Eagles Lose To UNC 79-66; Tourney Hopes Dim

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — Eastern Washington’s hopes of qualifying for the Big Sky Conference men’s basketball tournament took a big blow Saturday night in Greeley, Colo., when the Eagles lost to Northern Colorado 79-66.

The Eagles dropped to 6-9 in league play and now trail sixth-place Montana (6-7) by two games in the loss column. Only the top six teams in the league advance to the Big Sky tournament, which gets under way on March 8.

Adris DeLeon led Eastern Washington with 27 points on 10-19 shooting from the field, with three three-pointers. DeLeon also had three steals.

But the Eagles committed 18 turnovers and allowed the Bears to grab 12 offensive rebounds in getting outrebounded 38-25.