CALDWELL, Idaho – Trailing 66-60 inside the final seven minutes against the 5-time defending Cascade Conference Tournament champion and defending NAIA champs, Oregon Tech made play-after-play in crunch time – closing the game on a 19-10 run, stunning No. 3-ranked College of Idaho, 79-76, in the title game of the CCC Championships, presented by U.S. Bank.
 
Keegan Shivers gave the Hustlin' Owls (26-5) the lead for good with a 5-foot floater in the lane and provided the big blow, a 24-foot 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, giving the visitors a 79-73 lead.
 
Kam Osborn led Tech with 24 points, part of an offensive attack that converted 56-percent of their field goals against one of the top defensive units in the NAIA.
 
"I think what I'm most proud about is we got down six and the crowd was into it and we didn't back down," OIT head coach Justin Parnell said. "Osborn and Shivers came up big and ... I'm out of words right now."
 
The Yotes (28-3) saw a 23-game win streak snapped – as the Hustlin' Owls stunned the partisan home crowd with a 16-0 first half run. Osborn and Erik Fraser hit consecutive triples, with Fraser scoring on a backdoor layup to extend the OIT lead to 28-22.  Shivers added a long 3-pointer, followed by another from Jay Elmore to push the margin to 34-22.
 
Tech led 38-32 at the break, but C of I whittled the margin early in the second half, regaining the lead at 46-45 on a steal and basket from Johnny Radford. The Yotes extended the lead to 66-60 on the third Dougie Peoples 3-pointer of the half – before OIT made their run.
 
Osborn converted twice on drives, with Shivers canning 3-straight free throws to give Tech the lead. After the two clubs exchanged baskets, Shivers converted with his runner – starting the final run for the Owls.
 
OIT secured their first CCC Tournament title since 2012 – their seventh in program history. It was the Owls first-ever victory over C of I in a title game in seven tries, while ending a 6-game losing streak to the Yotes on their home floor.
 
Shivers finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, with freshman Jackson Cooper adding 11 points off the bench
 
Jake O'Neil led the Yotes with 16 points and eight rebounds, with Samaje Morgan scoring 13 and Radford adding 10.
 
With the win, OIT secured the CCC's second automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships, with the 64-team field to be revealed on Thursday at 4 p.m. The Owls will host a watch-party of the selection show in the CEET Auditorium on the OIT campus – with all fans welcome to attend.
 
"Basketball season is hard to go through with lot of emotions. Just to watch what these guys are doing is special," Parnell said. "I don't know what we're going to do at the national tournament, but I'm glad to make the trip with these guys."