ASHLAND – Another comeback win kept the Southern Oregon men's basketball team's streak alive Friday at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
"Streaky" was an accurate characterization of the Raiders' play in their 84-78 win against last-place Walla Walla (Wash.). They jumped out to a 15-point lead early, fell behind 57-44 with 13 minutes left, and caught fire with 40 points the rest of the way to fend off the Wolves' upset bid.
They've won four in a row, going to 8-8 overall and 5-3 in the Cascade Conference. They'll get another win Saturday courtesy of Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)'s forfeit due to COVID-19 issues.
Josh Meyer went for 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, scoring 15 in the second half. His bucket inside set up by
Tez Allen's dish put the Raiders up for good at 74-73 with 1:47 left, and
Atmar Mundu padded the lead with a jumper off the dribble on their next possession.
Mundu finished with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and three assists. Allen had 11 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Jake Virga sunk a couple key buckets during the comeback and wrapped with nine points and three assists.
After the Raiders fell behind by 13, Allen sparked them by making back-to-back jumpers. When the Wolves stretched their edge back to 10, he and Virga bookended an 8-0 run with 3-pointers.
The lead changed hands five times in the final four minutes.
KiAndre Gaddy scored 21 points to lead the Wolves, who fell to 2-13 overall and 1-7 in the CCC. Ethan Ford scored 14 points, Zayne Browning had 13 and Artur Paraizo totaled 12 points, seven assists and two steals.
They briefly took over by shooting 59 percent in the second half.
The Raiders finished up at 54 percent for the game and recorded 20 assists on 30 buckets compared to six turnovers.
Mason Whittaker helped their efficiency with nine points and four assists, shooting 3-of-4.
Meyer's double-double was his sixth of the season.
The Raiders will be back in action next Friday at Multnomah. The next day, Jan. 15, they'll accept another forfeit win at Warner Pacific if they can clear enough players to compete, per CCC guidelines.