ASHLAND, Ore. – Eastern Oregon men's basketball capped one of its best road weekends in recent memory on Saturday night, defeating Southern Oregon, 60-51, at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
With the win, the Mountaineers completed the Oregon Tech/Southern Oregon road swing unbeaten for the first time since at least 2008. It also marked Eastern's first win in Ashland since 2019, snapping a tough stretch inside one of the CCC's most difficult environments.
The victory pushes Southern Oregon out of the three-way tie atop the Cascade Collegiate Conference standings. After Oregon Tech's win over College of Idaho tonight, Eastern and OIT now sit tied for first at 7-1, while SOU drops to 6-2.
Eastern set the tone early and never let the night get comfortable for the Raiders. The Mountaineers led 33-28 at the break, leaning on tough defense and timely shot-making to control the pace.
From there, it turned into a classic road win as Eastern stayed composed and made the most of its possessions despite Southern Oregon's second-half push. The Mounties got key stops and then sealed it at the stripe in the closing seconds, highlighted by
Keilan Torkornoo's pair of free throws with 33 seconds left to stretch the lead to the final margin.
James Bodily delivered a massive spark off the bench, leading Eastern with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 3-of-5 from deep.
Eamon Monahan steadied the backcourt with 14 points, while
Trent Rogers added 12 and knocked down two threes.
Torkornoo filled the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds, three steals, and a block, anchoring a defense that smothered Southern Oregon all night.
Logan Orchard orchestrated the offense with eight assists, helping Eastern consistently find the right look and the right play.
Defensively, the Mountaineers were locked in for 40 minutes, holding SOU to 30.3% shooting overall and just 7-of-34 from three (20.6%). The Raiders also went scoreless over the final four minutes, shoting just 22.2% from the field in the second half.
Eastern finished the night shooting 45.1% from the floor and 50% from three (8-of-16), and edged the rebounding battle 38-37.
Now it's back to Quinn Coliseum with momentum roaring. Eastern returns home on Friday, January 16 for a matchup with Corban at 7:30 p.m. The Mountaineers already took the first meeting last month (non-CCC), 87-81, but this contest will count in the standings.
