desaulnier
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
75
Northwest Christian NCU 5-3, 1-1 CCC
80
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 9-2, 2-0 CCC
Northwest Christian NCU
5-3, 1-1 CCC
75
Final
80
Southern Oregon SOU
9-2, 2-0 CCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Northwest Christian NCU 42 33 75
Southern Oregon SOU 34 46 80

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

No. 13 SOU comes up big late again to defeat NCU, 80-75

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon and Northwest Christian men's basketball teams haven't let each other off the hook in recent years without coming up big in the closing minutes.

On Sunday afternoon at Mountain Avenue Gym, crunch time belonged to the 13th-ranked Raiders in a key 80-75 Cascade Collegiate Conference triumph.

Trailing by eight at halftime, guards Joel Spear and Ben DeSaulnier brought the Raiders back by scoring 16 apiece in the second half. Down 72-71, SOU took the lead for good with 1:34 remaining when Jordan West dumped off a pass to Gary Melvin for an open layup, and, after a miss on the other end, Melvin led the break and hit a streaking Clay Sierra for a layup that became a three-point play to put the Raiders up 76-72.

A day after overcoming a six-point deficit with 20 seconds left to beat Corban in overtime, the Raiders improved to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the CCC. The Beacons – who were ranked 12th in the preseason and upset seventh-ranked Oregon Tech on Saturday night – fell to 5-3 and 1-1.

Of the last 11 meetings between SOU and NCU, four have gone to overtime and four more have been decided by five points or less in regulation. SOU had lost four straight regular-season meetings entering Sunday.

Spear followed his career-best 25-point effort against Corban with 25 more against the Beacons, going 9-for-12 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point range. He made all three of his 3-point attempts in the second half and also came up with three steals.

DeSaulnier was limited by foul trouble in the first half but finished with 21 points for the second straight game, making six of eight field-goal attempts. West added 12 points, nine rebounds and a career-high five assists, and Sierra chipped in 10 points.

The Raiders shot a season-best 61 percent (27-of-44) from the field and 9-for-15 from downtown. Their troubles in the first half were due to 12 turnovers; they hadn't totaled more than eight turnovers in any of their previous five games.

Jack Hackman's 12 first-half points got the Beacons out to a 42-34 lead, but he was shut out in the second half and the Raiders had tied the game by the 15-minute mark. Javonte Byrd scored 20 for NCU, and his 3-pointer with 4:49 left gave his team a 69-65 lead, but DeSaulnier answered with a layup and a triple to put SOU back in front.

The second half facilitated nine lead-changes and five ties in all.

Kenny Blackwell had 10 points and eight assists for the Beacons, and Austin Kuemper scored 15.

SOU will visit 25th-ranked Cal Maritime next Saturday and return to CCC play Dec. 19-20 at Evergreen State and Northwest (Wash.).
 
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