KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Senior Mitchell Fink scored 40 points on Friday night at Danny Miles Court to lead No. 5 Oregon Tech (17-5, 7-5 CCC) to an 86-78 victory over Northwest University (14-7, 9-3 CCC).  
 
"That's a really hard-fought win against a very good Northwest team," said Head Coach Justin Parnell. "We played as hard as we have all year and our guys did a heck of a job defensively in the second half."
 
Fink's game-high scoring also moved him to #2 on the Oregon Tech All-time career points list with 1929 total, lagging only Level Hesia, who has 2127. "Mitch was incredible tonight against some very capable defensive players on him," commented Coach Parnell.
 
A layup from sophomore Matt Van Tassell opened the game, but Ryan Ricks of the Eagles responded with a three-pointer to take the lead. At that point, however, the Owls took over. A 12-2 run featuring six points from junior Harrison Steiger was followed by a 16-4 run later in the period that put them up 17 points.
 
Northwest University came back near the end of the half, going 22-for-8 to finish the half at a deficit of only a single point. Christian Hakilimali contributed seven to the run, including a single long-range basket.
 
The Hustlin' Owls responded in the second with an 11-4 run led by Fink, who scored nine. A 9-2 run capped by another Ricks three-pointer tied up the score near the end of the half, but the Owls finished 12-4 to end the game on an eight-point advantage.
 
Hakilimali led the Eagles with 24 points and added eight rebounds along with eight assists. He was followed by Hussayn Ford, who scored 19 and grabbed nine boards. Tanner Davis and Ryan Ricks rounded off the double-digit scorers with 12 and 10, respectively.
 
Van Tassell followed Fink's game-high scoring with 16 points and five rebounds. Steiger and junior Garret Albrecht each scored 12 and made five boards in the effort.
 
Northwest took a 37-34 rebounding edge led by Hussayn Ford, who ranks second in the nation in total rebounds per game. The team also took an 18-15 assisting edge.
 
Tech forced 12 turnovers with the help of nine steals and turned them into 24 points. The Eagles earned 14 second chance points off of 25 defensive rebounds.
 
The Hustlin' Owls will take on Evergreen State College tomorrow night at Danny Miles Court at 7:30 pm as part of the 11^th Annual Pink Out for breast cancer awareness. The first 1,000 fans will receive a complimentary 2020 Pink Out t-shirt courtesy of Sky Lakes – Breast Health Services.
 
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