Senior Justyn Searle scored 20 points and grabbed 20 rebounds against OIT on Saturday.
Searle sees ‘20-20’ in Concordia win over Oregon Tech
PORTLAND, Ore.—Thanks to a dominant performance from center Justin Searle, No. 10 Concordia University overcame a poor shooting night from 3-point range to down Oregon Tech 66-55 Saturday night,
Searle shot 9 of 13 from the field and shredded the interior defense of OIT (6-5, 0-2 Cascade Collegiate Conference) with 20 points and 20 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. His play was critical for Concordia (9-2, 1-1 CCC) as the Hustlin' Owls recognized the Cavaliers' struggles from long range and backed off into a zone to force their hosts to make shots.
Concordia made up for that problem with efficient passing to generate looks closer to the basket. When all else failed, Searle was there to corral an errant shot or put home a second-chance opportunity. Concordia's offensive performance was reflected in the huge disparity – 26-6 – in points in the paint.
The Owls jumped out to a 16-7 lead early, connecting on 4 of 6 3-pointers in the opening five minutes. Concordia played much better defensively the rest of the half but shot just 31 percent, needing a perfect mark at the line – the Cavaliers were 5 for- 5 – to stay within striking distance. OIT led 27-24 at the break.
Coming out of intermission, Concordia was a different team. Searle's alley-oop dunk from
Tyler Velasquez (Colorado Springs, Colo./Doherty H.S.) six seconds into the half brought the crowd alive, and
Esvan Middleton (Culver City, Calif./Culver City H.S.)'s alley-oop layup from Velasquez on the next possession gave the Cavs their first lead in nearly 20 minutes of action.
The teams traded baskets back and forth for several minutes without creating any separation, but as the second half wore on the Owls' offense began to sputter. After hitting 37 percent from the field in the opening period, OIT shot just 24 percent in the second as Concordia pulled away down the stretch. The Cavaliers outscored the visitors 18-8 over the final seven minutes, including a strong 6 of 7 showing at the foul line.
Searle's efforts on the glass helped Concordia record a massive edge in rebounding at 53-31.
Thomas Pierce (Gary, Ind./Roosevelt H.S.) (15 points) and
Anthony Holton (Portland, Ore./Sunset H.S.) (12) joined Searle in double figures scoring, while Velasquez shook off a rough shooting outing by notching six points, six assists and eight rebounds. The Cavaliers made 16 of 21 free-throws (76 percent) in the contest.
The Owls were led by Lavar Moore's 18 points. Austen Flint and Kyle Waits also had 14 and 10 points, respectively. However, in accordance with their poor shooting night overall, OIT's top two scorers made only 9 of 34 shots. For the game, Tech went 19 for 63 from the field (30 percent) to Concordia's 24 for 60 (40 percent).
Before the game, Concordia and head coach
Brad Barbarick honored Oregon Tech head coach Danny Miles. Miles, who ranks among the all-time greats in college basketball history with more than 1,00 wins over a 44-year coaching career – all at OIT – will retire after the 2015-16 season. However, Concordia's move to NCAA Division II next season meant this was Miles' last trip to the Cavaliers' campus.
Oregon Tech next plays at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Simpson University in Redding, Calif. Concordia takes the court at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 12 in an exhibition game against Camusun University (B.C.) at Columbia Christian Schools in Portland.