Eastern Oregon’s Sailor Liefke (22) looks to pass during the game Jan. 21, 2022, against Oregon Institute of Technology at Quinn Coliseum, La Grande. Liefke’s season earned her national recognition for her overall performance.

LA GRANDE — As winter’s end gradually approaches, basketball season is reaching its culmination.

The Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball team has overcome a series of obstacles under first-year interim head coach Chris Kemp, while the women’s team sparked a major run in the second half of the season to finish near the top of the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

“I think our guys are playing the best basketball they’ve played all year,” Kemp said. “I have high hopes that we’re peaking at the right time.”

Overcoming adversity

The Eastern men’s season has been far from predictable.

Just four games into the year, the program’s all-time leading scorer, Max McCullough, suffered a season-ending injury. Experienced guard Paul Pennington was injured early on as well, missing the first half of the year. The injuries were a recipe for disaster for a first-year coach, but the Mountaineers buckled down and found a way to succeed.

Transfers Phillip Malatare and Xavier Lovelace have stepped up in a big way, helping the Mountaineers clinch a spot in the 2022 conference tournament.

Eastern will enter the tournament as the No. 6 seed in the conference and face Lewis-Clark State on the road in the opening round. The Mountaineers lost to the Warriors 76-72 on Dec. 17 and 65-55 on Feb. 5. Eastern wrapped up the regular season with a 12-10 conference record.

Kemp noted that Malatare and Lovelace have been the team’s two most solid contributors this season, as expected when the program signed the transfers. Malatare is averaging 19 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while Lovelace is putting up 13.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest.

Kemp expressed that the team’s success and mentality have been spawned from much more than the team’s top scorers. Rotation players including Preston Chandler, Pennington, Justin Jeske, Cooper Lumsden, Zane Wright and Ismael Valdez also have contributed to the team’s success.

“A lot of those returners have stepped into newer roles and really blossomed,” he said. “That whole returning group has been a huge plus for us, just how they’ve played together and gelled as a group.”

In the wake of early-season injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic playing a big role in player availability, the Mountaineers managed to secure a winning record. As the postseason approaches rapidly, the team is as healthy as it can be and has its eyes set on a playoff push.

“I think that we grew a lot in our mental toughness,” Kemp said. “There have been some huge hurdles, but we’ve learned a ton and I think we’ll be able to draw on that as we move forward.”

Tip-off against Lewis-Clark State is set for 7 p.m. in Lewiston, Idaho on Feb. 23 in Portland.

“The guys have a mentality of just being road dogs, which is what we call it,” Kemp said. “We have to go be the same team on the road as we are here.”

Women’s team among conference elites

The Mountaineers women’s team did not get off to an ideal start, but conference play presented Eastern with a chance to rise to the top.

The team began the year 2-5, but rallied to a 21-9 record at the conclusion of the regular season. Eastern has remained among the top three in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, alongside Lewis-Clark State and Southern Oregon.

Eastern finished the season as the No. 3 seed heading into the Cascade Collegiate Tournament. The Mountaineers have clinched home-court advantage in the quarterfinal round and will face Warner Pacific at Quinn Coliseum on Feb. 22. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.

For some teams, home and away makes little difference. For Eastern, Quinn Coliseum has been a nightmare for opposing women’s basketball teams coming in to play the Mountaineers. Eastern compiled a 10-1 record at home this year, while going 7-4 on the road.

The Mountaineers have relied on a three-pronged scoring attack this year. Junior Sailor Liefke has led Eastern with 15.4 points and 3.3 assists per game, while senior Taylor Stricklin is averaging 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Freshman Adyson Harris has been a pleasant addition to Eastern’s rotation, averaging 12 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest.