KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – In a weekend of upsets for Tech, the No. 10 Hustlin' Owls (15-3 CCC, 24-6) completed their sweep of the weekend by overthrowing No. 3 College of Idaho (14-4 CCC, 25-5) 75-72 in a thriller, with the victory the Owls win their 10
th CCC Men's Basketball Regular Season Championship and first outright championship since 2010-2011. The Owls will now host Northwest University in the CCC Quarterfinals presented by US Bank on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm at Danny Miles Court. Tickets are available at
www.oregontechowls.com
Head Coach
Justin Parnell on the game, "First of all, hats off to Idaho. They are an outstanding team and a class group of guys. The effort our guys gave this weekend was special. They locked in for 80 minutes and earned this conference championship. I'm proud to coach them."
The victory was decided in the final minutes as the Yotes came within a single point of reclaiming the lead with a 12-2 run bringing the score to 73-72 with just 3.3 left on the clock. However, a foul by Keun Palu-Thompson allowed junior Mitchell Fink to add two points from the charity stripe before the final buzzer went off, leaving CI with no chance to retaliate.
Fink led the team with 23 points and five assists, claiming game high honors in the process. Fellow junior Seth Erickson added another 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and sophomore Garret Albrecht tallied 11 points.
Another seven rebounds from junior Tyler Hieb helped push OIT to a 41-37 rebounding edge, out-rebounding the NAIA 3
rd ranked team in total rebounds.
The Owls started strong in the first half, securing a starting advantage with a 7-0 run and going 9-0 later to expand it. But at No. 3 in the nation, College of Idaho was a force to be reckoned with, riding an 18-4 run into a lead that they held to the end of the half.
Tech came back fast with a 9-2 run in the second and three consecutive three pointers – including two from Erickson and one from Steiger – to put them in a strong position to deal with CI's attempted comeback.
Talon Pinckney led the Yote effort with 19 points, followed by Nate Bruneel with 13 and six rebounds. Keu Palu-Thompson and Matt Meyers followed with 9 points each and Jake Bruner added seven rebounds.
OIT forced 15 turnovers while only committing 11 of their own and outscored College of Idaho 12-8 off turnovers.
The Hustlin' Owls held a 19-17 advantage from their bench and a 10-4 assisting edge.
College of Idaho led 36-26 in the paint.
Quarterfinals Wednesday February 20 at Campus sites- 7 p.m. local time start. Seeds 1-4 will host quarterfinals
#6 SOU @ #3 NCU
#5 EOU @ #4 CRB
#7 WPU @ #2 CI
#8 NU @ #1 OIT
Semifinals Saturday February 23 at Campus sites- 7 p.m. local time start
