OLYMPIA, Wash. – Blake Jensen posted career highs with 18 points and 15 rebounds, helping Oregon Tech to a key 95-76 road victory at Evergreen State inside Costantino Recreation Center.
 
The win moved the Hustlin' Owls (11-12, 8-9 CCC) into a tie for seventh-place in the Cascade Conference standings with five games remaining in the regular-season.
 
"The one thing we didn't want to do is play guys a ton of minutes," said OIT head coach Justin Parnell. "We wanted to get guys who have playing so hard in practice some playing time – we might have broke the subs record tonight shuffling guys in and out. We got what we needed out of tonight and will be ready to go tomorrow."
 
Jay Elmore hit a pair of 3-pointers and Jensen scored 3-straight baskets in a 15-4 first half run that gave OIT a 19-10 edge. The Geoducks (1-17, 1-15), mired in a 13-game losing streak, rallied within 27-25 on a spinning lay-up from Alex Glen with seven minutes left in the period – but Tech had the answer. Baskets from Joey Potts and Jamison Guerra, along with a dunk from Jensen, started a 16-2 run, helping the visitors take a 43-29 lead to the break.
 
ESC scored the first six points of the second half, but OIT answered in a big way. Triples from Potts and Keegan Shivers started a flurry, with a Noah Thomas 3-pointer capping the 18-4 surge that extended the lead to 61-39 and the Owls put the game into cruise control.
 
Jensen finished the night 7-of-9 from the field, nearly doubling his previous career highs of 10 points and eight rebounds. Both Elmore and Shivers scored 13, Thomas added 12, with Potts and Guerra scoring 10. Kyle Hadwick had a career night as well, scoring eight points and six rebounds. OIT held a commanding 54-20 rebound edge and converted 51-percent of their field goal chances.
 
Glen scored a season-high 14 points in the loss for the Geoducks.
 
Tech closes out the road trip tomorrow afternoon with a 5 p.m. match-up at Northwest University.