KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.  – The Bushnell men's basketball team battled their way through a difficult travel day, a myriad of illnesses and injuries, and a slow start, fighting to the end with No. 24 Oregon Tech before dropping an 82-78 decision to the Owls in Cascade Conference action.
 
Head Coach Eddie Alexander said, "I am extremely proud of the way we played tonight. It was another difficult travel day from Ashland in the snow, but our guys played with heart and with energy tonight."
 
Playing on the road is never easy, especially in Klamath Falls, where the Beacons have notoriously pulled in just two victories over the last 40 years. After falling behind 12-2 and 19-5 to open the contest, it would have been almost understandable if Bushnell simply phoned in the final 34 minutes of the game, but concession was the last thing on their mind.
 
The Beacons never led in the contest, but battled back to within two points after being doing by as many as 14 in both halves. One last push almost got the job done, as the visitors were down 75-63 with just four-and-half minutes remaining only to go on a 12-3 run, including ten points from an under-the-weather Cory Johnson to once again pull to within two points with 72 seconds to play.
 
Oregon Tech, however, made enough free throws in the final minute to keep Bushnell at bay for the four-point victory.
 
"It was a rough start," said Alexander, "but after settling in we made a few runs to keep it close so we could be there in the end. We made the right plays, but just missed a couple of shots in big moments."
 
The Beacons (10-14, 6-12 CCC) were led by Cory Johnson, finishing with an impressive game-high of 25 points. Kaleb Burnett joined him with a strong showing of his own, posting 13 points and leading all players with nine rebounds and three steals. Luke Smith came off the bench to score 13 of his own and Squeeky Johnson finished with 11, including a three-pointer in the final 15 seconds that had brought the Beacons to within two points one last time.
 
Coach Alexander said, "Squeeky hit another big one to give us a chance and Cory and Kaleb carried us with scoring and rebounding. Luke was a fire-starter off the bench like normal and keyed our first half run with his energy."
 
Oregon Tech (18-5, 14-3) shot 51.6% in the game and finished with six different players in double-figures. Keegan Shivers led the crowd with 16 points, hitting a trio of three-pointers, while Blake Jensen added 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Bushnell remains tied for eighth-place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference with four games remaining in the regular season. The team remains on the road next weekend, traveling to Washington where they will face Evergreen (2-19, 2-16) on Friday and Northwest (5-19, 4-14) on Saturday.
 
"We will work to carry this energy forward," said Alexander, "and hopefully get everyone back to health and feeling better. We have two very big weekends left for us to secure our playoff spot."