Oregon Tech 94, Corban 67
Oregon Tech made 75% of their second half field goals, part of the Hustlin’ Owls most prolific shooting night in league play in 17 years, rolling to a 94-67 victory over Corban at Danny Miles Court.
On a night where Keegan Shivers became OIT’s all-time 3-point leader, the Hustlin’ Owls (17-5, 13-3 CCC) made 65.5% of their field goals in the win – their most-efficient attack since a 2007 victory over Northwest University.
Tech never trailed in the win, as Jamison Guerra converted a 3-point play, Jackson Cooper converted in the post, Jay Elmore drained a long triple and Erik Fraser scored off a Shivers feed – part of a 10-2 run that built the hosts a 23-11 lead.
The margin grew to 41-25 late in the half on a Kam Osborn triple – with the lead remaining above 12 points the rest of the night.
Shivers connected on a 24-footer early in the second half to give OIT a 57-39 lead – his 273rd career 3-point make, surpassing the previous mark established by Bob Townsend in the late 1990s. The margin grew to 80-55 on a thunderous Blake Jensen dunk, with the Owls extending the lead to as many as 30.
Guerra led all scorers with 20 points and seven assists, with Fraser posting 15 and both Jensen and Cooper scoring 10. Shivers finished the night with nine points, eight rebounds and four assists.
R.J. Veliz and Drayton Caoile each scored 14 in the loss for the Warriors (12-11, 10-7), who dropped their fourth-straight game and surrendered 80-or-more points for the fifth-straight outing. Tech limited the visitors to 4-of-20 shooting from 3-point range.
Oregon Tech 82, Bushnell 78
Six Oregon Tech players scored in double-figures, as the No. 24-ranked Hustlin’ Owls survived a late Bushnell rally, holding on for an 82-78 victory at Danny Miles Court.
OIT (18-5, 14-3 CCC) remains alone in second place in the league standings heading into a crucial 3-game road swing – including games next Friday at third-place Lewis-Clark State and a week from Tuesday at fourth-place Southern Oregon.
The win secured Tech a spot in the Cascade Conference Championships – the 31st-straight postseason appearance.
The Owls looked to be in charge after Jamison Guerra canned two free throws with 4:32 remaining, giving the hosts a 75-63 lead. The Beacons (10-14, 6-12) countered with a 15-5 flurry – including long 3’s from Cory Johnson and Squeeky Johnson, the latter cutting the deficit to 80-78 with 12 seconds left.
Tech converted just 3-of-8 free throws in the final 45 seconds – giving the Eugene squad hope. Following a split at the line by Kam Osborn, Cory Johnson tried a game-tying 3-point attempt, but it missed wide of the target and the Owls Keegan Shivers iced the win with a freebie at the other end.
OIT opened the game on a 19-5 run, including a pair of 3-pointers from Shivers and led 30-17 late in the first half before Cory Johnson scored 8-straight for the Beacons, cutting the deficit to 34-33 with two minutes left in the period.
The Owls regained control early in the second half, as Dakota Reber splashed back-to-back 3’s, extended the lead to 60-46 – but 10-straight Bushnell points got the visitors back in the game.
Shivers led OIT with 16 points, Guerra had 15 points, nine assists and six boards, Reber finished 5-of-6 from the field, scoring 14. Erik Fraser tallied 13, with Osborn and Blake Jensen each posting 12 in the victory, as the Owls converted 52% of their field goals.
Cory Johnson led the Beacons with 25 points, with Kaleb Burnett and Luke Smith each scoring 13 – as Bushnell scored 12 second chance points of 12 offensive rebounds.
