ROSEBURG – The Umpqua men’s basketball team outscored No. 8 Linn-Benton down the stretch to pull off a 74-65 upset win on Wednesday night.

The RiverHawks went cold midway through the first half and fell behind 23-15. After a stern pep talk from coach Daniel Leeworthy during a timeout, the RiverHawks responded with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 23-all. The score went back-and-forth over the final six minutes of the half and it was just a one-point game in Linn-Benton’s favor at halftime.

The two teams traded the lead over the first seven minutes of the second half, but a jump shot from Eric Klekas with 13:03 left to play put Umpqua in front for good. Klekas finished with a game-high 24 points for the RiverHawks.

Umpqua (11-4; 2-0 South) won its fifth straight game and has now won seven of its last eight. Connor Shaw added 19 points for the RiverHawks and Ethan Betts contributed 15.

Bailey Evers scored 16 points to lead Linn-Benton (11-5; 1-2 South).

Up next for the Umpqua men is a showdown with top-ranked Portland (14-2; 3-0 South) on Saturday.