holmes
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
94
Eastern Oregon EOU 15-3, 8-1 CCC
97
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 12-7, 6-3 CCC
Eastern Oregon EOU
15-3, 8-1 CCC
94
Final
97
Southern Oregon SOU
12-7, 6-3 CCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Eastern Oregon EOU 34 60 94
Southern Oregon SOU 35 62 97

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

Holmes explodes for 27 points, 10 assists as SOU upsets #5 Eastern

ASHLAND – Tristen Holmes went off for 27 points and 10 assists on a career night, and Southern Oregon needed every bit of it to pull off Saturday's 97-94 upset of fifth-ranked Eastern Oregon at Mountain Avenue Gym.

Holmes, a sophomore point guard from North Medford, scored six of SOU's 10 unanswered points during a game-changing run that gave the Raiders a 35-34 halftime lead, and then went 7-of-9 with 19 points in the second half. SOU (12-7 overall, 6-3 Cascade Conference) led for the final eight minutes and made nine of 10 free throws in the last three to hang on.

Eastern Oregon forward Bryan McGriff, the conference's top scorer, dropped 30 points and 10 rebounds, but his attempt from just inside the half-court line grazed the backboard and rimmed off as time expired.

The Mountaineers (15-3, 8-1), who had won 10 in a row when the night began, have lost six straight games in Ashland.

The Raiders also got season-best scoring efforts from Kenny Meyer (21) and Hunter Bradford (16 points, 7 rebounds), who combined for 35 points in the second half. The Raiders shot 55 percent from the field (33-of-60) to outdo EOU's 52-percent display (35-of-67).

Bradford's 3-pointer with 7:59 left gave them the lead for good, 70-67, and his second triple made it 76-71 a minute later.

Holmes went 11-of-15 from the field, but one of his biggest plays was a bizarre one. With 3:18 left and SOU up 84-81, Jordan Hunt was injured and taken off the floor during a dead ball. Not realizing Holmes was one of the players helping him off, the officials allowed EOU to inbound the ball. After Kentrell Washington began dribbling up the floor, Holmes sprinted from the hallway and came from behind Washington to pick his pocket – coming up with the steal and feeding Meyer, who was fouled on the break and made two free throws.

Meyer nailed a contested jumper with 1:43 left to make it 92-85. The Mountaineers answered with five straight: McGriff's 3-pointer cut it to 92-90 at the one-minute mark.

Still up two with seven seconds to go, Bradford split a pair of free throws. McGriff collected the rebound and dribbled into the potential game-tying shot, and his miss clinched the Raiders' second top-10 upset of the season.

Washington finished with 19 points and six boards for EOU.

SOU will go for another upset Sunday afternoon, hosting 17th-ranked College of Idaho at 3 p.m.
 
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