Eric Thompson's last-second shot gave the Raiders the win
SOU Men Earn 58-56 Last-Second Win Over Menlo
BOX SCORE
ATHERTON, Calif. – Twenty-third-ranked Southern Oregon led for less than one minute of play, but that was all that mattered as the Raiders pulled out a 58-56 nonconference men’s basketball victory over Menlo Saturday evening.
Southern Oregon improves to 2-0 this season with the win and will head to Florida for a tournament next weekend where the Raiders will face top NAIA teams Davenport and Embry-Riddle.
Eric Thompson scored the game winner in the final seconds after the Raiders had battled back from a 13-point deficit. Thompson overcame a 6-for-17 night on the court to hit the game-winner to total 12 points and eight rebounds. David Sturner added 10 points and six rebounds in the win. Keith Bowman led Menlo with a game-high 17 points and six rebounds, while ChRunn Jones added 12 points and five assists.
Menlo built a 13-4 lead midway through the first half as Southern Oregon struggled early. Neither team played particularly well in the opening period, as the game went into the halftime break with the Oaks holding a 26-18 advantage.
Menlo scored seven of the first nine points of the second half to stretch its lead to 13 points before SOU battled back. Jeff Bush started the rally, hitting a shot to end the Menlo run and spark a 16-2 SOU run that gave the Raiders a brief lead on Thompson’s bucket. Less than a minute later the Oaks regained the lead at 37-36 and they eventually built their lead back up to eight points at 52-44 with 4:36 to play.
Thompson scored four straight points to pull SOU within four, and the Raiders finally tied it up at 56-56 with 1:25 to play on another bucket by Thompson. After Jones and Carlos Monroy each missed three-pointers for Menlo, Thompson made the buzzer-beating two-pointer to clinch the win for the Raiders.