BOX SCORE

LA GRANDE, Ore. – The No. 7 Oregon Tech men's basketball team won the NAIA Div. 2 National Game of the Week at Eastern Oregon University Friday, 93-80.

The Owls (19-2) (10-0) in front of an electric atmosphere and a near sellout crowd, won their 13th straight game and ended its five year losing streak at Eastern Oregon. A 29-game conference regular season home winning streak came to an end as well for EOU. Kyle Gomez and Joseph Foster each scored 20 points to pace OIT. Gomez added a game-high 11 rebounds, and Foster threw a team-high four assists. Brent Johnson scored 18 points and Scotty Riddle had 13 points.

Eastern led 73-72 with 5:33 left in regulation, but the Owls responded with a 15-0 run over the next 2:07 to give OIT the cushion it needed. The Mountaineers made only one of their final 16 shots from the field in the last five minutes of play. That included 14 straight misses over a four and a half minute span. Tech outscored EOU, 18-7, in the final five minutes.

Oregon Tech's 93 points were the most points given up by EOU since a 105-101 win at Cascade College on Jan. 24, 2009. It was also the most given up at home by Eastern since a 104-100 win over Evergreen State College. The Owls completed a regular season sweep over Eastern Oregon, a first since the 2004-05 season. OIT won the Dec. 17 meeting in Klamath Falls, 89-78.

The second and third best teams in three-pointers made per game in NAIA Div. 2 squared off in the game. Oregon Tech entered with an average of 9.8 per game and EOU averaged 9.7. Friday the Owls were 9 of 23 and Eastern was 10 of 34. It was the fifth time this season EOU has attempted over 30 three-pointers in a game.

The Dec. 17 matchup between Eastern Oregon and Tech featured 13 ties and seven lead changes. In Friday's back-and-forth battle there were 11 ties and 17 lead changes. EOU led by as many as four points five times in the first half, including a 46-42 advantage at halftime. The Owls' largest lead in the first half was 10-7 after a Riddle jumper.

Tech opened the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 51-46 lead after a Foster two-point basket. After Eastern led for the majority of the first half, the momentum swung to OIT in the second half. The Owls' lead did not stretch beyond four points until the final five minutes.

After shooting 46 percent from the field in the first half, EOU was held to 31 percent in the second. Oregon Tech went from shooting 46 percent in the first half to 53 percent in the second. OIT became the second team to shoot 50 percent from the field against the Eastern defense this season. Both teams finished with 42 rebounds. Eastern Oregon had a 15-14 assist advantage, but committed 17 turnovers to Tech's 13.

The Mountaineers (15-4) (7-3) were led by Thomas McCarthy's 20 points. Jamar Johnson had 12 points, Jason Mumm finished with 11, and Anthony Brown added 10. Jeff Ranstrom grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Cody Thurmond threw four assists.

Oregon Tech travels to Caldwell, Idaho to play at The College of Idaho Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Time. OIT held off the Yotes, 63-59, on Dec. 17 in Klamath Falls. C of I (10-11) (7-3) eased past Southern Oregon Friday, 80-54. The Raiders (12-8) (5-5) come to La Grande to play EOU Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern beat SOU in Ashland on Dec. 17, 80-68.

EASTERN OREGON AND OREGON TECH POSTGAME NOTES
- Kyle Gomez and Joseph Foster have scored 86 of Oregon Tech's 182 points against EOU this season.
- OIT has scored the first and third-most points against Eastern this season, 93 and 89 points.
- The EOU men and women have not won on the same night since a sweep over Northwest on Dec. 4 in La Grande.
- It was the 159th meeting between EOU and OIT and Tech has won 95 of those meetings.
- Eastern Oregon last lost a regular season conference home game on Jan. 12, 2008 to Northwest, 78-75.
- When the Mountaineers have not outrebounded their opponents this season they are 0-3.
- EOU lost for only the second time when it led at halftime.
- Eastern lost for the first time this season when it scored 80 points, 10-1.
- In their first look in their white uniforms this season, the Mountaineers lost.