BOX SCORE

ASHLAND, Ore. – The No. 8 Eastern Oregon University men's basketball team beats Southern Oregon, 80-68, Friday.

The Mountaineers (11-1) (3-0) setup a showdown in Klamath Falls Saturday night at No. 13 Oregon Tech. OIT held off The College of Idaho 63-59 Friday for its 44th consecutive win at home.

Southern Oregon had the lead for a little over two minutes early in the game, but Eastern controlled the tempo for almost the entire game. The Raiders led 12-7 after a Jordan Highland layup. Eastern responded with a pair of back-to-back three pointers to take the lead back. SOU regained the lead and had its last lead at the 14:09 mark of the first half, 19-17.

The Mountaineers slowly stretched their lead until EOU led 43-33 after a pair of Cody Thurmond free throws with 3:09 left in the half. A layup from Anthony Brown as time expired gave Eastern a 46-35 halftime lead.

Southern opened the second half on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to two points, it was as close as they would get before time expired. A Kyllian Wood layup gave Eastern Oregon its largest lead of the game, 76-57, with 5:51 left in regulation.

Thomas McCarthy led EOU with 19 points on 7 of 15 shooting from the field. The senior was 4 for 9 from behind the perimeter and threw a team-high four assists. Jason Mumm and JC Cook finished with 14 and 13 points respectively. Travares Peterson had a game-high nine rebounds.

Eastern shot 44 percent from the field, while SOU was 42 percent. The Mountaineers are now 10-0 when they shoot better than their opponents this season. EOU entered the game as the second best shooting team from behind the arc in the country at 40 percent. Friday Eastern Oregon finished 38 percent from three-point range, making 8 of 21. For the first time this season, EOU and its opponent had the same rebounds at 39.

Highland scored a game-high 20 points to lead Southern. He was 8 of 14 from the field. Kyle Tedder added 17 points for the Raiders. Kellen Hawley grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Drew Herrera had three assists. SOU finished 29 percent from field. Southern Oregon entered the game receiving votes in the NAIA Div. 2 Top 25 poll.

Saturday's top 15 matchup in Klamath Falls will be the 158th meeting between EOU and Oregon Tech (11-2) (3-0), but only the eighth featuring a pair of ranked teams. The Mountaineers and Tech are the lone undefeated teams in league play in the conference. Eastern has won the last five meetings at home, but has not won at OIT since Feb. 16, 1979. The Owls and Mountaineers are 1 and 2 in three-point field goal percentage in NAIA Div. 2.

The game tips off at 5:30 p.m. There will be live video on EOUSports.com with play-by-play from Bobby Thompson and color commentary by Mike Garrard. A live interactive blog for Eastern and Tech fans will be available on EOUSports.com and CascadeConference.org.

EASTERN OREGON – SOUTHERN OREGON POSTGAME NOTES
- Southern still holds the all-time advantage over Eastern, 95-73.
- Eastern Oregon has won four of the past five over the Raiders, and eight of the last 10.
- The Mountaineers are on pace to equal or break the best start in school history, which came in 2007-08 when EOU started 13-1.
- Eastern's plus 22 point scoring margin is seventh in NAIA Div. 2.
- EOU's one loss this season was the lone time it was outrebounded.
- The Mountaineers are 9-0 when their bench outscores the opponent's bench.
- Anthony Brown scored eight points in his Eastern Oregon debut Friday.