No. 7 Hustlin Owls Edge Eagles
Klamath Falls, Ore. – Baskets were tough to come by, but it was the Owls that prevailed, holding Northwest University to just 34.5% shooting from the floor (20-53) on their way to a 59-56 victory tonight at Danny Miles Court. The Owls were only slightly better at 37.7% (20-58), but improved to 19-3 on the season and 9-3 in conference play with the win. NU dropped to 10-11 overall and 4-8 in CCC action.
Jguwon Hogges led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed four rebounds to go with three assists. Christian Cavanaugh was 7-10 from the floor netting 15 points to go with three rebounds. Justin Parnell finished with seven points and five assists.
NU had three players in double-digits, led by a team-high 15 points from Eddie Coulson. Greg George netted 12 points and Blake Solomon followed with 11.
The teams battled to four ties and five lead changes before a 6-2 Owl run closed out the first half scoring giving Tech a 30-26 lead at the intermission.
In the second half the Owls were able to gain an eight point lead at 35-27, but the Eagles chipped away at their deficit to eventually tie the game at 41-41 with 9:55 remaining. After four more ties, the last with 4:25 to play, the game was knotted at 55-55.
Oregon Tech was able to go up 57-55 on two Parnell free throws with 2:13 on the clock. NU’s Eddie Coulson was fouled and went to the line to tie with 1:12 to go. Coulson made the first but missed the second to close the gap to 57-56.
The Owls went empty on their next possession, but an NU turnover gave the ball back with 35 seconds remaining. NU then went for a steal and when they weren’t successful had to foul with 13 ticks remaining. Tech’s Ryan Beesley was sent to the line and connected on both free throws to put the Owls up 59-56. On the last possession of the game the Owl defense forced NU into a desperation three that deflected off the backboard and Tech walked away with the 59-56 win.
Next up the Owls travel to Eastern Oregon on Friday, January 30th and meet College of Idaho on Saturday, January 31st. Both games can be heard live in the Klamath Basin on KLAD 92.5 FM. The EOU game will begin with the coach’s show at 7:00 p.m. while the College of Idaho broadcast can be heard an hour earlier at 6:00 p.m.