Southern Oregon defeated Northwest University (NU) 94-91 in men’s basketball Cascade Conference play on Friday in Kirkland. With the win, SOU leaps over NU (7-5) into fifth place with a 7-4 record.

“A disappointing loss for us tonight,” said NU head coach, John Van Dyke. “We couldn’t get critical stops when we needed to and credit Southern Oregon for their execution on offense. They made big plays when they needed them. We’ll need to recover quickly and be ready for another good team tomorrow night in Oregon Tech.”

The Eagles posted their only lead of the game, 8-7, three minutes into the contest, but Conor Carroll’s three-pointer at the 15:35 mark of the first half gave Southern Oregon a 10-8 lead and, outside of four ties during the game, the Raiders would maintain the lead to the final buzzer. SOU maintained a five- to seven-point lead during the entire first half. NU cut it to 40-33 but Jason Simmrin hit two free throws with 4 seconds to go, giving the Raiders a 42-33 halftime lead.

The score would tighten again during the second half with SOU mainting the lead. Each time Northwest U cut into the Raiders’ advantage, SOU would answer with a score of its own. Eagle Dak Shagren made it a 70-69 game at the 8:59 mark, but a 9-2 run by Southern Oregon stretched the lead back to seven points, 79-72, with 7:40 to go in the game. Northwest U came back to tie three times during the final minutes and with the game locked at 83-83, SOU would again pull ahead with an 8-2 run, leading 91-85 with 2:03 left. One final push by the Eagles and Michael Dupree would make it a 93-91 game with 17 seconds left. Kenny Meyer hit just one-of-two free throws with 12 seconds to go (94-91) to give NU one more chance to tie, but an NU turnover with two seconds on the clock gave Southern Oregon the victory.

Dupree led Northwest U (15-5, 7-5 CCC) with 22 points and a game high seven assists. Shagren scored 18 for the Eagles, who shot 47 per cent during the game. Justice Martion, getting his first start of the season, scored 17 points.

Southern Oregon (13-8, 7-4 CCC) was led by Ben DeSaulnier’s 26 points and six rebounds. Tristen Holmes added 21 points with a team high six assists while teammate Hunter Bradford dropped in 15 for the Raiders. SOU shot 56 percent for the night (35-62).