CHENEY, Wash. – A clean and relatively efficient offensive performance was negated by rebound woes in a 94-66 exhibition loss for the University of Providence men's basketball team against Eastern Washington University.  Of UP's three exhibitions against NCAA Division  I teams in 2017-18, the 28 point margin against EWU was the closest.
 
In the first half, senior starters Steven Daho-Clark, Treyvon Bashir, and Matthew Brooks McGregor combined to score 20 of the team's 34 points. UP shot a slightly less than ideal 41 percent in the half but played one of the team's cleanest 20 minutes of the season, committing just 2 turnovers.
 
Over the course of the team's 12 games in 2017-18, the Argos have averaged over 7 turnovers per half.
 
Taking care of the ball was a key factor in the Argos keeping the score within single digits for a majority of the first period. With less than a minute to go, EWU led by 13 but Daho-Clark scored 5 points in the last 40 seconds to pull UP within 44-34 at the break.
 
After halftime, UP reverted back to the mean in terms of turnovers, losing the ball 7 times in 20 minutes. The team's shooting percentage also dropped a touch but 4-8 shooting from three was the highlight of the period.
 
Despite that shooting, Eastern Washington pulled away in the second half to eventually take its 28 point lead. What  hurt  the Argos the most was a distinct disadvantage on the glass. EWU outrebounded UP 42-27 throughout the game and turned 13 offensive boards into  15  second  chance  points.
 
Daho-Clark led the team with 14 points on 5-7 shooting in 18 minutes of play. Juniors Deontae Woodbridge and D'Shea Williams also poured in 10 points each.
 
With the game only  counting  as an exhibition, UP's record stays at 7-5 (1-1). The Argos will jump back into Frontier Conference play with a road game against Montana State University-Northern on January 2, 2018.