KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -  The men's basketball team headed to Oregon to compete in the annual Lithia Oregon Tech Classic's two-day tournament starting Friday as the Warriors took on Southern Oregon for an afternoon matchup. The Warriors and Raiders exchanged leads through the first and second half, but it was SOU that maintained the lead through the final minutes for the 79-70 win, handing the Warriors their first loss of the season, now 6-1.

"Credit to SOU for doing a great job on us defensively and shooting it so well in the second half," head coach Lance Von Vogt commented on the outing. "We were sluggish from the start and although we were up for the majority of the game we never really caught our rhythm and they did down the stretch."

Through the first 20-minutes of competition, the Warriors were up the majority of the half with as much as a seven-point lead midway through. At the break, Jessup held the slight advantage over Southern Oregon, 34-32. 

Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half as the Raiders shot 35-percent from the field, and the Warriors had a slight edge shooting 37-percent, but it would be the Raiders in the second half that picked up the pace to fly to the finish.

Leading the Warriors offensively was Luis Medearis with 16 points, 6 rebounds and four assists and Tate DeLaVeaga close behind with 14 points, 4 rebounds and two assists. Closing out the double figures was Keith Phillips with 12 points, and one rebound shy of a double-double (9) and PJ Posey finishing the night with 10 points. 

"Many of the mental and tactical mistakes we've been working to clean up caught up with us today," Von Vogt said.

The Warriors will continue their time at the Lithia Classic and take on the tournament host Oregon Tech tomorrow evening at 7:30 pm. 

Von Vogt is looking forward to seeing his team back in action tomorrow, "We have a short turnaround to play a terrific OIT team tomorrow night on their turf so we don't have any time to cry over spilled milk. I believe we will find out what we are made of tomorrow night."

   
William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat).