CCC CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY U.S. BANK
WEDNESDAY – QUARTERFINALS
(1) College of Idaho 99, (8) Multnomah 65
(7) Warner Pacific 85, (2) Oregon Tech 76
(3) Lewis-Clark State 58, (6) Eastern Oregon 57
(5) Southern Oregon 67, (4) Corban 65
SATURDAY – SEMIFINALS
7 p.m. – Southern Oregon at Lewis-Clark State
7 p.m. – Warner Pacific at College of Idaho
TUESDAY – CHAMPIONSHIP
7 p.m. – Lowest Remaining Seed at Highest Remaining Seed
SALEM – If the crunch-time issues that plagued Southern Oregon on the road in recent weeks were lodged in the backs of the Raiders' heads before,
Tez Allen swiftly reduced them to trivia in the quarterfinal round of the Cascade Conference Championships presented by U.S. Bank.
Allen scored 18 points and staged a late takeover as fifth-seeded SOU knocked out fourth-seeded Corban with a 67-65 upset Wednesday night at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center. The redshirt-junior guard from Carson City, Nev., scored buckets on four straight possessions in the final three minutes, leading the Raiders into the semifinals for the fourth consecutive postseason.
They advanced to play at 7 p.m. Saturday at third-seeded Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), which survived a one-point game against Eastern Oregon. Warner Pacific, after knocking out second-seeded Oregon Tech, will visit regular-season champion College of Idaho in the other semifinal.
The title game is set for Tuesday. The tournament champion gets an automatic bid to the 64-team NAIA National Tournament.
The Raiders (17-14 overall) had dropped six of their last seven road games to end the regular season – five of which they led during the final five minutes, and one of which was an overtime setback at Corban.
Redshirt-junior forward
Josh Meyer kept them in the fight this time against the Warriors (19-12) with 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Junior guard
Atmar Mundu also scored 16, and his three free throws in the final second of the first half put the Raiders up 28-25 despite their 27-percent shooting in the period.
A quick start to the second half had the Raiders up 12 points, but a 10-0 Warriors run made it 41-39. The teams went back-and-forth the rest of the way. With the Raiders down five, Allen and Meyer drilled back-to-back from beyond the arc to put them back in front at the seven-minute mark.
Corban enjoyed its last lead at 58-57, and Allen took it back with a step-back jumper. Following a defensive stop he got to the basket for a layup, then responded to Taylor Anderson's hoop with another jumper in the lane to make it 63-60 with 1:03 to play
Meyer came up with a steal on Corban's ensuing possession. Out of a timeout, Allen took his defender baseline and muscled a layup off the backboard and in to extend SOU's lead to five points with 15 seconds to go.
Two Mundu free throws iced the win moments later. Jordan Newt's buzzer-beating 3-pointer cut into the final score.
Mason Whittaker chipped in seven points for the Raiders, who won despite their 37-percent clip from the field and Corban's 46-percent mark. They hit five more 3-pointers than the Warriors and had a seven-point edge at the free throw line.
SOU lost its only meeting with LC State last Friday in Lewiston, 72-66. In that one, the Raiders came all the way back from 15 points down before falling flat.