LA GRANDE – The 15th-ranked Southern Oregon men's basketball team didn't sulk for long after a gutting setback at College of Idaho, fighting back Saturday night for a critical 77-73 defeat of Eastern Oregon at Quinn Coliseum.
Aaron Borich scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting and
Teron Bradford iced the win at the free-throw line, knocking down a pair with 3.8 seconds left to give the Raiders (16-5 overall, 10-3 Cascade Conference) their eighth win in nine games.
For the fourth time in SOU's last five outings, the night came down to one last defensive possession. After EOU All-American Max McCullough trimmed a seven-point deficit to four with a 3-pointer, Landon Jones cut it to 75-73 on a put-back with 47 seconds left. The Raiders were whistled for an offensive foul on their ensuing trip, but Bradford challenged McCullough's eight-foot jumper that rolled around and out and landed in
Jordan Hunt's hands with five seconds to go.
Hunt, a senior forward, went for 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists. Borich finished 6-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3 – he hit all three of his attempts from downtown in the second half and extended SOU's one-point halftime edge to 60-48 with 12 minutes left – and added six rebounds and five assists.
Bradford finished with 14 points, five boards and a pair of blocks, but his best work came on the defensive end, where he helped limit McCullough to 6-of-18 accuracy.
Less than 24 hours removed from their disheartening 73-72 loss against the third-ranked Yotes – in which the Raiders had an eight-point lead with under a minute to go – they watched EOU, fresh off an upset of Oregon Tech, open up a 33-25 lead over the opening 15 minutes. Hunt helped them right the ship, starting a half-ending 11-2 run with a three-point and following it with a 3-pointer.
Hunter Bradford chipped in nine points and two blocks in 11 key minutes off the bench and
Tate Hoffman had seven points, nine rebounds and three assists. With SOU up 70-66 and four minutes remaining, Hoffman threw in a 3-pointer and a minute later made a driving layup to make it 75-68.
The Mountaineers, who lost their first matchup against SOU in overtime in Ashland, dropped to 10-10 and 4-7 in the CCC. They gave the Raiders more fits inside by going to 7-foot center Jarek Schetzle, who totaled 21 points with a 9-of-13 display.
The Raiders will come home next week, playing Friday against Evergreen (Wash.) and Saturday against Northwest (Wash.), which will enter its trip with an 8-2 conference record.