Midland Empire Liberty Northwest Tournament MVP Jguwon Hogges scored 13 points to help lead No. 1 ranked Oregon Tech to a 77-64 win over NAIA Divsion I No. 4 ranked Lee University.
No. 1 Ranked Oregon Tech Remains Unbeaten, Defeats No. 4 Flames 77-64
Klamath Falls, Ore. – In front of a raucous and packed house at Danny Miles Court, two of NAIA’s unbeaten’s went head-to-head to see who remained. In the see-saw battle Lee University went to intermission up three points but it was all Oregon Tech in the second half, as No. 1 ranked Oregon Tech outscored No. 4 ranked Lee University by 16 points to win 77-64. The Owls remain perfect at 7-0, while Lee University, dropping their first game of the season, falls to 6-1.
Oregon Tech’s Mike Nieraeth scored the games first basket on a long 3-pointer to get the crowd going but Lee University, of the NAIA Division I ranks, came storming back to take a quick 7-3 lead. It was Nieraeth again on another long 3-pointer that sparked a 10-0 Owl run, taking back the lead at 13-7, just four minutes into the contest. The Flames would tie it up at 16-16 on a Joe Fulp free throw with 12:21 remaining in the half. The Owls then regained the lead at 27-21 but another Lee run, this time of 12-6, gave the Flames a 36-33 lead heading into intermission.
The second half started like the first, as Mike Nieraeth hit his third of five 3-pointers on the night to get the Owls rolling. It continued back and forth for both teams, as Lee took slim one point leads at the 11:32 mark and their last lead at 57-56 with 8:04 remaining. Tech then went on a 12-3 run to take the first double-digit lead of the night 69-59, and did not let the Flames back in it. Lee would cut the deficit to 8 points, but free throws down the stretch iced the game, giving Oregon Tech their largest lead and closing the game out at 77-64.
Christian Cavanaugh finished with a game high 18 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, while Jguwon Hogges, The Midland Empire Northwest Liberty Tournament MVP, followed with 13 points with 11 of those coming from the charity stripe. Nieraeth netted all his points from long range, hitting 5-7 from beyond the 3-point line and finishing with 15 points. Justin Parnell and Myles Daley both ended the game with 10 points each.
Lee University’s Joe Fulp and Paco Diaw each dropped in a team-high 15 points followed by Nate Minnoy with 12.
Oregon Tech will host arch-rival Southern Oregon University in a non-conference affair on Tuesday, November 25th with the tip set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on 92.5 KLAD-FM and on the World Wide Web at oitsports.com.