Jose Briseno – USU Eastern Assistant SID
Photo courtesy of Dallin Grant
Over the weekend, the Utah State Eastern men’s basketball team hosted the USU Eastern Invitational. The tournament welcomed the College of Southern Nevada, Colorado Northwestern Community College, and Central Wyoming College.
To open the weekend, the Eagles faced off against a former conference foe, the College of Southern Nevada Coyotes. The Eagles started the game with an 8-0 run to force a CSN timeout just two minutes into the game. After the timeout, the Eagles continued to shoot the ball well, growing their lead to 16 points after seven minutes of playing time. Eastern’s largest lead of the half came with just over two minutes left in the half, 52-24. Thanks to 14 first-half points from Seven Bahati, the Eagles took a 52-32 lead into the half.
In the second half, Eastern’s lead never shrank below 20 points as the Eagles dominated the Coyotes in the second half. Eastern’s lead grew to 38 points at one point in the half as the Eagles walked away with a 36-point victory, 97-61.
Bahati led the Eagles with 22 points on 11-13 shooting. Ike Palmer (19 pts) and Bowen Davies (17 pts) finished the game in double figures.
On Saturday, the Eagles took on the Central Wyoming Rustlers, a team they had faced once before. The Eagles and Rustlers squared off to open the 2025-2026 season, a game in which the Eagles won 68-58.
USU Eastern started the game strong, jumping to a 14-5 lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half. Despite Central’s attempts to keep the game close, the Eagles extended their lead to double digits as the teams went to the half. Eastern held a 33-21 lead at the half behind a 10-point half from Bowen Davies.
After the break, the Rustlers rallied to shrink USUE’s lead to 8 points, but behind the efforts of Davies and Ike Palmer, the Eagles thwarted the Rustlers’ comeback. The Eagles saw their lead increase to 20 with four minutes left in the game. The Eagles closed out the game to win their sixth-straight game, 67-52.
Ike Palmer and Bowen Davies each finished the game with 17 points to lead the Eagles.
Next for the Eagles is the Eagle Thanksgiving Classic. The Eagles will welcome the Green River Gators, Treasure Valley Chukars, and Jump Start. Eastern is scheduled to play Green River on Friday, Nov. 28, at 7:00 p.m. and Treasure Valley on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 3:00 p.m.