spear
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
78
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 10-1, 1-0 CCC
75
Concordia CU 8-2, 0-1 CCC
Winner
Southern Oregon SOU
10-1, 1-0 CCC
78
Final
75
Concordia CU
8-2, 0-1 CCC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Southern Oregon SOU 32 38 8 78
Concordia CU 30 40 5 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | SOU Sports Information

SOU pulls off road upset of No. 10 Concordia in overtime

PORTLAND – As one might expect in early December, Concordia and Southern Oregon only resembled the 10th- and 15th-ranked men's basketball teams in the NAIA in short spurts Friday night at Cavalier Gymnasium.

The Raiders just happened to be the team that most closely resembled their ranking last as they closed out a 78-75 road upset in overtime to start their Cascade Conference schedule.

Joel Spear (Adelaide, Australia/St. Michaels) scored a career-high 22 points with seven assists and two steals. He went 9-for-11 from the floor and made all four of his 3-point tries, including a corner shot on the first possession of the extra frame. On the SOU's second possession of OT, Tim Weber (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) found him cutting to the basket for a layup and a 75-70 lead.

SOU (10-1 overall) staked to a 61-49 edge with 9:22 left, built by an 18-5 run that the Raiders pulled off with Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) on the bench. The Cavaliers responded with a furious 14-2 run of their own, finally taking a 70-68 lead with less than two minutes to play when Tyler Velasquez picked Spear's pocket for an easy layup.

The Raiders knotted it with 41 seconds left in regulation when Weber went to the basket, spun and hit a cutting spear for an easy two that ultimately dragged the Cavs (8-2) into OT.

Weber finished with 14 points, six assists and four rebounds, while Jordan West (Gymea Bay, Australia/Port Hacking) had 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jacob Kaler (Camas, Wash./Camas Valley) contributed nine big points and six rebounds off the bench.

Thompson, the CCC's leading scorer, was clamped down all night and only had eight points – his first time under 20 this season. Concordia got the ball under its own basket, down 76-75 with nine seconds left in OT and turned it over. Thompson made two free throws on the other end – his only points outside the first half – and Velasquez missed a half-court try at the buzzer.

The Raiders had lost five of the previous six games in which Thompson scored less than 10 points since his sophomore season, but Spear turned the tables with his career night. Spear previously had just one outing with two 3-pointers as a Raider.

The game was far from pretty, though. SOU had 23 turnovers and Concordia had 19. SOU also went 9-for-18 from the free-throw line – missing six straight in the first half, including the front end of two one-and-ones – and Concordia went 14-for-28.

Concordia slasher Thomas Pierce was 8-for-9 with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Velasquez had 12 points but struggled at 4-for-18 from the field.

With the exception of Concordia's 78-53 blowout last season, each of the other last eight games SOU has played on the Cavaliers' home court have come down to the wire and been decided by less than 10 points, with the Raiders winning six of them.

SOU will remain in Portland on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. contest at Warner Pacific, which won 73-65 in overtime Friday against Oregon Tech. 
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