by ASHLAND – The NAIA’s top scorer got loose against Southern Oregon again on Friday night, but this time the Raiders had enough firepower to neutralize him in their 100-90 defeat of Multnomah at Lithia Motors Pavilion.
Multnomah guard Justin Martin – who hit the Raiders up for 40 points in a Lions win on Dec. 30 – dropped 39 more in the second meeting. He registered 29 of those, however, after 10 unanswered points put SOU up 15 with 17 minutes to go, and was unable to get the Lions closer than eight points away despite his 11-of-21 showing in the second half that included five 3-pointers.
SOU freshman guard Teron Bradford, who was often assigned to chase Martin around, helped hold the Lions off with 22 points, four assists and no turnovers.
The win was the Raiders’ third straight, lifting them to 16-7 overall and 6-6 in the Cascade Conference going into Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. tilt with Warner Pacific.
They got contributions all around, including nine points, 13 rebounds and six assists from Tez Allen, Jordan’s Hunt 19 points and nine boards, and Tristen Holmes’ nine points, nine boards and six assists.
The biggest sparks came from their reserves though, as they racked up a 35-17 advantage in bench points. Tule O’Rourke (Yurok Tribe) came through with a career-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, knocking down four 3-pointers and recording three assists. Conor Carroll went 4-of-7 to contribute 10, and Kaj Bansen chipped in two of SOU’s 10 triples.
SOU led by as many as 19 in the second half. When The Lions cut it to 84-76 with four minutes to go, O’Rourke checked in and immediately poured in his final 3. A minute later, Bradford added another.
The Raiders led for the final 36 minutes. Up 25-19 with seven minutes left in the first half, Carroll knocked down a turnaround jumper, Holmes led O’Rourke to a bucket in transition, and O’Rourke came up with a steal that led to a Bradford fast-break layup that brought the lead to 12.
