Klamath Falls, Ore. – The Oregon Tech Hustlin’ Owls ran the Yotes of College of Idaho out of the gym with a 90-57 victory Saturday afternoon at Danny Miles Court. The Owls were led by senior guard Brandon Halter’s 25 points as they move to 7-2 in the CCC play and 14-5 on the season. The Yotes drop to 6-3 in CCC play and 13-6 on the year with the loss.
The Owls came out flying to start the game, taking off on an 11-4 run over the first 5:00 minutes of the game, before a Yotes timeout would see the first break in the action. The Owls would come out of the break and hit back-to-back 3-pointers to the Yotes lone field goal, quickly seeing the home team extend their lead 17-6. The Owls would continue to fly, as over the first 12:30 minutes of play they would hit on 5 of 8 three-point attempts, while their defense would hold the Yotes to just 10 points. A timeout called with just over 6:00 minutes to play in the half would see the score sitting at 27-14.
Just when it looked like the momentum in the game was shifting to the Yotes, Hustlin’ Owls guard, Brandon Halter, would hit back-to-back 3-pointers extending the lead 35-18. The final few minutes of the half both teams would exchange baskets, taking the score to 43-27 at the halftime break.
The second half pick up right where the game left off, the Yotes working to climb back into the game and the Hustlin’ Owls hitting 3-pointers. The first 5:00 minutes of the second half saw a Halter 3-pointer put the Owls up by 19, before a foul on Tyler Hieb, shooting a 3-pointer, would be converted for a 4-point play, sending Tech up by 25 points.
The Owls would stay hot through the second half as they continued to stretch their lead over the Yotes. With 5:00 minutes remaining in the game, the Hustlin’ Owls pushed their lead to 40 points with a Mitchell Fink 3-pointer as the score read 84-44. The final few minutes of the game would see both teams utilize their bench players, as both teams would end hitting shots from behind the arc, including the likes of Ephraim Church knocking down a 3-pointer for his first career points. The buzzer would sound with the final score 90-57 in favor of the Owls.
Tech would go 14 of 26 from behind the 3-point line on the night, with Halter leading the way hitting 7 of 12 and putting up 25 points on the afternoon. Tyler Hieb would add 13 points, with Mitchell Fink adding 10 points for the Owls.
Oregon Tech would hold the College of Idaho’s offense to their lowest scoring game of the season and not allow any of the Yotes to score in double digits. The win moves Oregon Tech to 7-3 in the CCC, while the Yotes drop to 6-3.
The Hustlin’ Owls will be back tomorrow afternoon to take on Eastern Oregon University at 5:00pm on Danny Miles Court.