwest Spartans 82-71.
Thursday’s win in Rangley snaps a two-game losing streak for the Eagles and moves them up to third in the Region XVIII standings.
USU Eastern head coach Vando Becheli said that he was happy to get a road win and see his team play well as a unit.
“We played as a team and it showed with having 17 assists, so that means we were sharing the ball well,” said Becheli.
The Eagles only trailed the Spartans for the first two minutes of the game before controlling the scoreboard the rest of the night.
Sophomore forward Nico Rojas said the whole team played well together, especially the players coming off bench for the Eagles.
“They really helped us because you can’t win a game with only first five. It is amazing to have guys go in and score when the starters are sitting and the intensity is still the same,” said Rojas.
One of the key contributors for Thursday’s win was freshman forward Ognjen Pantovic, who played 19 minutes off the bench. Pantovic finished the game with 13 points, six rebounds and five blocks for USU Eastern.
“He played great offensively and defensively. His presence inside intimidated their guards on defense and he ran the floor well on offense which was huge for us,” said Becheli.
Leading the Eagles in scoring with 21 points against Colorado Northwest was sophomore forward Rafael Montero. Monteiro is second on the team in scoring with 12.9 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding with 5.8 rebounds per game.
“He (Monteiro) really is smart when he plays and knows when to cut. When he scores, it comes at crucial times and when we really need it,” said Rojas.
The Eagles will have a quick turnaround as they take on the fourth ranked Salt Lake Community College at home on Saturday. Three weeks ago, the Eagles went to three overtime periods with the Bruins, but ultimately lost 124-111.
This time around, Becheli and the Eagles will try to limit mistakes such as poor fouling and bad turnovers to upset SLCC.
“We know Salt Lake is a great team and we got to play solid tomorrow with limited turnovers and rebounding will be crucial,” said Becheli.
Tipoff for Saturday’s game against SLCC is set for 5 p.m. inside the BDAC. Fans that are unable to make it to the game can watch the game live on the USU Eastern Athletics YouTube channel.