KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Redshirt freshman
Kyle Bittle scored a career-high 21 points, including the game-winning tap-in with 1.2 seconds remaining, as Oregon Tech toppled No. 17-ranked The Master's, 89-87, in Game 2 of the Lithia Classic at Danny Miles Court.
Southern Oregon topped No. 20-ranked Hope International in the opener, 79-69.
The Mustangs (1-3) tied the score at 87-87 on a Quincy Phillips basket inside the final 30 seconds, with Tech milking the clock down for a final chance.
Jared Sucher drove into the paint and put up a 10-footer that rattled out, but Bittle tapped home the winner on the left side of the block and the Owls withstood a last-gasp chance from the California school.
OIT (2-1) withstood a game featuring 17 ties and 49 fouls called, making 54% of their second half attempts, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range.
The Owls trailed 44-38 early in the second half, but held TMU without a field goal for five minutes, as
Dekker Van De Graaf converted a baseline lay-up to cap a 10-1 run to give Tech a 48-45 lead. OIT extended the margin to 67-60 on a
Chance White triple that spun-in from the back iron.
Trailing 83-77 with two minutes left, the Mustangs tied the game on a rare 6-point possession, as a foul and a technical gave TMU four free throws that they converted, with Jayceon Smith scoring off a baseline out-of-bounds play, making it 83-83.
Big baskets from
Caleb Bowden and Sucher gave the Owls the lead, but Phillips scored twice for the Mustangs to set up the finish.
Bittle was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, adding a game-high 11 rebounds in the win. Sucher led the Owls with 22 points, with White scoring 12 and both
Gylan Payne and Van De Graaf posting nine rebounds.
Phillips led all players with 30 points, with Brayden Miner scoring 22, but TMU was hampered by 7-of-32 shooting from 3-point range.
In the early game, Bryce Dyer scored 18 points, as Southern Oregon raced out to a 34-11 first half lead and held off a late HIU rally. The Royals pulled within 66-60 with four minutes left, but could not get closer. Chinedu Nwankwo had 22 points in the loss.
Tomorrow, The Master's and Southern meet at 6 p.m., followed by Tech and HIU at 8 p.m.
