KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – As the No. 10 Hustlin' Owls (14-3 CCC, 23-6) took down Eastern Oregon (9-8 CCC, 14-14) on Friday night at Danny Miles Court 91-61, over in Ashland Southern Oregon University took down No. 3 College of Idaho 85-69 making Tech's game against the Yotes tomorrow a winner-take-all for first place in the Cascade Conference.
 
"What an effort," said Head Coach Justin Parnell. "Tyler Hieb and Kaison Faust did a tremendous job on one of the best offensive talents in the CCC, Jordan May. We saved our best basketball for this weekend and I can't wait to watch our guys compete for the title tomorrow. Win or lose, this is a special group of young men.

The first half was a shaky start for OIT as the two teams fought for dominance. The Owls led off with an 11-2 run to claim a lead only to have it quickly lost to a 12-2 run for the Mountaineers. However, a 16-4 Tech run – led by Junior Seth Erickson, who added 13 of the 16 points – put them in the lead for good.
 
Erickson tied his career high of 27 points that he set only a few weeks before the game to lead OIT, while junior Mitchell Fink scored a double-double with 10 points and 12 assists, leading the Owls to a 22-7 assisting advantage.
 
Sophomore Garret Albrecht followed with 14 points and seven rebounds, contributing to a 39-27 rebounding advantage, and junior Tyler Hieb added another 10 points to the Hooter effort.

Garret Albrecht throws down the hammer! 🔨🏀🔥

Owls lead 59-41 with 16:00 to go! pic.twitter.com/QZc56dQLiO

— OIT Basketball (@OITMBB) February 16, 2019

 
Oregon Tech dominated the second half, with an 11-0 run following a 9-2 run and a final score of 45-25.
 
Jarek Schetzle led Eastern Oregon with 14 points, while Jordan May followed with 11. Landon Jones scored nine and grabbed six rebounds and Zane Wright added another eight.
 
OIT led in the paint 48-24 and forced 15 turnovers while committing 14 of their own and outscoring EOU 17-15 in points off turnovers.
 
The Owls also led 30-20 from their bench.
 
One of the main struggles for the Mountaineers was making baskets, as they ended the game with a shooting average of only 37.9% compared to Tech's 58.9%.
 
The Hustlin' Owls will play the College of Idaho in what promises to be an exciting first place tiebreaker game Saturday night at 7:30 pm at Danny Miles Court and the Owls will be hosting a first-round playoff game in the CCC Quarterfinals presented by US Bank on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm, also at Danny Miles Court.
 
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