Second Half Rally Carries SOU Past Evergreen

Southern Oregon shot 64 percent in the second half to rally from a halftime deficit and defeat The Evergreen State College, 91-79, in a Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball game played Saturday night in CRC Gymnasium.

The Raiders (10-3 overall, 3-0), ranked No. 10 in the latest NAIA Division II Top 25 poll, outscored the hosts 50-34 in the final 20 minutes after trailing 45-41 at the intermission. At the same time, the Geoducks (5-7, 2-2) saw their shooting percentage cool off to 36 percent in the second half.

In the first half, Southern Oregon build an early 15-10 lead before Evergreen went on a 15-2 spurt to take a 25-17 advantage with 9:32 on the clock. Brock Otis hit consecutive three-pointers and Danny Powell followed with a layup and three of his own to cap the run. The Geoducks led by as many as 10 points at 41-31 on Jarrick Mitchell’s three with 3:25 left before the half.

The three-pointer was huge for the Geoducks in the opening 20 minutes as they hit 9-for-18 from beyond the arc after a slow start.

Southern Oregon came out of the intermission and scored nine of the first 11 points, including a pair of layups by Jordan West and a three-pointer by Joel Spear, to take a 50-47 advantage. Danny Powell responded with a layup and Alex Hernandez hit a three to give the Geoducks a two-point edge, but a three from Kenny Meyer about four minutes into the period put the Raiders on top for good.

Justin Martin came off the bench in the second half and nailed a trio of threes to aid Southern Oregon’s cause.

The Raiders’ first double-digit margin came with 2:31 left when a layup by Spear made the score 83-72. Powell scored four points as Evergreen got within six points with 1:17 to play, but Southern Oregon scored a layup and hit six straight free throws down the stretch to wrap up the win, its ninth in a row over Evergreen.

Powell, saddled by foul trouble for portions of both halves, led all players with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Brock Otis added 20 points, Alex Hernandez chipped in 11 and Mitchell led all players with seven assists.

Evergreen shot just 40 percent (29-for-73) from the field and got to the line just 12 times, making nine of those. The team finished with 20 assists on its 29 baskets.

Ben DeSaulnier led the Raiders with 22 points, followed by Spear with 17, Meyer with 14 and West with 12. West, who led his team with six assists, had nine rebounds and Spear eight as the visitors enjoyed a 37-34 edge in that category. Southern Oregon shot 59 percent (33-for-56) for the game, including 41 percent (7-for-17) from beyond the arc.

Evergreen is back in action at 3 p.m. tomorrow when it hosts the Oregon Tech Owls.