NU's Greg George's 16 points wasn't enough in the loss to OIT.
No. 5 OIT Defeats Northwest U.
KIRKLAND, Wash. – Led by the game high 21 points of Justin Parnell, No. 5 Oregon Tech erased a 5 point halftime deficit to defeat Northwest University tonight, 64-57, in Cascade Conference play.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 13-5 lead over Oregon Tech only to see the Owls go on a 9-0 run to take a 14-13 lead on Joseph Foster’s jumper at the 7:43 mark in a low scoring first half. After a couple of lead changes Tyson Christie’s layup after a Justin Parnell score, would give NU the lead 17-16 with 6:20 to go until halftime. Seven straight points by Northwest U., capped off by senior Blake Solomon’s 3-pointer would put the Eagles up 24-16 with 4:18 left on the clock. Kyle Gomez would knock down a trey for OIT to make it 24-19 as neither team would score the final 2 minutes and 30 seconds of the half.
Greg George’s two free throws would give Northwest an early 28-23 lead in the second half, but a tip in by Andy Siverly and a layup by Parnell would pull the Owls to within one point, 28-27 at the 17:12 mark. Parnell would drill a 3-pointer with 14:54 left to give OIT their first lead in the half at 32-30. The half would see three ties and three lead changes as NU would lead again, 39-27, with 9:07 remaining, but Mike Nieraeth’s 3-pointer would give OIT the lead once again and for good, 43-29, with 7:54 ticks on the clock. Tech would maintain the lead the rest of the way and with 1:23 to go, held their biggest lead at 57-47. Myles Daley would finish the scoring for OIT going 3 for 3 from the free throw line in the final 14 seconds to help the Owls to their 16th win of the season and improve their conference mark to 5-2.
Three Eagles lead Northwest U. (9-7, 4-2 CCC) in double figures: Junior Greg George with 16 points and 9 rebounds; senior Blake Solomon with 15 points and junior Tyson Christie with 13 points on the night. The Eagles shot 38% from 2-point range and a cool 25% from the 3-point line.
Parnell led Oregon Tech (16-3, 5-2 CCC) with his 21 points while teammate Joseph Foster dropped in 13 for the Owls. Andy Siverly grabbed a game high 15 rebounds for OIT who won the rebounding battle, 37-31. OIT shot 41% from 2-point range and also shot 25% from beyond the 3-point arc.
Both teams continue CCC play on Saturday as OIT travels to Olympia to take on the Evergreen State College and Northwest U. remains at home to host Southern Oregon Univ. Both contests start at 7:30 p.m.