PRICE, UTAH – Utah State Eastern men's basketball is preparing for their conference opener this Saturday after a successful tournament in Arizona.

The Eagles competed last week in the Arizona Challenge Tournament in Tucson and played four games in four days.

They did this without their Head Coach Vando Becheli, who was with his wife as they welcomed a new child to their family.

Leading the Eagles in Arizona was first-year assistant coach Ray Jones, Jr.

With Jones, Jr. as the interim coach the Eagles went 3-1 in the tournament and finished their non-conference schedule with a 10-7 record.

The Eagles picked up a win in their first game of the tournament against Just Hoops Prep. 

The following night the Eagles lost to tournament host Pima 99-81. 

However the Eagles would rebound and pick up wins the next two days against Bismarck State and Macomb.

"I like how the guys responded, they figured things out and played well in the last two games," said Jones, Jr.

Coach Jones said he thought that his team played their best against Macomb in the tournament finale.

"We played the best game we played all season, they really refused to lose in that game," said Jones, Jr.

Sophomore guard Neema Namdar said that he was proud of the way his team performed in Arizona and picking up more wins that losses.

"We share the ball really well and everyone had an attitude that we weren't going to lose when we stepped on the court," said Namdar.

The Eagles will now turn their attention to conference foe Salt Lake who comes to town this Saturday night.

USU Eastern players, especially local players, know how important the game against Salt Lake is for the conference title race.

This game Saturday against SLCC is really important game for us because they are ranked really high and if we can win at home and defend our house, we will be doing really well for conference play," said Namdar.

Saturday's game will tip off at 5 p.m. inside the BDAC on USU Eastern campus following the women's basketball game.

The game will be broadcasted live on YouTube on the Utah State Eastern channel or at koalitv.com.

For more information about the Utah State Eastern basketball team, check out Utah State Eastern Athletics on Facebook.