Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
Raiders beat up Lions, go to 5-1 in CCC play
SOU Sports Information
ASHLAND – Ben DeSaulnier scored 19 points and the Southern Oregon bench pitched in 45 during an 86-68 triumph over Multnomah on Saturday night at Mountain Avenue Gym, which made the ninth-ranked Raiders 5-1 in the Cascade Conference.
A pedestrian 9-of-34 display from 3-point territory didn't stop the Raiders (10-5 overall) from handling the Lions' zone defense: They shot 45 percent overall, assisted on 26 of their 34 makes and committed just nine turnovers. Guards Tristen Holmes (6 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) and Kenny Meyer (9 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds) were the catalysts and combined for just two turnovers.
After jumping out to a 15-2 lead in the opening five minutes, the Raiders were up 48-24 by halftime. Jordan Hunt scored 14, Conor Carroll had 13, and Tule O'Rourke and Aaron Borich both hit a pair of 3-pointers off the bench to keep them in cruise control.
DeSaulnier went 7-of-14 from the field, making all six of his attempts from inside the arc and collecting seven rebounds. Meyer, a night after scoring 26 in an overtime win over No. 25 Warner Pacific, recorded career-highs in both assists and rebounds.
Brett Blackstock had team-highs of 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Multnomah (4-10, 1-4 CCC). He went 4-of-5 from downtown and helped the Lions cut SOU's lead to 67-55 with seven minutes remaining before Carroll ticked off eight unanswered points over the next minute.
The Lions shot 35 percent from the field, the lowest clip of the season for an SOU opponent.
The Raiders travel to Klamath Falls on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. meeting with 19th-ranked Oregon Tech.