>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — He said he had to be creative, needing to find ways to motivate his players. With nearly two weeks between games, EOU head coach Ryan Looney was trying to make his Mounties as prepared as possible for this NAIA Division II National Tournament.

Well, if Wednesday’s game is any indication of Looney’s creativity, then it appears his front lobe is working just fine.

EOU 93, Edward Waters 62.

On to round two.

The victory marked the first postseason win since the 1950s for men’s basketball. This was the first appearance in the national tournament for both EOU and Edward Waters.

“We kind of had a balanced night offensively,” Looney said. “Lots of different people contributed.

“But I think the overwhelming thing is we just outplayed them in all the toughness areas.”

Four Mounties players scored in double digits, led by 20 points from Dan Blanchard, who continues to elevate his game late in the season.

Mark Carollo, the all-time leading scorer in Mounties history, added 18 points. Neil Fryer had 14. And Paul Carollo had 12 points.

EOU ripped of a 20-2 run in the first half, sending the game into the intermission with a 38-16 lead. From there, they continued to dominate.

Especially on the glass.

Paul Carollo, the all-time leading rebounder in Mounties history, had 12 rebounds for a team that won this category 59-36 — an “unbelievable job,” Looney said.  And get this: Edward Waters was the best team in the nation on the glass entering this game.

Unbelievable job?  That’s like saying Nascar driver Tony Stewart likes to voice his opinions. A vast understatement.

“We made an effort in practice to try to win the rebounding war, and more than did that in the game,” Looney said.  “We probably had as hard an effort as we had at any point in time rebounding it.”

The Mounties play the College of Ozarks at 5:30 p.m. PST Friday in round two. With a win, they will advance to the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Saturday.