CALDWELL, Idaho – No. 3 College of Idaho and No. 17 Oregon Tech went toe-to-toe to settle the 2024 Cascade Collegiate Conference title on Tuesday night. The Owls, who were the No. 3 seed, were in search of their first conference tournament title since 2012. The Yotes, who were the No. 1 seed, were looking for their fifth-straight conference tournament title. After 13 lead changes and the score tied on seven occasions, it was the Hustlin' Owls, who prevailed with a 79-76 win on this night.
College of Idaho (28-3) was paced by
Jake O'Neil, who had 16 points and eight rebounds in the loss. He was joined in double figures by
Samaje Morgan and
Johnny Radford, who had 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Oregon Tech (26-5) shot at a 55.6% (30-for-54) clip and also had three in double figures with Kam Osborn taking home game-high honors with 24 points, Keegan Shivers adding 18 and Jackson Cooper providing 11. The 55.6% was the highest by a Yotes opponent since they saw Vanguard shoot 58% from the field in the season opener.
The Yotes scored the first five points of the game on a layup by Morgan and a 3-pointer by
Tyler Robinett for the early advantage. Despite the early deficit, Osborn hit his first of three 3-pointers to put OIT ahead 12-9 with 14:56 left in the first 20 minutes. Later in the half, Oregon Tech went on a 16-2 run to take a 34-22 lead with 4:53 to go in the half. The Yotes managed to cut the deficit to six at halftime, 38-32 when
Alex Germer made one of two free throws with :30 left in the half. The last time that the Yotes had trailed at halftime was on January 12 at Corban. The first half saw the score tied twice and three lead changes.
The Yotes regained the lead on a steal and layup by Radford with 14:30 to go. However, the two teams were tied five more times as the game remained close. Down 71-70 with 2:48 to go, Shivers regained the lead for the visitors with a 15-foot jumper and they added to their lead with a layup by Osborn for a 74-71 advantage with 1:32 to go.
After a Yotes timeout and on the ensuing possession, they missed a shot and Osborn made two free throws to make it a two-possession game with :50 left in the game. Radford cut into the lead, making a pair of free throws. Again, OIT had an answer when Shivers banked in a 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring and :12 left that made it a 79-73 game. College of Idaho made a comeback attempt that came up short as the Hustlin' Owls secured the win and a berth in the 2024 NAIA National Tournament.
Despite the loss, the College of Idaho will receive an at-large bid as the regular season conference champion. The Yotes will host the first and second round of the national tournament, Mar. 15-16. Opponent and ticket information will be announced later this week.
