The USU-Eastern men’s basketball team dipped to 2-8 on the season as they suffered back-to-back losses on the road Friday and Saturday in Rock Springs, Wyo.
An inconsistent shooting performance led to the team’s first loss of the weekend as they fell 74-64 to Western Wyoming. The Eagles were unable to regroup the following day as they suffered their sixth consecutive loss, this time falling to Laramie County 80-61.
After shooting 53-percent from the field in the first half, the Eagles cooled off as they connected on just 9-28 shots in the final 20 minutes. The struggles from the field contributed to the team’s 10-point loss to Western Wyoming in a closely contest game.
Sophomore Alex Morrell and Roman McNight paced the Eagles with 12 points each from a starting role. Koel Cutler helped boost the offensive production with 11 points off of the bench. The Eagles struggled from the foul line as they hit just 57-percent of their attempts.
Western Wyoming delivered a steady offensive performance as four members of the starting lineup finished in double-figures. Tyrell Isaacs led all scorers with a game high 15 points. Joshua Fearing chipped in with 13-points, nine of which came from beyond the three-point line.
USU-Eastern suffered their eighth loss in 10 games the following day in a 80-61 setback to Laramie County.
Troubles shooting from the field once again plagued the Eagles as they finished 1-11 from the three point line, and 8-15 from the charity stripe. USU-Eastern also committed 18 turnovers and recorded just seven assists.
Despite the loss, sophomore forward Cam Bailey delivered a double-double as he scored 21 points and accumulated 11 rebounds. Roman McNight finished the contest with 10 points and Alex Morrell ended with eight.
Elijah Oliver knocked down four three-point shots on his way to a 16-point performance for Laramie in Saturday’s win. Oliver’s reserve performance helped Laramie nearly double-up USU-Eastern in points off of the bench. Both Ola Ayodele and Harrison Meads recorded double-doubles.
USU-Eastern will have an opportunity to halt their six game losing skid as they return to the B-DAC for two games in two days. Friday the Eagles will welcome in Impact Academy, and the following day will host Utah Empire.