Photo by Jeff Barrett
By Cory McKendrick, USU Eastern Sports Information Contributor
The USU Eastern men’s basketball team swept the three-game weekend, besting first with Idaho Select and then the home team Treasure Valley Community College, and finishing with Next Level basketball. The Eagles improved to 7-7 on the year as they dominated the weekend with an impressive 22-point victory margin across the three games.
In the game versus Idaho Select, rhe Eagles shot an impressive 56% from the floor and 70% from beyond the arc. Gabriel Oliveira led the way for the Eagles with a double-double, including 18 points and 13 rebounds. Donaval Avila, Jr. added 16 points and Christian Haffner added 16 as well, connecting on four of five three-point attempts. USU Eastern finished off the game in the final seconds at the free throw line, bringing the final score to 96-90.
The marquee matchup of the weekend was USU Eastern versus the home team, Treasure Valley. Trailing 29-27 at the end of the first half, the Eagles regrouped in major way to tie the game at the end of regulation, 69 apiece. USU Eastern’s bench was the spark that was needed in the second half. Haffner paced the Eagles’ offense as the leading scorer with 24 and another electric shooting night from three-point land, connecting on six of his nine attempts. Andreus Deckner added 18 points, eight assists and four rebounds off the bench to help the Eagles force overtime. The offense was on fire in the OT period, shooting 85.7% from the field, connecting on six of seven from the field and nine of 10 from the free throw line, to post an impressive 21 points in the five-minute overtime. The final score after OT was 90-76.
The Eagles kept on improving on the weekend as they had a 46-point blowout victory over Next Level Basketball. The final score was 121-76.
USUE men’s basketball, coached by Adjalma Becheli, are back on the court for the Salt Lake Community College tournament and will be squaring off against Tohono O’Odham Community College on Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. and then Impact Academy on Dec. 14 at 3 p.m. Games will be played at the Bruin Area in Taylorsville, Utah.