KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Tyler Murrell made a layup as time expired to lift (RV) the University of Antelope Valley (6-5) past Oregon Tech (4-5) 81-80 Saturday night at Danny Miles Court.
 
"Hats off to Antelope Valley. They hit some tough shots down the stretch," said head coach Justin Parnell. "The loss really falls on my shoulders. We had two fouls to give and we were trying to foul them immediately after the free-throw, make or miss. I didn't do my job and tell the officials we were fouling which put them in a tough spot to call it. Our guys played good enough to win and I'm proud of them."
 
After a back-and-forth 1^st half, Tech took a slim one-point lead into the halftime break 40-39.
 
The Owls took their largest lead of the game 65-57 at the 9:59 mark on a Matt Van Tassell jumper.
 
The Pioneers chipped away and cut the OIT lead to 67-64 on a three-pointer by Elias Ezenekwe with 6:47 remaining.
 
A Scotty Burge three with 4:32 left gave the Owls a 73-66 lead. However, UAV went on an 8-3 run to make it a 76-74 game with just two minutes remaining.
 
Murrell would hit a layup to tie the game at 76 after a goaltending call on the Owls with:45 seconds left on the clock. Jamison Guerra hit a clutch jumper to give the Owls the lead back at 78-76 but Lavontay Ott gave the Pioneers a 79-78 lead on a three-ball with just 21 seconds left in the stanza.
 
Burge was then fouled and after he made both free throws Tech led 80-79 with just 5.6 seconds remaining.
 
Ezenekwe took the inbound pass and drove down the lane. He lost the ball on the way up and the ball landed in Murrell's hands as he quickly shot as the buzzer sounded to give Antelope Valley its first-ever win over Oregon Tech.
 
Tech had five players in double-digits in the loss, led by Garret Albrecht 18 points, Burge 14, Van Tassell 13, Kaison Faust 12 and Guerra 10.
 
Ezenekwe led UAV with 17 points while Murrell finished with 15, including the game-winner.
 
The Owls will get back to conference play as they host No. 18 College of Idaho Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Friday's game is a white-out as fans are encouraged to wear white.
 
 
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