Oregon Tech will look for a third NAIA championship after moving to their fourth finals appearance with 55-50 win tonight over Davenport, Mich.
Oregon Tech Advances to NAIA Finals, Defeats Davenport 55-50
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. –Trailing by four points with nine minutes to play, Oregon Tech used a 7-2 run to secure a lead and hold on as the Owls found their way to the 2012 NAIA Division II championship game after defeating No. 3 Davenport, Mich. in tonight’s semifinal round of the NAIA national tournament. Points were at a premium as defense ruled in tonight’s matchup between the tournament’s two-seed and three-seed with the Owls grinding out a 55-50 win.
Oregon Tech takes a 33-4 overall mark into a fourth NAIA Division II finals appearance, and will attempt to secure a third national championship tomorrow versus No. 1 ranked Northwood University, Fla. With the tip set for 4 p.m. PST. The game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network beginning at 5:45 p.m. CST.
The first four and a half minutes of the contest remained scoreless for both teams, before a driving layup gave DU their first lead of the game. The Panther would move up 5-0 before Scotty Riddle put Tech on the board with a layup before DU extended their lead to 7-2.
The Hustlin' Owls continued to turn the ball over and miss several shots before timeout at the 13:35 mark seemed to put the Owls back on track. Oregon Tech bounced back and evened the score at 7-7 on a Bryant Sentman 3-pointer and two free throws from Bobby Hunter.
A 3-pointer gave the lead back to the Panthers, but Oregon Tech regained the lead at 11-10 after forcing three DU turnovers.
The Owls pulled out in front by as many as seven points, 22-15, but the Panthers never went away, pulling back to within a possession, 22-20, before the Owls took a 25-22 lead into intermission.
Oregon Tech quickly moved up nine points after back-to-back treys to open the second half. Tech would hold on to an eight point cushion with just under 15 minutes to play.
It was the Panthers turn, as DU used a 13-1 run over the next five minutes to take a four point lead, their largest of the second period, 41-37.
Hunter would finally hit a free throw, while a Gomez basket pulled the Owls to within a point, 40-41. Hunter would eventually give Tech the lead back after converting a layup to make it 44-43 at the 6:47 mark.
It was anybody’s game with under three minutes to play, but it would be Oregon Tech that stole all the momentum when Jason Gamblin tipped in an out of bounds lob pass with one second on the shot clock, and David Clarke followed with a quick steal and layup on the ensuing DU out of bounds pass to give the Owls a 53-47 advantage with 2:37 on the clock.
The Oregon Tech defense would control the glass, not give up any big plays down the stretch and convert a pair of free throws to move on for the 55-50 win.
Oregon Tech was led by a 20 point effort from Bobby Hunter. Hunter would convert 8-of-13 free throws to go with six field goals, five rebounds and four assists. David Clarke would add 11 points, including three key 3-pointers and six assists in the win for the Owls. Kyle Gomez, everywhere defensively but struggling from the floor all night (3-for-16), was a rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds to go with six steals. Jason Gamblin added seven points and five rebounds for Tech.