Box Score PRICE – Utah State Eastern men's basketball lost to the Arizona Western Matadors 81-78 on Friday in Chandler, Arizona.

After making the long trek to Greater Phoenix Area on Thursday, the Eagles got to work right away on Friday afternoon to begin their three games in three days road trip.

First half struggles on both sides of the ball for the Eagles would put them behind at halftime 46-32.

"The first half was horrible, our bigs missed a lot of layups and we the turned the ball overt oo many times. Also, our defense did not play in the first half," said USU Eastern Head Coach Vando Becheli. 

It would end up being a tale of two halves as the Eagles defense would adjust and play much better in the second half.

"We came out a little flat in the beginning but we really picked things up in the second half and showed we can comepte with anyone," said USU Eastern freshman guard Blaze Nield.

USU Eastern outscored the Matadors 46-35 in the second half led by the improved defense and the play of sophomore Ognjen Pantovic.

"We played zone and it gave them a lot of trouble because of traps. They had a hard time go against that which helped us hold them in scoring," said Becheli.

Pantovic scored 16 of his career-high 28 points in the second half. He also shot well from the perimeter as well making three from behind the three-point line.

"He has been working on his shooting to be able to score from the inside and outside. He is a very versatile player and played very well today," said Becheli.

The Eagles would be up by six with two minutes to go before letting the Matadors get back into the game and taking a lead.

"We didn't rebound well and they got second chances. They also made a lot of three's that we could have defended better," said Nield.

In the final seconds of the game, freshman guard David Andrew would take the final shot and miss the potential game-tying three pointer.

Sophomore Chase Berry was the second leading scorer against Arizona Western after finishing the game with 15 points.

"He did a great job attacking the paint and was big on the defensive side of the ball. He played with confidence and it was a big help for us tonight," said Nield.

Friday's loss moves the Eagles overall record to 10-4 on the season. They have lost three of their four games by three points or less.

The Eagles will quickly turnaround and play in Chandler tomorrow night against the home team Chandler-Gilbert at 6 p.m.

Broadcast information about Saturday's game will be announced at a later time.