GLENDALE, Ariz. – Six Oregon Tech seniors did not want their college basketball seasons to end today in the desert. Paced by a 20-point effort from Keegan Shivers and a near triple-double from Jamison Guerra, the veteran Hustlin' Owls advanced to the second-round of the NAIA Championships for the third time in four seasons, topping Indiana Tech, 87-78, inside the ACU Events Center.
 
The Hustlin' Owls (23-7) move out of the tournament's first round for the 19th time – riding an 11-of-22 performance from 3-point range – to meet either Arizona Christian or Westcliff tomorrow at 5 p.m. (live on 92.5 KLAD-FM), with a trip to Kansas City and the tournament final site on the line.
 
"What a tremendous effort by our team," said OIT head coach Justin Parnell. "Indiana Tech is a tough, well-coached and physical team. We came out and set the tone from the opening tip and played Tech basketball for 40 minutes."
 
Dakota Reber canned back-to-back 3's to start a 15-5 first half run that broke a 20-20 tie – with Shivers adding a triple and a floater in the lane to cap the run.
 
IIT (23-8) responded in the second half with a 12-2 run, as Blake Davison hit a 3-pointer and Crew Gibson converted twice off the dribble, tying the score at 47-47 with just over 11 minutes remaining.
 
Jackson Cooper rallied OIT, breaking a 55-55 tie with a tough inside basket, and following a Reber trey and a Blake Jensen transition dunk, scored twice on the block, extending the Owls lead to 66-56.
 
Shivers kept the Warriors at bay, knocking down two deep 3's and Guerra beat the shot clock with a 22-footer with 97 seconds left, extending the Owls lead to 79-67.
 
Cooper finished with 15 points and six rebounds, Kam Osborn scored 13, Erik Fraser was 4-of-5 from 3-point range, scoring 12, with Guerra posting 11 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
 
Gibson led all players with 25 points and nine rebounds, with Davison, Brady Titus and Dallas Roberts each scoring 10 for the Fort Wayne squad.