LA GRANDE, Ore. – After an entertaining first round of the 2015 CCC Men’s Basketball Championship Presented by U.S., the tournament continues tonight with semifinal games in Caldwell, Idaho and Portland, Ore.
#7 Eastern Oregon (15-14, 6-12 CCC) at #1 College of Idaho (26-5, 14-4 CCC)
7 p.m. MST – Caldwell, Idaho
Eastern Oregon earned a semifinal spot after a last second shot lifted the Mountaineers over second-seeded and 10
th-ranked Concordia. After fighting a 15-point deficit, EOU’s Bryan McGriff hit a layup with 14 seconds remaining to pull off the upset 69-68. McGriff led his time totaling 26 points on the night including the go ahead bucket.
Top seeded, sixth-ranked College of Idaho fought off Oregon Tech late in the game to secure its spot in the semifinal after falling behind to the Owls with six minutes left on the clock. C of I’s Jordan O’Byrne scored 17 points to help his team earn a 71-64 victory over OIT. The Yotes continued the home winning streak bringing it to 15 games this season.
Eastern will attempt another upset in Caldwell over the Yotes for a spot in the championship game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. local time.
#4 Southern Oregon (23-8, 11-7 CCC) at #3 Warner Pacific (25-6, 14-4 CCC)
7 p.m. PST – Portland, Ore.
It did not take long for third seeded, 15
th-ranked Warner Pacific to earn its place in the second round of the conference tournament after defeating sixth-seeded Corban 79-49. Doug Thomas led the Knights scoring 19-points while shooting 7-of-9 from the field.
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rd-ranked Southern Oregon, fourth-seed in the tournament, earned its quarterfinal win in dramatic fashion after a 98-92 double over time win over fifth-seeded Northwest Christian. The Beacons forced the first overtime after a last second 3-pointer tied the game. The Raiders rallied from a seven-point deficit in the first overtime to tie the game again after two made free throws with four second left.
SOU finally earned the victory which resulted in five players ending in double figures including freshman Ben DeSaulnier and junior Jordan who each recorded 20 points.
The Raiders will lose the luxury of home court as they travel north to Portland to take on a Warner Pacific team who earned a 90-78 victory over SOU just over a week ago. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. local time.
Saturday’s winners will earn a chance to play in the conference championship game on Tuesday, March 3. The game will be played at the home of the highest remaining seed in the tournament. Tip-off will be set for 7 p.m. local time.