via Oregon Tech Athletic Communications
Oregon Tech 93, Walla Walla 57
Oregon Tech outscored Walla Walla 42-13 over a 13-minute stretch spanning the two halves, as the Hustlin’ Owls won their eighth-straight, a 93-67 decision at Danny Miles Court.
OIT (13-3, 9-1 CCC) converted 51% of their second half field goals to turn away the upset-minded Wolves.
The visitors controlled the bulk of the first half, getting 3’s from Thomas Mestrov and Dillon Wasser in a 12-2 run that gave the Wolves (2-12, 1-10) a 25-15 lead midway through the period. Tech answered with 8-straight points, capped by an alley-oop dunk by Dakota Reber, to give the hosts their first lead of the night at 31-30.
Wasser responded, scoring seven points in a row and Mestrov canned his fourth 3-pointer of the half, part of a 10-0 run, giving WWU a 41-32 edge with three minutes left in the period.
From that point, however, it was all OIT.
Erik Fraser started an 8-0 run to end the half with a lay-up and finished it with a two-hand slam, pulling the club within 41-40 at the break.
OIT led 50-46 early in the second half when WWU head coach Brandon Broome was ejected after picking up his second technical foul. The Owls responded, getting triples from Kam Osborn and Jared Sucher, along with two post baskets from Jackson Cooper, with the 14-2 run over a 3-minute span ballooning the margin to 64-48.
“We played poorly in every facet of the game in the first half,” said OIT head coach Justin Parnell. “That isn’t to take away from what Walla Walla did. We had a great conversation in the locker room and came out and played Tech basketball. I am proud of the effort we gave in the second half.”
The Owls were able to rest starters for much of the second half – as Sucher scored a career-high seven and Sean Chris Tresvant scored five – with post Logan Thebiay scoring six points late in the contest.
Osborn led OIT with 14 points, Keegan Shivers scored 13, Fraser had 12 and Cooper posted 11 in the win. Blake Jensen had eight points and a team-best eight rebounds, with Jamison Guerra recording five assists and four steals. The Owls forced 23 turnovers on the afternoon, turning the mistakes into 33 points.
Mestrov scored a career-high 25 points, making 5-of-7 3-pointers, with Andrew Vaughan scoring 14 and Wasser finishing with 12. The Wolves made 59% of their first half field goals, including seven 3-pointers, but were held to 34% shooting after the break.
Oregon Tech 74, Lewis-Clark 66
Keegan Shivers scored a season-high 26 points with a career-best 17 rebounds, leading Oregon Tech to a key 74-66 victory over No. 21-ranked Lewis-Clark State before 1,969 fans at Danny Miles Court.
The Hustlin’ Owls (14-3, 10-1 CCC) won for the ninth-straight time – setting up a first-place match-up vs. No. 5-ranked College of Idaho on Friday night to start the second half of the league season.
“We set the tone from the opening tip,” said OIT head coach Justin Parnell. “We crashed the boards and played physical at both ends against a very good basketball team. I am proud of the effort our team had tonight.”
Tech scored on their first four possessions – getting two put-back lay-ups from Blake Jensen, a tip-in from Shivers and a fastbreak dunk from Kam Osborn – in an 8-0 flurry in the first two minutes. Shivers continued the run, canning a long 3-pointer and muscling up for a tough 3-point play to push the Owls lead to 24-10.
LC (13-5, 8-4) made a first half run, thanks to a Jayceon Smith triple and jumper, part of a 9-0 run, getting the visitors within 32-24. The Warriors held OIT without a made field goal over the first five minutes of the second half, with an Alton Hamilton turn-around jumper cutting the lead to 45-38.
Osborn ended the drought with a long contested 3-pointer and Jackson Cooper converted on the block on back-to-back possessions, helping the hosts regain a 54-41 lead. The Owls kept the momentum, as Shivers scored on a second-chance lay-up, giving the club their largest lead of the night at 66-48 – with Tech easing to their first win of the year against a nationally-ranked foe.
Shivers became the first Hustlin’ Owl since 2021 (Garret Albrecht) to record a 25-15 game, finishing the night 9-of-15 from the field.
Jamison Guerra scored 14, Osborn had 13, with Jensen recording 12. Cooper had six points and seven rebounds, with Erik Fraser pulling down eight boards. OIT finished the night with a 46-35 edge on the glass, including 16 offensive rebounds turned into 19 second-chance points.
Macarhy Morris scored 14 points and Hamilton logged 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Warriors, who have lost four of their last seven games after a 10-1 start. LC finished the night 5-of-22 from 3-point range.
Parnell said he looks for a partisan homecourt advantage on Friday, as the Owls look to avenge a December loss to C of I.
“We have the best fans in the NAIA. It has been 12 years since we sold out Danny Miles Court and I’d love to have a sellout crowd help us on Friday night.”