Eric Thompson led SOU with 24 points and seven rebounds
Raider Men Pick Up 87-79 Win Over Simpson
BOX SCORE
REDDING, Calif. – The 16th-ranked Southern Oregon men’s basketball battled back from a double-digit first-half deficit to earn an 87-79 nonconference victory over Simpson Saturday night.
Southern Oregon improves to 9-3 overall with the win and will return to action Friday, Dec. 14, hosting No. 2 Eastern Oregon at 7:30 p.m. at Bob Riehm Arena.
Eric Thompson scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead SOU, while David Sturner scored 16 points and Dex Daum added 15 in the win. Ian Corella led Simpson with 17 points, while Jonnie Washburn and Dalton Thacker each tallied 15 points and Guy Varsek finished with 11 points.
Simpson came out strong in the first half and built a 12-5 lead following a jumper by Jordan Collins less than three minutes into the game. Southern Oregon worked its way back to tie it up at 24-24 following a jumper by Sturner midway through the period, but the Red Hawks scored the next 10 points to claim their largest lead of the game. The Raiders responded with an 18-10 run to close the half at 44-42.
Thompson opened the second half with a jumper to tie it up, and the Raiders held a slim advantage throughout the period. The visitors pushed their lead to double digits following four straight points by Thompson with 1:44 remaining, and the Raiders made all eight of their free throw attempts in the closing minutes to clinch the eight-point win.