ASHLAND, Ore. – Junior Trevon Richmond (pictured) scored the final eight points for the Beacons and hit the game-winning jumper with five seconds remaining to lift Bushnell to a 67-66 road victory over Southern Oregon University in CCC action Friday night.
 
Bushnell (6-6, 4-4 CCC) pull even with the Raiders (8-6, 4-4) in the Conference standings with both teams holding a share of fifth place. The Beacons shot 44% in the game but were 8-for-18 from three-point range and showed why they are ranked second in the nation for free-throw shooting, hitting 9-for-11 at the charity stripe. SOU was just 14% from distance and 50% at the line in the loss, wasting a 50-24 scoring advantage in the paint.
 
Head Coach Eddie Alexander said, "We struggled to execute in moments tonight and Southern did a great job in their zone stopping our ball penetration. We needed to execute better offensively at times but when it mattered most we dug deep and made plays."
 
After emerging from a tight first-half with a slim 35-33 lead, Bushnell had extended their advantage to as many as seven in second, and looked to be in control with a 55-49 lead and under nine minutes to play. The Raiders, however, rattled off nine straight points to take the lead.
 
SOU went ahead 64-59 with 3:52 on a dunk by Dominic McGarvey. While they play energized the Lithia Motors Arena crowd, it also lit an ember under the Bushnell defense, which would allow just one more bucket in the final stretch.
 
After Richmond hit a three-pointer to bring the visitors within two, the Raider's Tez Allen answered with a jumper late in the shot clock and Southern went up by four points and under a minute to play. Richmond quickly drove the lane on the other side and completed a three-point play to bring the Beacons to within 66-65.
 
The Raiders were fruitless again on the other side as Josh Meyer's shot was blocked by Stevie Schlabach before Spencer Hoffman pulled in the rebound. Richmond quickly ran the floor and with five ticks remaining, stopped and popped from the middle of the key to give Bushnell the lead.
 
"Trevon made big plays for us down the stretch," said Alexander. "He purposely did not call a time out at the end and that allowed him to get in transition to get to the rim. He used his spped to his advantage and was able to finish in traffic. Our little guard has some big heart!"
 
The Raiders, who had made just three of 20 three-point attempts on the night up to that point, attempted a trey at the buzzer which fell short, letting the Beacons escape with the win.
 
Richmond finished the game with 16 points for the Beacons. While he put them over the top it was Schlabach who did the dirty work for most of the night, scoring a game-high 21 points including a pair of three-pointers. Alexander said, "Stevie did a great job in the middle of the zone. We would have loved to see him hit a few more of those short ones, but he was our heart in the middle tonight."
 
Spencer Hoffman added eight points while Alexis Angeles added seven points and a game-high five assists.
 
Atmar Mundu led Southern Oregon with 14 points and Meyer added 11 as the Beacon defense held a team under 70 points for just the second time this season and first in Cascade Conference play. 
 
The Beacons will remain on the road Saturday, traveling to Klamath Falls to take on Oregon Tech at 5:00 pm. The Owls (6-8, 3-5) lost to Corban University on Friday night.