By: Cory McKendrick, USU Eastern Sports Information Contributor

Ontario, OR – The USU Eastern men’s basketball team swept the 3-game weekend, besting first, 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 3 games.

In the game versus Idaho Select, The 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, 18 points and 13 rebounds.  Donaval Avila, Jr. added 16 points and Christian Haffner added 16 as well, connecting on 4 of 5 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 27-29 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 Eagle offense as leading scorer with 24 and another electric shooting night from three-point land, connecting on 6 of his 9 attempts. Andreus Deckner added 18 points, 8 assists and 4 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 6 of 7 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free throw line, to post an impressive 21 points in the 5-minute overtime.  The final score after OT was 90 to 76.

The Eagles kept on improving on the weekend as they had a 46-point blowout victory of Next Level Basketball.  The final score was 121-76. USU E Men’s basketball Coached by Adjalma Becheli, are back on the court for the Salt Lake Community College tournament.  Squaring off against Tohono O’Odham Community College on December 13 at 3 p.m. and then Impact Academy on December 14 at 3 p.m. Games will be played at Bruin Area in Taylorsville, Utah.