KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Oregon Tech outscored Walla Walla 42-13 over a 13-minute stretch spanning the two halves, as the Hustlin' Owls won their eighth-straight, a 93-67 decision at Danny Miles Court.
 
OIT (13-3, 9-1 CCC) converted 51% of their second half field goals to turn away the upset-minded Wolves.
 
The visitors controlled the bulk of the first half, getting 3's from Thomas Mestrov and Dillon Wasser in a 12-2 run that gave the Wolves (2-12, 1-10) a 25-15 lead midway through the period. Tech answered with 8-straight points, capped by an alley-oop dunk by Dakota Reber, to give the hosts their first lead of the night at 31-30.
 
Wasser responded, scoring seven points in a row and Mestrov canned his fourth 3-pointer of the half, part of a 10-0 run, giving WWU a 41-32 edge with three minutes left in the period.
 
From that point, however, it was all OIT.
 
Erik Fraser started an 8-0 run to end the half with a lay-up and finished it with a two-hand slam, pulling the club within 41-40 at the break.
 
OIT led 50-46 early in the second half when WWU head coach Brandon Broome was ejected after picking up his second technical foul. The Owls responded, getting triples from Kam Osborn and Jared Sucher, along with two post baskets from Jackson Cooper, with the 14-2 run over a 3-minute span ballooning the margin to 64-48.
 
"We played poorly in every facet of the game in the first half," said OIT head coach Justin Parnell. "That isn't to take away from what Walla Walla did. We had a great conversation in the locker room and came out and played Tech basketball. I am proud of the effort we gave in the second half."
 
The Owls were able to rest starters for much of the second half – as Sucher scored a career-high seven and Sean Chris Tresvant scored five – with post Logan Thebiay scoring six points late in the contest.
 
Osborn led OIT with 14 points, Keegan Shivers scored 13, Fraser had 12 and Cooper posted 11 in the win. Blake Jensen had eight points and a team-best eight rebounds, with Jamison Guerra recording five assists and four steals. The Owls forced 23 turnovers on the afternoon, turning the mistakes into 33 points.
 
Mestrov scored a career-high 25 points, making 5-of-7 3-pointers, with Andrew Vaughan scoring 14 and Wasser finishing with 12. The Wolves made 59% of their first half field goals, including seven 3-pointers, but were held to 34% shooting after the break.
 
Tech returns to the court tomorrow night for a key match-up against No. 21-ranked Lewis-Clark State at 6 p.m. – live on 92.5 KLAD-FM.