Box Score BOX SCORE

FRESNO, Calif. – Southern Oregon saw a double-digit first-half lead disappear and Fresno Pacific tie it with less than two minutes to play, but the Raiders scored nine of the final 11 points to seal a 96-89 road victory over No. 25 Fresno Pacific Thursday night.

With the win, SOU improves to 1-1 this season, while FPU falls to 1-1. The Raiders return to action next weekend at the Lewis-Clark State Tournament, where they will play Northern Montana on Nov. 11 at 5:30 p.m.

The Raiders shot 65.5 percent (19-of-29) in the first half, led by as many as 10 points in the period and held a nine-point lead going into the break at 48-39. Dex Daum (Fallon, Nev./Churchill) dominated the first half for SOU, scoring 20 points while connecting on six three-point attempts with only one miss in the period.

But after the Raiders led for much of the opening half, the second half featured 20 lead changes and five tie scores. The Sunbirds scored the second period's first 14 points to turn a nine-point halftime deficit into a five-point lead, their largest of the game.

Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) ended the run with a jumper to pull SOU to within three points, and he went on to score 27 of his game-high 34 points in the second half to carry SOU to the victory. Thompson connected on 9-of-12 shots in the second half and 12-of-16 overall to cross the 30-point threshold in only his second game for the Raiders.

Another Thompson jumper put SOU up by seven at 75-68 with less than eight minutes to play, but the Sunbirds scored the next eight points to take the lead two minutes later. After the teams exchanged baskets for the next three minutes, three free throws put FPU up 87-83 with 2:53 remaining.

Back-to-back baskets by Scott Tiefenthaler (Spanaway, Wash./Bethel) and Jordan Highland (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) tied the game a minute later, and Thompson scored the final nine points for the Raiders on seven free throws and a layup to clinch the Raiders' first win of the season.

Southern Oregon shot 72 percent (18-of-25) in the second half to finish the game at 68.5 percent (37-of-54) while limiting Fresno Pacific to 46.9 percent shooting (30-of-64). The Raiders scored 48 points in each half and overcame 25 turnovers.

Thompson grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go with his 34 points. Daum shot 8-for-12, including 7-of-10 on three-pointers, to finish with 23 points off the bench for SOU. Jordan Highland (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) made all six of his shot attempts to total 12 points. Jeff Bush (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) dished out eight assists in the win.

For Fresno Pacific, George DeLeon's 23 points led the team, with Antonio Credit scoring 18 and Kenny Bradford adding 17.