ASHLAND, Ore. – Jamison Guerra forced overtime with a driving lay-up and Erik Fraser capped a 27-point night with a corner 3-pointer late in the extra session, helping Oregon Tech outlast Southern Oregon, 92-88, in the 250th meeting between the rivals inside Lithia Motors Pavilion.
The Hustlin’ Owls (9-2, 4-1 CCC) erased a 14-point first half deficit with a 25-4 second half run – only to see SOU answer with an 18-5 spurt to take a 76-72 lead with four minutes left. A 3-point play from Blake Jensen pulled Tech within 78-77 and after Khalil Chatman split two free throws, Guerra converted a contested lay-up with 21 seconds left to tie the score.
The Raiders (6-5, 4-1) had a chance to win the game, but Mason Whittaker missed an open 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Tech never trailed in the extra session, as a Guerra 3-point play with two minutes left gave the visitors an 86-83 lead. Casson Rouse gave SOU hope, draining a long triple with 36 seconds left to cut the deficit to one – but Fraser answered, converting a long corner triple with 16 seconds left to cap the win.
Southern dominated the first eight minutes, making six of their first nine 3-pointers, bolting to a 26-12 lead. The Owls cut the margin to 45-36 at the break and trailed 50-40 early in the second half before rallying. Guerra scored eight points and Fraser added six in the 8-minute run, giving the visitors a 65-54 lead with 11 minutes left in regulation.
Cole McAninch rallied the Raiders, scoring 10 points in the SOU run – holding the Owls to two made field goals over a 6-minute stretch – setting up the finish.
OIT finished the night converting 55-percent of their field goals against the top defensive team in the CCC, as Fraser knocked to 10-of-15 attempts – including five 3-pointers. Guerra had his first career double-double, scoring 20 with a career-high 14 assists. Kam Osborn scored 14, Jensen had 13 points and Keegan Shivers scored 12 points with a career-high 13 rebounds – as Tech’s starters tallied 86 of their 92 points.
Rouse, in his SOU debut, scored 26 points and McAninch scored 18 – but the Raiders were held to 4-of-21 shooting from 3-point range after halftime.
Tech will be off for the next 16 days, returning to action on Jan. 5, hosting Warner Pacific at 7:30 p.m.
