Eastern Oregon University's Phillip Malatare (0) goes for a basket during the second half of the match against Montana Western University at Quinn Coliseum, La Grande, on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. Eastern walked away with a narrow 67-61 victory in its home opener.  

LA GRANDE — The Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball team came away with arguably its biggest win in the tenure of interim head coach Chris Kemp, defeating No. 13 College of Idaho 93-91 at home on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

Junior Phillip Malatare was the hero in the victory, hitting a game-winning shot with just three second remaining in overtime to ensure the victory for Eastern. Malatare led Eastern with 27 points and added seven assists.

The game was neck-and-neck from start to finish, with the Yotes taking a slight 39-38 advantage at halftime. Both teams shot well in the first half, with both Eastern and the College of Idaho shooting around 50% from the field.

The second half came down to the final possessions, as the Mountaineers looked to gain a deciding basket. Seemingly every time Eastern took a slight lead, the College of Idaho managed to answer back with a score. Junior Zane Wright hit a two-point shot with just 27 seconds remaining to give Eastern an 82-80 lead. Drew Wyman’s two-point shot for the Yotes in the paint with 14 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 82-82.

On the final possession of the second half, Malatare missed on a two-point shot at the buzzer that could have won the game for Eastern. Despite the miss, Malatare’s night was far from over.

Malatare scored all 11 of Eastern’s points in the overtime period, including the fadeaway jumper with time winding down that gave the Mountaineers the victory. The win snapped a 10-game losing streak against the College of Idaho and improved Eastern’s record to 13-9 on the year and 7-7 in conference play.

Sophomore Xavier Lovelace had a strong showing for Eastern, tallying 13 points and nine rebounds on the night. Junior Ismael Valdez commanded the post efficiently, swatting three blocks, grabbing three rebounds and dishing out five assists — the center scored seven points.

The midweek victory is a major momentum boost for an Eastern team that will look to keep the momentum going in a weekend home stand. The Mountaineers will host Bushnell on Jan. 28 and face Corban on Jan. 29.