By Jordan Buscarini, Castle Country Radio Sports:

Unable to overcome a slow first half the USU Eastern men’s basketball team suffered a 76-67 loss to the Western Wyoming Community Mustangs Tuesday afternoon in Rock Springs, Wyo.

Trailing 42-34 at the end of the first half, the Eagles battled back throughout the second. Unable to sustain momentum they were once again outscored in the 20-minute interval, this time 34-33, leading to the nine-point setback.

Redshirt freshman Gabriel Olivrira led USU Eastern with 12 points on an efficient 6-8 shooting performance. Turahn Thompson also reached double figures as he connected on five-of-six attempts, finishing with 11 points.

As a team USU Eastern struggled to find consistency from behind the three-point line, finishing a sluggish 8-24. Adding to the offensive woes, the team hit on just three of seven attempts from the foul line, while Western Wyoming ended 17-21 at the charity stripe.

Dayne Prim was one of four Western Wyoming players to reach double-digits, finishing with a game-high 18 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Trevor Trost finished with 15 points, Trey Marble contributed 13 and Sindou Cisse logged 10.

Tuesday’s loss dips the Eagles to 3-5 overall on the season and marks the third loss in the last four games for the team.

USU Eastern will return to the court this Friday as they play two games in two days with a road trip to Twin Falls, Idaho. Up first will be a meeting with Central Wyoming Friday, followed by a contest Saturday afternoon against Shoreline Community College.