KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The men's basketball season finally got underway on Friday night as the Bushnell Beacons lost by three points on the road to Oregon Tech, 85-82.
 
The teams started the contest on a blistering pace as each combatant shot over 50% from the field in the first half before OIT took a 42-40 lead into the break. Strong offense continued in the second half, but the Owls got the better of Bushnell as they held the visitors without a three-pointer over the final 20 minutes, proving to be the difference in a three-point game.
 
Head Coach Eddie Alexander said, "We are still a very young team and with no preseason to figure out rotations or situational lineups, we still had a chance tonight. OIT is in the same boat having to figure things out on the fly, so I give them a lot of credit."
 
Five players were in double-figures for the Beacons (0-1, 0-1 CCC), led by sophomore Stevie Schlabach with 23 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Ernest Ugoagu added 16 points, shooting 3-for-5 from outside, along with a game-high three steals. Nico Wolff scored 11 points while Luke Burke and Logan Sand each came off the bench to score ten.
 
OIT (1-0, 1-0 CCC) was led off the bench by Kaison Faust who was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field, scoring 23 points and 12 rebounds. Garret Albrecht added 17 points and Kameron Osborn scored 14 in a reserve role. The Tech bench ended out-scoring the Beacon pine, 56-20.
 
"I am proud of how we played tonight as a team," said Alexander, "but there are some areas where we expect to be better. We look forward to another opportunity tomorrow."
 
The teams will face off one more time, on Saturday at 2:00 pm.