The USU-Eastern Eagles fell just one-point short for the second time in as many Scenic West Athletic Conference games, this time falling to the Colorado Northwestern Community College Spartans 53-52 Saturday night at the B-DAC in Price.

Locked in a close game throughout, sophomore Roman McNight’s potential game-winning shot rimmed out at the buzzer in Saturday’s loss. Despite the miss, McNight posted the best offensive performance of the night, connecting on 8 of 11 attempts, while scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the loss.

Tied at 24 entering the break the lead changed 33 times throughout the contest. Neither team found a consistent groove offensively as they combined for 38 turnovers, while both shot under 40-percent from the field.

Marquel Murphy paced Colorado Northwestern with 11 points and six boards. Andrija Blatancic and John Parker both contributed nine points, and Jaxon Barlow scored eight as the Spartans improved to 1-1 in conference action.

Finishing just 12-percent from the perimeter, the Eagles had only five players score at least one-point. Sophomore Cam Bailey again helped bolster the offensive production as he finished with 12 points. Quinn Peters finished with nine points, and Koel Cutler ended with six.

Still in search for their first conference win of the young season, the Eagles will travel on the road for their next four league games. Up next the team will take their longest road trip of the conference slate as they travel to Twin Falls to meet Southern Idaho. Saturday the Eagles will meet the unbeaten Snow College Badgers in Ephraim.