No. 8 Oregon Tech remained perfect in the first half of CCC play after taking down rival Southern Oregon by an 80-54 score. (photo by Kelly Caleb)
No. 8 Oregon Tech Stays Perfect in CCC, Downs Southern 80-54
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Oregon Tech used a 25-5 run to break a 10-10 tie on their way to an 80-54 win tonight over rival Southern Oregon University.
The win gives the eighth-ranked Owls an 18-2 overall record while remaining perfect in CCC action at 9-0. The victory for head coach Dan Miles is his 924th and moves him into 2nd place on the all-time career wins list in men's basketball.
The Owl used a 6-0 spurt to move ahead of SOU 16-10 with just over nine minutes remaining in the first period. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Kyle Gomez and Joseph Foster pushed the advantage to 10 points and a lob-play to Bryant Sentman on Tech’s next possession pushed the OIT lead to 26-14 with 5:30 on the clock. OIT took their largest lead of the first half at 35-15 before settling for a 40-21 halftime lead.
Southern bounced back to start the second stanza, cutting their deficit to 42-30.
A Gomez offensive rebound and put-back pushed the lead to 47-30 and when Mihajlo Matic connected on a triple with 13 minutes remaining in the contest, it was OIT with a 52-32 lead.
Over the next three minutes SOU clawed back, thanks to a 10-0 run, and at the midway point was down just 52-42.
The Owls, however, would not let their rival get any closer, as Tech tallied 28 points over the next 10 minutes to win going away 80-54.
Five Owls finished in double figures with Bryant Sentman leading the way with 17 points. Joseph Foster added 13, while Kyle Gomez, David Clarke and Mihajlo Matic netted 10 each. Gomez also handed out seven assists and grabbed eight rebounds, both game-highs.
For Southern (12-7, 5-4 CCC) Jordan Highland and Austin Wolfer with 15 points for team-high honors.