LEWISTON, Idaho – Behind K'wan Carter and Atmar Mundu, the Southern Oregon men's basketball team clawed all the way back from a 15-point deficit in the second half before running out of gas in a 72-66 loss to Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) on Friday at P1FCU Activity Center.

Carter scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and Mundu scored 16, hitting all four of his 3-point attempts. They both contributed two buckets during the Raiders' 17-2 spurt that tied the score at 53-all midway through the second half, but seven turnovers from that point on nullified their efforts.

Oreon Courtney lifted LCSC with 28 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 12-of-15 from the field and converted back-to-back baskets inside immediately after SOU tied the game, putting the Warriors in front for good.

The outcome had major implications on the Cascade Conference playoff race as the Warriors (20-9 overall, 13-8 CCC) forced a tie for third place with the Raiders (16-13, 13-8). Pending the outcome of Corban's late game at 11th-place Evergreen (Wash.), it could be a three-way tie heading into Saturday's final games of the regular season.

Because all three teams split their regular-season matchups, a tiebreaker would come down to their records against teams that finish .500 or better in conference play. SOU wraps the regular season at last-place Walla Walla (Wash.), which blew a 17-point lead and lost at the buzzer Friday against Oregon Tech.

The Warriors – who forfeited their first scheduled game against SOU due to Covid-19 protocols – were without forward Kevin Baker, their top scorer, but managed to punish the Raiders inside anyway behind Courtney. They posted a 44-22 advantage in the paint, and post Al Sommerfield helped them outside with four 3-pointers in the first half, where he scored 14 of his 16 points.

The Raiders went into the break trailing 38-30 after a buzzer-beating 3 by Tez Allen, who contributed 15 points. Courtney opened the second half with three unanswered buckets at the rim.

After the Raiders' game-tying rally – which consumed less than five minutes – Courtney took over again. He later made three straight free throws to put LCSC up 62-58 with 4:33 remaining, and following a defensive stop Khalil Stevenson stuck the dagger with a 3-pointer from the wing.

Carter's big night was a continuation of his best stretch of the season: the sophomore has averaged 15.7 points over SOU's last seven games after averaging 7.6 in the 20 games prior. Mundu, meanwhile, has hit double figures in 14 of SOU's last 16 games.

Saturday's late tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m.