The College of Idaho men used a 31-9 run to close out the game and run away with an 81-71 victory over Southern Oregon tonight at McNeal Pavilion.

The Coyotes improved to 5-10 overall and 2-2 in Cascade Conference play. Southern Oregon dropped to 8-6 overall and 2-2 in conference.

Matt Ballenger had a game-high 25 points and six 3-pointers for the Coyotes. Steve Peres added 24 points and four 3-pointers.

Kyle Tedder (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) led SOU with 18 points and four 3-pointers. Austin Wolfer (Woodburn, Ore./Woodburn) added 15 points, while Jordan Highland (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) had 13 points and Dex Daum (Fallon, Nev./Churchill) had 12 points.

The Raiders used a huge offensive start to the game to take control early. A 3-pointer by Tedder gave SOU a 22-18 advantage and the Daum went off. Four long-range bombs by the red-shirt freshman turned a 28-28 tie into a 42-32 halftime lead for the Raiders.

SOU shot 63 percent from the field in the first half on 17 of 27 shooting and went 5-for-8 from 3-point range.

The Coyotes started off the second half on fire, cutting the lead to 46-44 on a 3-pointer by Peres.

The Raiders answered right back with a Tedder 3-pointer for a 49-44 lead.

A layup by Wolfer and a another Tedder had SOU up 62-48 before College of Idaho came back and cut the lead to 62-58 on a layup by Miguel Rodriguez.

Kellen Hawley (Cordova, Alaska/Cordova) scored five straight points for a 67-61 SOU lead with just under 7:00 to play.

Ballenger answered with a 3-pointer to get the Yotes to within one at 67-66 with 4:43 to play and Kelly McCarty gave the Coyotes the first lead of the half at 68-67 at the 4:10 mark.

A jumper by McCarty pushed the lead to 72-67 and capped a 10-0 College of Idaho run.

Another Ballenger 3-pointer made the score 75-69 and iced the game for the Coyotes.