Box Score

LA GRANDE – Southern Oregon battled back from a double-digit deficit in the final two minutes to force overtime, but No. 23 Eastern Oregon prevailed in an 88-82 Cascade Collegiate Conference men's basketball victory Friday night..

The loss drops Southern Oregon's record to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in the CCC. Eastern Oregon improves to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Raiders return to action tomorrow night, when they will face College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho, at 7:30 p.m. (M.S.T.).

Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) led SOU with 23 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. Taylor Roos (Salem, Ore./Sprague) scored 12 points and Terriel Thomas (Boise, Idaho/Borah) added 10 for the Raiders, while Jeff Bush (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) dished seven assists. Four Mountaineers reached double-figures, led by Trent Roos' 17 and Traveares Peterson's 15 points. Mason Jones and Jeff Ranstrom each added 11 for the Mountaineers.

Following a close first half and a 38-38 score at the break, the Mountaineers scored the first five points out of the break, and Ranstrom's jumper stretched the EOU advantage to nine points at 50-41 less than six minutes into the half. Jeff Bush (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) made a layup to end the Eastern run and opened an eight-point SOU streak that pulled the Raiders within one with 10 minutes to play.

Southern Oregon hung within two at 56-54 with just under eight minutes remaining, but the Mountaineers used a 13-2 run to take their largest lead of the game when Peterson hit a layup to make it 69-56 with 4:11 to go.

The Mountaineers matched their 13-point advantage with 2:49 remaining after a pair of Trent Roos free throws made it a 76-63 game. A Jordan Highland (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) layup sparked a furious SOU rally that saw the Raiders score 17 points in just over two minutes to tie it at 80-80 and force overtime.

The Raiders closed the second half on a 17-4 run. Sam Osofsky (Westwood, Calif./Westwood), Roos and Kyle Tedder (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) all made three-pointers in the final minute, and Thomas' layup with eight seconds remaining tied it up.

Eastern Oregon scored the first five points of the overtime period, as the SOU shooting touch went cold. A pair of Highland free throws would mark the only points for the Raiders in the extra time, and Anthony Brown's three-pointer with nine seconds remaining sealed the win for the Mountaineers.