KLAMATH FALLS – No. 4-ranked Arizona Christian thwarted Southern Oregon's upset bid by erasing an eight-point deficit in the final 30 seconds of regulation and winning 93-89 in overtime on Friday afternoon at Danny Miles Court.

In the first game of the Lithia Classic, ACU's Anthony Howell hit a pair of free throws to break a tie with 28 seconds left in OT and the Firestorm sealed the victory by forcing a turnover on the other end.

The real drama took place minutes earlier, after Elijah Jackson's free throws put SOU up 77-69 with 35 seconds remaining in regulation. Dominic Gonzalez's basket-and-one cut into the lead, and when he missed the accompanying free throw, ACU's Jalik Dunkley claimed the offensive rebound and promptly hit a 3-pointer.

The lead was still three at that point, but SOU threw away the ensuing inbounds pass and ACU took advantage – getting another 3 from Lorenzo Wright to tie the score with four seconds to spare.

The win made the Firestorm 7-0. The Raiders, who'd started the season with four straight wins for the first time in 37 years, fell to 4-1.

The loss soured an encouraging outing for redshirt-freshman guard Gio Evanson, who scored 12 of his 18 points after halftime and dished out four assists. All four SOU's other starters joined him in double figures: Gabe Reichle (17 points), Jackson (15 points, 6 assists), Bryce Dyer (12 points, 8 rebounds) and Liam Clark (11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks).

SOU climbed out of an early 12-point hole to get within one by halftime. In the second half, the Raiders trailed by nine before Evanson sparked a 14-3 surge.

Howell dominated inside with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting for ACU. The Firestorm had been 17-of-34 at the free-throw line until making all four of their attempts inside the final 30 seconds of OT.

SOU plays at 3 p.m. Saturday against Linfield, its final tune-up for the Cascade Conference schedule.