Box Score



ASHLAND, Ore. – The Southern Oregon University men's basketball team held off No. 25 Eastern Oregon University Saturday, 80-77.

The Raiders (14-8, 7-4 Cascade Collegiate Conference) moved a half-game in front of EOU for fourth-place in the conference standings. The Mountaineers had their three-game win streak snapped, along with a seven-game win streak over SOU dating back to an 82-77 loss in Ashland, on Dec. 5, 2008.

After scoring 23 points against Eastern earlier this season, Eric Thompson led Southern Oregon with 26 points Saturday. The freshman finished 7-of-11 from the field, including 3-for-4 from behind the arc, and he made nine of his 13 free throws. The conference-scoring leader added a game-high nine rebounds.

Kyle Tedder added 19 points for the Raiders, and Jordan Highland scored 13. Jeff Bush threw a game-high five assists.

Southern shot 40 percent from the field, and made 10 of its 24 three-point attempts. SOU hit 11 consecutive free throws during a key stretch late in the game, and finished 19-for-24 from the line. The Raiders became the sixth team to outrebound EOU this season, 39-36.

In a game that featured four ties and six lead changes, Southern held off Eastern in the end. The first meeting of the season, an 88-82 Eastern Oregon overtime win in La Grande, it was the Mountaineers that had to hold off SOU after a fierce late rally in regulation.

Southern Oregon took an early lead in the first half after hitting two consecutive three-pointers, but Eastern continued to have an answer shooting the ball. Both teams battled back and forth as the Mountaineers took their first lead with just under six minutes remaining in the half.

Eastern Oregon would go on to hold a 43-42 halftime lead. The Raiders finished the half shooting above 50 percent going 12-of-23 from the field and hitting 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. Eastern Oregon was not far behind hitting 15-of-35 and 5-of-12 for three.

Both teams exchanged points as the second half began until the Raiders used a 12-3 run to build their largest lead of the night at 54-46 with just under 13 minutes to play.

Eastern fought back to tie the game at 71 on one of Jamar Johnson's six three-pointers with 2:47 left in regulation, but would not be able to regain the lead as the Raiders making clutch free throws in the closing minutes.

Johnson led EOU matching his season-high total of 28 points. The senior made seven of his 12 shots from the field, including 6-of-7 from behind the perimeter. He also made all eight of his free-throw shots. Over the past seven games, Johnson has averaged 21 points. He has scored at least 25 points in four of those games.

Travares Peterson added 13 points for the Mountaineers, and Jeff Ranstrom scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half. Peterson grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Ervin Felder and Anthony Brown each had two assists.

Eastern Oregon (13-6, 6-4) finished 40 percent from the field, 10-of-24 from three-point range, and 19-for-24 from the free-throw line. EOU made all eight of its first half free throws, but missed five in the second half. The Mountaineers committed only three first half turnovers, but were forced into nine in the second half. EOU forced 14 Southern Oregon turnovers.

The Mountaineers lost for the first time this season when they led at half. EOU now holds a 9-1 mark in that stat category. Eastern is now 0-6 when it trails with 5:00 left in regulation. Southern won for the 96th time in the 172 all-time meetings between the two in-state rivals. Saturday's game was the second-most against any other program for Eastern.

Eastern Oregon travels to Klamath Falls to face No. 2 Oregon Tech Sunday at 4 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m., but severe weather postponed the matchup of Top 25 teams. OIT became the first team in NAIA Div. 2 to reach 20 wins this season with an 64-46 victory over The College of Idaho Saturday.

Eastern has not won in Klamath Falls since Feb. 16, 1979. The Owls have won 31 straight games over EOU at Tech (20-2, 9-1). The 162nd meeting between the OIT and Eastern Oregon will feature a pair of top 25 teams for only the 12th time. The Owls have won the last four meetings, including an 81-71 decision earlier this season in La Grande.

Sunday's tip is scheduled for 4 p.m. Live video and stats will be available on EOUSports.com. Live radio will be on KUBQ 98.7 FM with pregame beginning at 3:45 p.m.