ROCKLIN, Calif. –
Kody Bauman scored on four-straight possessions late in the second half to help Oregon Tech end an 8-year winless drought at Jessup University, as the Hustlin' Owls earned a key 78-72 regional victory over the Warriors inside Warrior Arena.
Bauman made all six of his field goal attempts, part of a 15-point night, as the Owls (3-1) earned their first victory on JU's floor since a 75-74 at the start of the 2015-16 season.
The Warriors (3-2) rallied from a 12-point first half deficit to take their only lead of the night at 53-52 on a pair of free throws from Aydan Janssan.
Keegan Shivers answered with a 3-pointer and a runner in the lane,
Jay Elmore hit the third of his three 3-pointers and
Jamison Guerra converted a tough lay-up, part of a 10-3 run to regain the lead.
JU pulled within 63-61 on a Myles Corey jumper – but Bauman took over. The senior hit two jump hooks in the lane and added a pair of contested lay-ups, helping Tech take a 71-63 lead. A
Kam Osborn 18-footer as the shot clock expired with 15 seconds left provided the exclamation point.
"That really was the difference," OIT head coach
Justin Parnell said of Bauman. "We don't win this game without Kody and Blake (Jensen) inside. When we couldn't score, we just went inside to Kody and he goes 6-for-6 in just 13 minutes. We did what we needed to do."
OIT blitzed the hosts from the outset – scoring the first nine points of the game, extending the lead to 35-23 on a Shivers put-back and led 41-35 at the break.
Shivers led the Owls with 18 points and nine rebounds, with
Blake Jensen scoring 11 points with 10 rebounds – as Tech finished with a 43-35 edge on the glass.
Corey led all players with 21 points, with Janssan scoring 15, but OIT held the opponent to 41-percent shooting, including 6-of-21 shooting from 3-point range.
The Hustlin' Owls continue their road swing on Wednesday night at OUAZ, the first of two games in Arizona.
