ROCKLIN, CA. — The (11-Seed) Oregon Tech Hustlin' Owls (22-10) stormed back from down 14 points in the second half to defeat (6-Seed) Hope International University (23-9). Senior Kellen Gerig drove down the court with five seconds left and eventually floated up a shot that fell with 0.5 left, completing OIT's incredible comeback.
(R.V.) (11-Seed) Oregon Tech 87
#17 (6-Seed) Hope International 85
Earning a bid to the national tournament as the runners-up in the CCC, the Hustlin' Owls came into Friday's Opening Round semifinal with a chip on their shoulder.
Having been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, Tech had something to prove, looking to set the record straight that they are no easy opponent.
And on Friday night, they proved that.
In a very back-and-forth first half, Tech went into the locker room with a slim deficit of four points.
Throughout the first 20 minutes, Tech didn't get off to the start they wanted, shooting just 38% from the floor.
On the other side, the Royals shot 50% from the floor, which proved to be the early difference between the two sides.
Heading into the second half, some of Tech's struggles from the floor continued, but they wouldn't give in to the adversity.
With 8:56 to play, OIT faced their largest deficit, trailing the Royals 72-58.
Faced with an uphill battle, the Hustlin' Owls began to chip away.
Matt Van Tassell hit a corner three, then Keegan Shivers followed him up with a three of his own, and quickly Tech was within single digits.
After the Royals called timeout, Keegan Shivers refused to cool off, connecting on a three that was from well beyond the arc.
Shivers' three got Tech within four, and after Hope hit a pair of free throws, the freshman would strike again.
Shivers curled around to the top of the key and connected from long range once again, this time trimming Tech's deficit to a mere three points.
With 5:44 to play, it looked as if down the stretch, the Royals would hold off OIT, as they built back a lead of seven with 3:56 to play.
However, the Owls just refused to give up.
Tech got another three from Van Tassell and a tough finish in the lane from Kellen Gerig to cut the Royals lead to 83-82, with 1:47 to play.
With 1:11 to play, the Owls would finally surge in front, as Van Tassell connected from long-range to ignite the Tech faithful into a frenzy.
The Royals eventually would level the score, but Kellen Gerig would have the last word in what proved to be an instant classic.
With five seconds remaining, Gerig flew down the court and floated a shot on the run that fell with 0.5 remaining to put the game on ice.
Having run out of timeouts, the Royals inbounded the ball but couldn't get off a shot attempt as Tech sealed the incredible comeback.
OIT shot 65% from the floor in the second half, scoring 56 points in an incredible effort.
The Hustlin' Owls registered five players in double figures on Friday:
Scotty Burge: 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting (5-6 from 3-point)
Kaison Faust: 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting with six rebounds
Keegan Shivers: 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting with eight rebounds and six assists
Matt Van Tassell: 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting
Garret Albrecht: 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting with four rebounds
Kellen Gerig also contributed with the game-winning shot and nine points with six rebounds.
Anthony Garcia led the Royals, with 19 points (game-high) on 7-of-11 shooting.