Malatare 

LA GRANDE — Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball player Phillip Malatare had himself quite a week. The point guard hit the game-winning shot in an unexpected upset victory and averaged 21 points per game as the Mountaineers went 2-1. The Cascade Collegiate Conference named Malatare its men’s basketball player of the week in an announcement Monday, Jan. 31.

Malatare led the way in a 93-91 overtime victory over No. 13 College of Idaho on Jan. 25, which was arguably one of the team’s biggest wins in recent years. It was Malatare’s 11 overtime points and game-winning fadeaway that led the charge for the huge upset victory. The guard drove to the right wing and connected on a shot from just inside the arc with three seconds remaining in overtime.

The native of Arlee, Montana, finished with a game-high 27 points off 10-20 shooting in the win over the Yotes, adding five assists and two rebounds.

Eastern lost a tough matchup to Bushnell 82-75 on Jan. 28, but bounced back with a 84-74 win over Corban on the following day. Malatare led the Mountaineers in scoring against Bushnell, tallying 22 points — he added five rebounds and dished out three assists.

In the win over Corban, Malatare contributed 14 points, four assists and three rebounds. The point guard fed the ball to the hot hand, as junior Xavier Lovelace led all scorers with 29 points on the night.

Malatare shot 52.3% across the three game swing and went 15-18 at the free-throw line. The junior is averaging 20.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this season.

The recent victories improved Eastern’s record to 14-10 on the year, sitting at sixth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference standings. The Mountaineers are set to travel this weekend, facing Walla Walla on Feb. 4 and Lewis-Clark State on Feb. 5. Eastern previously defeated Walla Walla 88-70 on Dec. 18 and lost to Lewis-Clark State 76-72 on Dec. 17.