THATCHER — Eastern Arizona College opened the Chris Martin era with two victories over the weekend, defeating Phoenix College 79-67 on Friday before rallying from a 16-point second-half deficit to beat Lamar Community College 90-85 on Saturday at the EAC Spooktacular Classic.
The Gila Monsters begin the 2026-27 season 2-0 under Martin, who inherited a roster featuring five returning players and 12 newcomers.
Eastern Arizona controlled Friday’s season opener, building a 38-29 halftime advantage and maintaining its lead throughout the second half.
Sophomore Malachi Seely-Roberts (Newberg, Ore.) led the Gila Monsters with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Three other players finished with 13 points apiece. Delijah McAlpin (Katy, Texas) recorded a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while King-Riley Owens (Santa Monica, Calif.) contributed 13 points and three assists. Chris Okpagu Jr. (Dallas, Texas) also scored 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Eastern Arizona dominated the boards, outrebounding Phoenix College 49-30, and finished with nine blocked shots.
The Gila Monsters shot 45.9% from the field while holding Phoenix to 33.9%.
Noah Oliver led the Bears with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Saturday’s victory required a much different effort.
Lamar led 43-36 at halftime and extended its advantage to 60-44 with 15 minutes remaining before Eastern Arizona mounted its comeback.
The Gila Monsters answered with 12 consecutive points, sparked by 3-pointers from Jacob Rice (Aurora, Ill.) and Malachi Seely-Roberts. Moroni Seely-Roberts (Newberg, Ore.) added a three-point play, and Malachi followed with another 3-pointer to cut the deficit to four.
Eastern Arizona eventually tied the game at 68 on a Malachi Seely-Roberts 3-pointer with 7:35 remaining.
McAlpin gave EAC a 72-71 lead on a layup with 5:51 left, setting up a back-and-forth finish.
Freshman Deuce Newt (San Francisco, Calif.) took over down the stretch.
Newt, who finished with a game-high 27 points, knocked down three 3-pointers in a span of 1 minute, 21 seconds, helping Eastern Arizona turn a 74-74 tie into an 83-78 advantage.
Malachi Seely-Roberts followed with another 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining, stretching the lead to six.
Aiden McIntyre (Inglewood, Calif.) connected on two free throws with 34 seconds remaining, and Moroni Seely-Roberts added two more with one second left to secure the victory.
Newt finished with seven 3-pointers, while Malachi Seely-Roberts scored 20 points and connected six times from beyond the arc. Eastern Arizona made 16 3-pointers as a team.
Moroni Seely-Roberts added nine points, Owens scored eight, and McIntyre, Rice and McAlpin contributed seven apiece.
Shay-Den Yarde led Lamar with 18 points, followed by Favion Kirkwood with 16.
Eastern Arizona outscored Lamar 54-42 in the second half.
Through two games, Malachi Seely-Roberts leads Eastern Arizona with 35 points, nine 3-pointers and 15 rebounds.
The Gila Monsters return to Guitteau Gymnasium this weekend for the Gila Monster Shootout.
Eastern Arizona will host Salt Lake Community College on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m., followed by Community Christian College on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 5 p.m.
