martin
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
Justin Martin scored a career-high 20 points Wednesday.
71
Multnomah MU 4-9, 1-4
97
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 12-3, 5-0
Multnomah MU
4-9, 1-4
71
Final
97
Southern Oregon SOU
12-3, 5-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Multnomah MU 30 41 71
Southern Oregon SOU 51 46 97

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

SOU eases past Lions into Thursday's matchup for first place

ASHLAND – Finally, the 10th-ranked Southern Oregon men's basketball team was afforded a comfortable Cascade Conference win Wednesday night, 97-71 over the Multnomah Lions at Mountain Avenue Gym.

And with Thursday's 7:30 p.m. matchup with Warner Pacific for first place looming, it came at just the right time.

SOU juniors Justin Martin and Clay Sierra both had career night with 20 points apiece – Martin hit 6-of-10 from 3-point range, and Sierra went 10-for-12 from the field with nine rebounds and three blocks – and the Raiders never trailed, scoring the first 10 points of the night and cruising the rest of the way to bump their record to 12-3 overall and 5-0 in the CCC.

Warner Pacific, the defending CCC co-champion, will enter tomorrow's game with a matching perfect conference record after its 87-80 win Wednesday at Oregon Tech.

Just like they'll see against the Knights (though to a different degree), the Raiders faced a zone defense most of the night against the Lions. They countered it by matching a season-high with 12 makes from beyond the arc, including eight in the first half, on 30 attempts. They also got to the basket with ease, the evidence a 50-26 advantage in the paint.

Sophomore forward Brennan Rakoz came off the bench for career-bests of 12 points and 13 rebounds, six of which were collected on the offensive end. Gary Melvin added 11 points and a career-high six assists, his 5-of-6 effort from the field helping SOU to a 52-percent clip (40-for-77) as a team.

Despite playing limited minutes, Jordan West also went for six points, six boards and a career-high eight assists, and Ben DeSaulnier scored all 10 of his points in the first half. Thirty-two of SOU's 40 baskets were assisted (Joel Spear contributed four), matching the team's highest assist total in two years.

The Raiders were up 51-30 by halftime. They hadn't previously led at the break of a CCC game this season.

For the Lions, who were making their first trip to Ashland as a member of the CCC and had not previously met the Raiders, Jordan Paris led the way with 17 points and six rebounds. Ben Grandle added 15 points with five of Multnomah's 15 3-pointers.

Multnomah was able to force the Raiders into just seven turnovers, their lowest total yet in a CCC contest.
 
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