Box Score ASHLAND – Spent from Friday night's double-overtime loss and without its best stuff from outside, the Southern Oregon University men's basketball team had to grind out a mostly ugly 80-65 victory against Eastern Oregon on Saturday night at Bob Riehm Arena.

Jeff Bush (West Linn, Ore./West Linn), a night after posting the third-highest single-game assist total in SOU history (14), scored a game-high 18 points and tacked on seven rebounds and five assists. David Sturner (Philomath, Ore./Philomath) added his 13^th double-double of the season, totaling 12 points and 14 rebounds.

The ninth-ranked Raiders (18-5 overall, 7-4 Cascade Conference) didn't take the lead for good until Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) scored in the paint with 18:45 remaining. They made 17 of 18 free throws in the final 12 minutes to hold the Mountaineers (12-9, 3-8) back.

Thompson labored through a tough shooting night (4-for-13) to register 13 points and nine rebounds. SOU, which came into the night with the third-most 3-pointer in the country, went 3-for-14 from downtown but made six of their last seven from the field to finish 26-for-55.

The outside accuracy of the Mountaineers, on the other hand, kept them in it. In the first meeting between the teams, which SOU won 83-60, the Mountaineers went 3-for-25 from downtown, but this time they canned 11 on 24 tries.

Craig Tucker went 4-for-7 from 3-point range, scoring 16 points off the bench. Tony Eackles had a team-best 17 points, and Deonta Edwards and Trevor Phillips scored 10 apiece.

Tucker's 3-pointer preceded an Eackles 3-point play with 8:47 left, trimming SOU's lead to 53-49. Six straight free throws put the Raiders back up by 10, and Bush's drive to the basket followed by a pair of Jordan West (Gymea Bay, Australia/Port Hacking) free throws gave them their biggest lead, 71-55, just under the four-minute mark.

Jacob Kaler (Camas, Wash./Camas Valley) had 12 points off the bench for SOU, going 7-for-8 from the line.

The Raiders had a season-low five turnovers – no one committed more than one – and limited Eastern to 37.3-percent shooting (19-for-51) from the field.

Tied for third place and two games back of first with seven to go, they'll hit the road next weekend, playing at Corban on Friday and Northwest Christian on Saturday.