By: Tyler Scott, SOU Sports Information Director
Box Score POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – One of the best seasons in Southern Oregon men's basketball history came to an end Friday night as tournament host College of the Ozarks upset the 18th-ranked Raiders 76-59 in the second round of the 2013 NAIA Division II Tournament.
Southern Oregon ends the year with a 25-10 overall record, while College of the Ozarks improves to 23-12 and advances to Saturday's quarterfinals round. The Raiders' 25 wins set a single-season program record, and SOU advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round of the NAIA Tournament for only the second time in team history.
Southern Oregon struggled throughout the contest, as the Raiders shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) while allowing the Bobcats to hit 50 percent of their shots (28-of-56) and. College of the Ozarks out-rebounded SOU 36-to-25 as the Raiders' 25 rebounds marked the team's lowest game total of the year.
David Sturner (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) posted the best game for the Raiders, connecting on all three of his three-point attempts while shooting 8-of-11 overall to score a team-high 21 points while grabbing 13 rebounds. Sturner finished the season with 326 rebounds, the fourth-highest total in program history.
Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) added 20 points as the only other Raider to reach double-figures. Nathane Simniok scored a game-high 24 points for the Bobcats on 10-of-16 shooting. Mike Wiebe tallied 20 and Ethan Murray and Dami Sapara each added 11 in the win.
The first half remained close as Southern Oregon struggled to find consistency on both sides of the ball. A three-pointer by Sturner made it 32-29 in the final 90 seconds of the half, but the Raiders turned the ball over on each of their next two possessions and the Bobcats took advantage. College of the Ozarks got a bucket from Skyler Frazier off SOU's first turnover and Wiebe hit a half-court buzzer-beater following SOU's second straight giveaway to give the hosts an eight-point halftime advantage at 37-29.
College of the Ozarks stretched its lead to as many as 15 points early in the second period before SOU finally began to rally. Trailing 58-45 with 8:07 to play, Sturner made a free throw and Thompson hit a three on the Raiders' next possession. After a bucket by Simniok, Sturner hit a shot and Tedder sunk a trey to pull SOU within six at 60-54 with 5:32 remaining.
While it looked like the Raiders had all the momentum at that point, Murray responded with a three-pointer for C of O and Wiebe followed with back-to-back buckets. A layup by Pete Leonard and a pair of Wiebe free throws made it an 11-point Bobcat streak to essentially slam the door on the Raiders' comeback efforts.