Hieb Free-throw Lifts Owls Past Beacons in Top 25 Thriller
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KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – With a second left on the clock, junior Tyler Hieb sunk a single free throw to break a tie between No.10 Oregon Tech (13-2 CCC, 23-5) and No. 25 Northwest Christian University (10-6 CCC, 18-8), sending the Owls to a 94-93 victory on Friday night.
The end of the game was a thriller as Mitchell Fink hit a runner down the lane with 37 seconds remaining to give the Owls a 93-91 lead. Devonte Cleveland then tied the game at 93 with 9-seonds remaining. Tech quickly inbounded the ball to Fink who drove down the lane and missed, Hieb grabbed the rebound and tried to shoot but was fouled with 1.5 left on the clock. After making the first free-throw Hieb intentionally missed the second, NCU grabbed the rebound and called time out with .9 remaining. The Beacons long pass was intercepted by Kiason Faust as time expired giving the Owls the one-point win.
"Another tremendous second half road effort from our guys," said Oregon Tech head coach Justin Parnell. "Our defensive effort in the last 15 minutes was very good. Very proud of Matt Van Tassell and Garret Albrecht for owning the paint."
Though Tech started with a solid lead built with an 8-0 run early in the first half, the Beacons swept in with an 11-2 run and went on to dominate the stanza, outscoring the Owls 56-44. A 9-0 run early in the second helped to solidify their lead.
However, the Owls were not to be left out, riding a 16-3 run from a 12-point deficit to a single point lead. NCU took a 12-2 run back to the top for a short time before OIT squeezed in a 10-1 run in the final minutes to tie the game before Hieb pushed them over the edge.
Freshman Matt Van Tassell scored a career high 20 points for the Owls, just a single point shy of Fink, who added 21 along with six assists to lead Tech. Junior Seth Erickson notched another 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while sophomore Garret Albrecht scored 12.
Hieb recorded eight points and grabbed nine rebounds, leading OIT to a 46-35 rebounding advantage and now has 1,007 career points at OIT.
Ernest Ugoagu of the Beacons added 22 points to take game high honors and was one of five players to score in double digits. Cleveland notched 19 points and five assists, Zach Sly recorded 17 points, and Austin Tyner grabbed 11.
Tyrus Hosley scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, recording a double-double.
NCU led from the bench 43-35.
Northwest forced 11 turnovers while committing only 9 of their own and outscored the Owls 18-10 in points off turnovers.
The Hustlin' Owls will next travel to Eugene, Oregon on Friday the 8th to play Northwest Christian University before playing Corban University in Salem at 7:30 pm on Saturday the 9th.
Next Game
@ Corban University
2/9/19 | 7:30 PM