Box Score BOX SCORE

LEWISTON, Idaho – Southern Oregon pulled within five in the final minute, but the Raiders could not overcome a 16-point second-half deficit as they fell to No. 15 Montana State University-Northern Friday night at the Lewis-Clark State Activity Center.

The Raiders fall to 1-2 with the loss, while the NAIA Div. I Lights improve to 7-2 overall. Southern Oregon returns to action tomorrow night, when the Raiders play host Lewis-Clark State at 7:30 p.m.

Southern Oregon fell behind by nine points at the end of the first half, trailing 42-33 at the break. After falling behind by as many as 16 points in the second half, the Raiders battled back to within five points on the strength of a .688 (11-of-16) second-half shooting percentage.

A Jordan Highland (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) bucket with 52 seconds remaining made it an 81-76 game, but Northern connected on four free throws down the stretch to seal the deal as the Raiders were unable to pull any closer.

Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) led SOU with 31 points in his second consecutive 30-point effort, connecting on 12-of-20 shot attempts from the field and grabbing five rebounds in 32 minutes. Highland finished with 15 points in 33 minutes, making all five of his shot attempts from the field. Terriel Thomas (Boise, Idaho/Borah) added 13 points in 21 minutes for SOU, hitting all eight of his attempts at the free throw line.

For the Lights, David Maddock led the way with 25 points. LaVon Myers added 14 points and Shaun Tatarka and Devin Jackson each finished with 12 points in the victory.