Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
Nebeker, 17th-ranked Yotes close out Raiders
SOU Sports Information
ASHLAND – All-star senior forward Joey Nebeker broke out of a recent slump with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, stopping Southern Oregon from getting over the hump Sunday in 17th-ranked College of Idaho's 87-81 Cascade Conference victory at Mountain Avenue Gym.
The Yotes (14-6 overall, 7-3 CCC) never trailed after a 13-0 start in which they held the Raiders (12-8, 6-4) scoreless for nearly five minutes. They led 32-16 before SOU went on a 20-4 run, bookended by a pair of
Justin Martin 3-pointers, that trimmed the halftime deficit to three.
Conor Carroll helped the Raiders stay in it with 14 of his 18 points in the second half on 3-of-3 shooting from downtown.
Tate Hoffman added 15 points, and his 3-pointer with 4:06 left finally knotted the score, 74-74.
Nebeker, though, promptly responded with a jumper on the other end that put the Yotes up for good. His sharp performance came on the heels of a 1-of-8 outing Saturday at Oregon Tech; he hadn't made more than five shots in a game since November. The Yotes also got surprise heroics from backup guard Talon Pinckney, who went 8-of-11 to exceed his field-goal output from the previous eight games combined.
Leading 82-81, C of I's Roosevelt Adam's converted a tip-in with 1:03 left. On SOU's ensuing possession, Adams stripped
Tristen Holmes.
Holmes, who tallied 27 points and 10 assists in SOU's upset Saturday of fifth-ranked Eastern Oregon, capped a productive weekend with team-highs of 19 points, nine boards and four assists.
Kenny Meyer chipped in nine points and seven boards.
The Raiders fell to 2-5 this season against top-25 opponents. They'll travel to Washington next week to face Northwest and Evergreen State.