Box Score



KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The top-seeded Oregon Tech men's basketball team held off an Eastern Oregon University rally in the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament semifinals Saturday, 91-79.

The fourth-seeded Mountaineers (19-10) will now await the selection of the 32-team NAIA Div. 2 National Tournament which will be announced Wednesday. EOU is currently on the bubble for an at-large berth in the tournament for the fifth straight season.

Oregon Tech's Bobby Hunter led all scorers with 24 points. He was 7-of-17 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line. The freshman had 17 points at halftime. Scotty Riddle added 18 points. David Clarke totaled 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Kyle Gomez and Jason Gamblin each had 12 points.

The Owls beat EOU for the seventh straight time, and 22nd time in a row inside Danny Miles Court, dating back to 1979. The loss ended Eastern's five-game win streak.

Eastern never led in Saturday's game, and OIT got out to an 11-0 start in the first two minutes behind back-to-back Riddle three-point field goals, along with a Hunter tip-in and a deep three from Clarke.

Oregon Tech would lead by as many as 17 points, 24-7, with 15:27 remaining, but EOU would use a 9-2 run to keep it close trailing by just 10 points, 26-16, at the 13:19 mark.

Over the next eight minutes, however, Oregon Tech built a 49-25 lead after a Gamblin jumper. The Owls would eventually take a 57-38 lead into the halftime after a Hunter lay-in as time expired.

Hunter then gave OIT its largest lead of the evening with 15:35 left in regulation, 70-44. But, It was all Eastern Oregon for the next six minutes as a Jamier Morris three-pointer sparked a 17-4 run, as the Mountaineers trailed by 13 points at the 9:35 mark. Eastern continued to fight back and when Jamar Johnson hit from long range with 5:49 to play Eastern Oregon cut it to single digits for the first time since early in the first period.

A Clarke free-throw put Tech up by double digits, but a pair of Ervin Felder free throws put EOU within eight points, 78-70. Eastern came within eight again in the final minute, but would get no closer as Oregon Tech sealed the win with free throws down the stretch.

The Mountaineers shot 41 percent from the field in the game, making nine of their 22 three-point attempts, and 14 of their 17 free throws. Johnson led EOU with 13 points, while Anthony Brown and Cody Thurmond each had 12. Brown and Ranstrom each grabbed seven rebounds, and Thurmond threw six assists.

OIT (28-4) outrebounded Eastern, 38-36. Tech committed 13 turnovers to the Mountaineers' 12. The Owls finished 50 percent from the field after shooting 62 percent in the first half. Oregon Tech made seven of its 18 three-point shots, and 28 of its 22 free-throw attempts.