ASHLAND – Is it too soon to declare Southern Oregon a Cascade Conference men's basketball championship contender? Less than 10 percent of the schedule is complete, sure, but with wins against the top-two teams in the preseason poll already banked, the Raiders have set themselves up nicely.

A night after knocking off No. 2-ranked College of Idaho, the Raiders grinded out a 61-57 win against Eastern Oregon on Saturday at Lithia Motors Pavilion. They survived a 34-percent shooting outing, hit just two 3-pointers for the first time in two years and dodged a point-blank bullet in the final seconds to send the Mountaineers home with their 12th loss in their last 13 trips to Ashland.

The teams traded leads eight times over the final nine minutes. Khalil Chatman accounted for the final instance when, with 28 seconds to play, Teron Bradford penetrated and dumped off to him for a layup to put SOU (4-3 overall, 2-0 CCC) up 58-57. EOU guard Jonny Hillman – who scored all 17 of his points in the second half – got to the basket on the other end, but his attempt spun in and out before Bradford collected the rebound, drew a foul and hit two free throws with nine seconds left.

The Raiders then opted to foul instead of allowing EOU (1-6, 0-2) attempt a potential game-tying 3, and Hillman missed the front end of a one-and-one to seal the outcome.

Bradford finished with a team-high 13 points despite some struggles from 3-point range, where the Raiders collectively went 2-of-21. Bryce Dyer came off the bench to register his second double-double in three games with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He scored seven in the second half after the teams went into the locker rooms tied at 23.

Mason Whittaker had 10 points and four assists. He assisted Chatman for a game-tying bucket with five minutes to go, then, after putting the Raiders in front with a pair of free throws, found Dominic McGarvey on a cut to the rim for a go-ahead layup at the three-minute mark.

Hillman's floater in the lane gave EOU the lead for the last time with 43 seconds left before Bradford and Chatman teamed up for the answer.

Hillman hit three 3-of-4 3-point attempts in the second half after the Mountaineers went without a triple in the first. He finished 7-of-11 from the field and his teammate, Brennen Newsom, totaled 11 points and 12 rebounds inside. Garrett Hawkes, who had averaged 26 points over EOU's previous four games, was limited to two.

Elijah Jackson sparked the Raiders early and logged eight points and four rebounds off the bench.

The shooting display was their worst of the season, and their worst in any win since the 2018-19 season, but they ultimately survived by taking care of the ball. They committed seven turnovers in the game and 17 on the weekend, including just 10 over their final three halves of play.

The Raiders are home for their final nonconference game at noon next Saturday against Jessup (Calif.). They resume CCC play Dec. 15-16 at Evergreen (Wash.) and Northwest (Wash.), then come home to face Oregon Tech on Dec. 20.