KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – A furious last minute Oregon Tech rally came up just short, as No. 2-ranked College of Idaho rode a 28-12 edge in points at the foul line to a 78-75 victory over the Hustlin’ Owls at Danny Miles Court.
OIT (6-2, 1-1 CCC) trailed 74-66 inside the final minute – but 3-pointers from Erik Fraser and Jamison Guerra, along with three free throws from Guerra, cut the C of I lead to 77-75 with 11 seconds left. The Yotes Caden Handran was fouled – making the first of two free throws – but missed the second, giving Tech a chance. Guerra created an opening at the buzzer, but his 22-footer as the horn sounded to force overtime rattled around the cylinder and popped out to end the contest.
The Hustlin’ Owls ended the Coyotes (6-2, 1-1) 26-game rebound victory – holding a 31-28 edge on the glass – while hitting 56-percent of their second half field goals, but could not rattle the defending NAIA champs, seeing their 4-game win streak snapped. C of I made 28-of-36 free throw chances, capitalizing on 23 more chances from the stripe than their opponents.
The game featured seven ties and 17 lead changes – as the Owls led 28-27 late in the first half, but a Samaje Morgan 3-pointer and a Straton Rogers lay-up gave the visitors the halftime lead. OIT rallied early in the second half, as Kam Osborn hit back-to-back 3-pointers in an 8-0 run, giving Tech a 36-34 lead.
The Owls led 49-47 midway through the half, but Morgan took over – scoring 8-straight points – as C of I grabbed a 65-56 lead – setting up the finish.
Guerra ended the night scoring 19 points, with Keegan Shivers scoring 13, adding nine rebounds and five assists, before fouling out with 90 seconds remaining. Fraser tied a season-high with 12 points, Jay Elmore scored 11 off the bench and Osborn scored 10.
Morgan led all scorers with a career-high 27 points, as the C of I point-guard finished 12-of-12 from the foul line. Johnny Radford scored 15, with Rogers and Tyler Robinett scoring 11.
Tech has next week off in preparation for road dates at Northwest (Dec. 15), Evergreen (Dec. 16) and Southern Oregon (Dec. 20).
