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Hustlin’ Owls Clinch No. 1 Seed

02.20.2010

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Hustlin’ Owls romped past Concordia to clinch the Cascade Collegiate Conference’s No. 1 automatic bid to the NAIA Division II  men’s national basketball tournament with a 97-77 win over the  Cavaliers.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow night at Warner Pacific, OIT holds all of the tiebreakers so will head into the postseason as at the least the regular season CCC co-champions.

OIT concludes the regular season at Warner Pacific, and the Knights not only must beat the Hustlin’ Owls, but hope The Evergreen State can win at Eastern Oregon to move WPC into a tie for second place in the league.

An OIT loss and Eastern win would leave the two schools tied for the conference championship for the second straight season, but tiebreakers favor the Hustlin’ Owls.

The trip to Branson in March will be OIT’s eighth straight. OIT also will open the league playoffs at home Wednesday, but its opponent will not be known until after Saturday’s games.

Friday, Concordia took an early lead, but the hot-shooting Owls were able to open up a 52-42 halftime lead. OIT shot 66 percent from the floor in the first half, and 59 percent for the game.

Myles Daley paced the Hustlin’ Owls with 19 points, with Joseph Foster (18), Mike Nieraeth (15) and Scott Riddle (11) also scoring in double figures.

Daley also had two rebounds, which make him the 14th OIT player with 600 or more career rebounds. Daley also becomes the ninth player with both 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in his career with the Hustlin’ Owls.

Justin Parnell had a team-high six rebounds and seven assists. Even with the loss, the Cavaliers clinched a postseason playoff berth when Southern Oregon lost to Warner Pacific, 83-66.

For the Cavaliers, Alex Tiefenthaler scored 19 points, with Drew Preuninger, Jourdan Sweeney and Kevan West also scoring in double figures. Sweeney also had a game-high seven rebounds.

Oregon Tech will wrap up the Cascade Conference regular season Saturday night at Warner Pacific. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm in Portland, Oregon. The game can be heard live on 92.5 KLAD-FM and anywhere in the world at OITSPORTS.com

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