Three Mountaineers Earn All-CCC Honors
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, March 2nd, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Release from Eastern Oregon University) The Cascade Collegiate Conference announced the 2022-23 men’s basketball postseason honors on Tuesday morning. Eastern Oregon University was well represented with three members earning All-Conference honors in Phillip Malatare, Adam Orr, and Emmit Taylor III. Malatare also was named the CCC Player of the Year.
“I am excited that our guys were recognized by our conference for the year they had,” Head Coach Chris Kemp said. “I could not be more proud of Phillip. He was our guy all year and even with all the pressure he was our most consistent player.”
Malatare had another phenomenal season for the Mountaineers after being named the CCC Newcomer of the Year a year ago. This time around he has been named the Player of the Year and an All-Conference honoree. The senior out of Arlee, Mont. led the conference in scoring averaging 19.1 points per game this season while shooting 51.7% from the field and 42.3% from deep. Not just a scorer, Malatare also averaged 6 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 steals through the season.
“He is a special talent and I am glad we were able to turn that in to a lot of team success,” Kemp said. “We are not even close to the same team without all he brought each night.”
The last Mountie to earn the Player of the Year award was Max McCullough in the spring of 2021.
Also earning All-Conference honors was Emmit Taylor III. Taylor was a new addition to the EOU roster this year and made an instant impact. The senior provided a spark off the bench for the Mounties averaging 11.8 points per game on 39% shooting from the field and 36% shooting from beyond the arc. Taylor, a transfer from Idaho State University, was second on the team in scoring this year.
The third Mountie earning postseason honors was Adam Orr who was named Honorable Mention All-Conference for his work on the court. Orr, another addition to the team this season, came on as a grad-transfer from Menlo College. The graduate student proved to be one of the best shooters in the country scoring 10.2 points per game on 46.7% shooting from the field and 46.4% shooting from deep. The 6’4 guard ranked in the top-30 in the nation in three-point percentage while taking more attempts than anyone else in that group.
“Emmit and Adam were like interchangeable parts both being able to spread the floor and stretch the defense,” Kemp said. “Both also hit clutch shots in big moments this season.”
Eastern Oregon remains alive in postseason play having clinched their spot in the national tournament. Matchups will be announced on Thursday evening. Opening round games are scheduled to start on March 7 and 8 at various campus sites.
