Owls Hustle Past Raiders 99-85
Klamath Falls, Ore. – The Oregon Tech Hustlin’ Owls take down the SOU Raiders for the third time this season by a score of 99-85, Tuesday night on Danny Miles Court.
The Hustlin’ Owls and Raider men were both off to a quick start, as the two teams went shot-for-shot over the first 5:00 minutes of play. A series of turnovers by SOU saw Tech take off in transition, as the home team stretched their lead to 15 points before the Raiders would call a timeout. Tech continued to hit their shots and showed no signs of slowing down. With the clock winding down towards for the half, the Owls pushed their lead up to 27 points, before two made free-throws by SOU guard, Tristan Holmes, would send the teams off with the score 57-32.
In the first half, the Owls shot 52.5% from the floor, going 7-14 from downtown and seeing nine different players adding to the tally. The Raiders shooting 32% for the first 20:00 minutes, with freshman, Jordan Hunt, the only one in double-digits with 13 points.
The Hustlin’ Owls maintained their composure to start the second half of play, as they came out and made it a 31-point lead at 63-32, before the Raiders started chipping away at the gap. The two teams battled back and forth with the score difference hovering around 20-points. Back-to-back made three-pointers, by SOU’s Holmes, cut the lead down to 14-points, with 6:00 minutes remaining in the game. SOU continued to climb back and with 1:30 minutes remaining, a jumper by Holmes brought the score to 95-82, as a timeout was called.
The contest was closed out with both teams making baskets and SOU unable to overcome the deficit. The buzzer sounded and the scores sat 99-85 in favor of the Owls.
On the night, the Raiders shot 47% from the floor and were led by Tristan Holmes with 32 points, while Jordan Hunt added 21 points. Ben DeSaulnier and Tate Hoffman added 12 and 10 points each.
The Hustlin’ Owls shot 50% on the night and were led in scoring by Joel Yellow Owl with 26 points, while Brandon Halter and Tyler Hieb added 18 and 15 points apiece.
With the loss, SOU moves to 10-5 in the CCC and 16-9 on the season. With the win, Tech moves to 12-3 in the CCC, maintaining their hold on 2nd place, and 19-6 on the season.
The Owls now hit the road as they head to Walla Walla, Wash. this weekend to take on Walla Walla U. at 8:00pM on Saturday, SOU will play WWU Friday afternoon.