CALDWELL, Idaho – The second-ranked College of Idaho men's basketball team hit five consecutive free throws in the final seconds to stave off No. 13 Southern Oregon 72-69 in a back-and-forth battle Saturday night at the J.A. Albertson Center.

The Raiders (9-3 overall, 0-2 Cascade Conference) converted four more field goals than the Yotes (13-1, 2-0) and kept them at 38-percent accuracy, but the difference was at the line, where C of I went 21-of-25 and SOU was 10-of-12. The Yotes poured in 15 of those in the second half.

SOU junior Jordan Hunt shot 9-of-11 with 21 points and seven rebounds, and he gave the Raiders their last lead at 60-59 on a scoop at the rim with 4:07 to go. Matt Meyers took the lead back with a pair of free throws on the other end, and with 2:33 left Keun Palu-Thompson delivered the key play of the game. After stepping into the passing lane, he took a steal from coast to coast and finished a three-point play to make it 64-60.

Senior guard Tristen Holmes tallied seven of his 21 points in the final 80 seconds to keep the Raiders close. They had two chances to close the gap entirely: down two with 1:50 left, when Tate Hoffman missed the potential go-ahead 3, and down two with 44 seconds left, when Holmes was called for a charge in the paint.

After C of I's Jake Bruner missed a free throw with two seconds left, Talon Pinckney picked off Tez Allen's long pass to the other end.

Matt Meyers led C of I with 14 points and five offensive rebounds. Gibson Berryhill had 13 off the bench and was perfect on four clutch free-throw attempts.

Conor Carroll chipped in seven for the Raiders, netting three straight jumpers in the first half. They had their biggest lead at 21-12 midway through the period after limiting the Yotes to one make through the game's first 6 ½ minutes.

SOU is off until Dec. 10, when it'll host Simpson (Calif.) in a non-conference affair. The Raiders will play their CCC home-openers Dec. 14 and 15 against Northwest (Wash.) and Evergreen (Wash.).