ASHLAND, Ore. –
Earl Jones couldn't miss during a career-best performance, and neither could most of his teammates in 16th-ranked Warner Pacific's 90-78 victory Friday night at 19th-ranked Southern Oregon.
Jones went 10-for-13 to score a season-high 27 points with five assists for the Knights (23-6 overall, 13-4 Cascade Conference), who shot 57 percent as a team – including 18-for-28 in the second half.
The Raiders (22-7, 11-6) were unable to get the defensive stops needed to break through. Now they need a win in Saturday's final game of the regular-season against 11th-ranked Concordia to secure the No. 4 seed and a first-round home game in the CCC tournament. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start at Riehm Arena.
Doug Thomas scored 19 points,
Coletun Tarr had 18 on 5-for-6 shooting and
Michael Hall made all four of his attempts for eight points and seven rebounds.
Ryan Parks was 4-for-7 from 3-point range in the first half, helping the Knights build a 36-32 lead.
SOU's Jordan West totaled 21 points and 11 rebounds for his second 20-10 game and third double-double of the season. Ben DeSaulnier scored 20 points, Tim Weber had 11 assists and 11 rebounds, and Eric Thompson chipped in 13 points and five boards.
It wasn't enough for the Raiders to overcome WPC's torrid shooting. Raider guard Justin Martin hit three from downtown, but what looked to be his fourth triple rattled in and out with just over nine minutes left. A make would've closed the gap to two points, and one minute later buckets by Jones and Thomas took the Knight lead to 67-57.
West's layup cut it to 69-64 with 6:28 left, but Thomas came right back with a 3-pointer to start a 7-0 surge.
Thomas was 7-for-12 in the second half after going 1-for-6 in the first. Jones made all six of his attempts – including two triples – after halftime.
The Knights swept the season series for the first time in five seasons.