KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – It's not an easy scenario to earn a road victory in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) when your opponent shots over 65% from the field for the entire 40 minutes of regulation in a matchup of Pacific Northwest heavyweights, as the Corban University Men's Basketball team struggled to take advantage of any method possible to slow down the highly efficient offense from the No. 24-ranked Hustlin' Owls of Oregon Tech with OIT clinching the series sweep 94-67 on Danny Miles Court.
During the program's Black Out for Hunger campaign in which they collect food donations for the Klamath Basin homeless community, the Hustlin' Owls (17-5, 13-3) put on a show in front of the fearless souls willing to brave the harsh winter conditions that rolled into southern Oregon earlier this week at the expense of the Warriors (12-11, 10-7), who dropped their fourth-straight matchup and second-consecutive against an NAIA Top 25 opponent.
OIT scored the first basket of the contest and never looked back by holding on to their lead for all 39 minutes and 7 seconds following a fastbreak layup, as the offensive woes for the Navy and Gold were harbored even more so by their inability to stop the Owls in their offensive possessions. Oregon Tech's 65.5% shooting from the field tonight marks the most efficient outing of the season for the nationally ranked program, who moved one step closer to locking up a top two seed in the CCC Tournament set to begin later this month.
Offense was difficult to come by today for the Warriors, with senior guard RJ Veliz leading the charge with his 14 points on 50% shooting and splashing two of the team's four three-pointers. Senior guard Drayton Caoile matched Veliz with 14 points of his own off the bench and a pair of steals, while senior guard Luc Krystkowiak and junior guard Spivey Word each provided 11 points apiece.
An all-around performance from All-Conference guard Jamison Guerra set the Hustlin' Owls up for success tonight, as he handed out seven assists while scoring a game-high 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Joining Guerra in the "only missed one field goal all game" category was guard Erik Fraser (15 points), forward Blake Jensen (10 points), and forward Jackson Cooper (10 points).
Corban men's basketball looks to snap their losing skid tomorrow evening in snowy Ashland against Southern Oregon University (15-7, 10-6), with tipoff scheduled for 5pm at the Lithia Motor Pavilion.
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