PORTLAND, Ore. - After securing a spot in the 2024-25 CCC Men's Basketball Tournament Presented by U.S. Bank with four games to play in the regular season, Multnomah continued their historic season with a narrow 87-86 win at home against Eastern Oregon University. Tonight's win is Multnomah's first against the Mountaineers in the past five years, while also improving the Lions to 16-8 on the year and 12-7 in conference play.

"EOU has been playing solid basketball throughout the season and dominated us the first time we played them, so I knew tonight was going to be a battle of mental and physical toughness," shared head coach Tayo Gem following the win. "Wins such as this continue to show us how special and connected this team is. We continue to 'get better at being us,' and I'm so proud of this group and how they continue to win battles of adversity."

Gem and the rest of the squad don't have any plans of slowing down with the post-season conference tournament right around the corner. "We have all the momentum going into what could potentially be the last game played in our gym, and we wouldn't want it to be any other way than against the #3 team in the country!"

It was EOU who took control of the game early in the first half, extending their lead to 11 with a bucket from James Bodily with just under nine minutes remaining in the period. From then on, Multnomah continued to chip away at the visitor's advantage, before taking the lead for the first time thanks to a layup from senior guard Kadeem Nelson in the final minute of the half. Fellow guard Lareel Stewart added one more layup in the dying seconds of the period, giving the hosts a narrow three-point lead heading into the halftime break.

The Lions continued to control the contest out of the halftime interval, extending their lead over the Mounties to nine through a three-point play from sophomore guard Marje Windfield early in the second half. The visitors were able to pull themselves back in the contest with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half, leading to a four minute period that saw the lead change six different times.

The defining moment of the game came in the final minute, when junior forward Noah McCord sank a crucial three-pointer to give the Lions a two-point lead. The hosts were then able to draw a quick foul, which resulted in a pair of made free throws from Windfield to secure the win in dramatic fashion.

McCord recorded a team-high 16 points along with a game-high seven rebounds on the night, while Keilan Torkornoo added 16 points and three rebounds of his own. Windfield and Nelson added 15 points and 13 points respectively, while sophomore guard Noad Madsen tallied 10 points and a game-high four steals.

The Lions will look to continue their historic season with a win in their final home game in program history tomorrow, as they host College of Idaho at 5:00 pm.