Hustlin' Owls Hang On for 64-56 Road Win at Warner Pac
Men's Basketball
January 10, 2025
PORTLAND, Ore. –
Keegan Shivers scored a game-high 17 points and
Blake Jensen recorded his second-straight double-double, as Oregon Tech overcame a rough shooting night to outlast Warner Pacific, 64-56, inside C.C. Perry Gymnasium.
The Hustlin' Owls (11-3, 7-1 CCC) won their sixth-straight game, pulling into a first-place tie with College of Idaho atop the Cascade Conference standings. Tech held WPU to 34% shooting on the night, including 3-of-18 shooting from 3-point range, to claim the road win.
OIT built a 58-44 lead with six minutes remaining – but the Knights (8-6, 3-6) clamped down defensively – holding the Owls without a made field goal over the last nine minutes. Jurrien Sparks canned a 3-pointer inside the final minute to get the hosts within 61-56, with WPU forcing a turnover on the next possession.
Tech clamped down defensively, as
Erik Fraser took a charge on a Sparks drive and Jensen capped the win by drawing a charge on a Mason Savory runner – with the Owls making 3-of-4 free throws to close out the win.
The Owls used the 3-pointer to build a halftime lead, getting triples from Shivers and
Jay Elmore in a 10-2 run that gave OIT a 15-8 edge. The lead grew to 30-20 on a Jensen dunk late in the half.
WPU cut the margin to 37-35 early in the second half – but Tech countered with 10-straight points, as Shivers scored twice in the paint, Jensen took a Shivers pass for a 2-hand jam and
Kam Osborn canned a trey to give the visitors a 47-35 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
Shivers surpassed the 1,400-point mark for his OIT career in the win, with Jensen scoring 14 points with 13 rebounds. Osborn scored 12 – moving within six points of the 1,000-point mark for his career. Tech won despite making just 26-percent of their second half field goals and missing their final eight 3-point attempts.
Terrin Dickey led WPU with 16 points and Matt Solomon scored 15 in the loss.
OIT closes out the road swing tomorrow, traveling to Multnomah for a 5 p.m. match-up – live on 92.5 KLAD-FM.
