CALDWELL, Idaho — Southern Oregon went on the road and took the top-ranked team in the country down to the wire in the semifinal round of the Cascade Conference Championships. Short of a win, the Raiders made one last convincing case to be included in the NAIA National Tournament field.

Their fate is in the hands of the selection committee after Friday night’s 70-65 loss to No. 1 College of Idaho at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center. Clinging to a two-point lead, the Yotes (28-2) made six consecutive free throws in the final minute to nail down their eight consecutive CCC Tournament championship game appearance.

The Raiders, who opened the postseason with Tuesday’s 80-70 quarterfinal victory over Eastern Oregon, went to 20-10. They’ll wait six days to learn if they’re part of the 64-team national bracket, which will be revealed at 6 p.m. Thursday.

SOU played from behind for the final 22 minutes but remained within striking distance for the duration after Elijah Jackson’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer trimmed the C of I’s lead to 34-33 at halftime.

Drew Wyman dropped in a 3 that briefly appeared to be a dagger with two minutes left, giving the Yotes a 64-58 lead. But Khalil Chatman came through with a tip-in on the other end, and with 59 seconds to go Yotes coach Colby Blaine was whistled for an untimely technical foul that sent Jackson to the line and cut it to 64-62.

Possession after those free throws went back to the Yotes, whose All-American point guard, Samaje Morgan, got to the basket and received the benefit of the doubt on a block-charge decision. Free throws from him and, later, Tyler Robinett upped C of I’s edge to six, though it was cut in half again by a Mason Whittaker 3 with 22 seconds left. Another perfect trip to the line from Johnny Radford then sealed the outcome.

Jackson finished with 20 points — hitting that mark for the fifth time in seven games — and five assists. Whittaker scored 14, going 4-of-9 from downtown, while Chatman and Bryce Dyer logged nine points and 10 boards apiece. Joe Juhala tallied 11 points and helped steady the Raiders with three first-half triples after they committed eight turnovers over the eight opening minutes.

Radford scored 15 for the Yotes, whose point total was their lowest in 18 games. They shot 37% from the field and the Raiders landed on 35%.

SOU was appearing in the semifinals for the seventh consecutive postseason.