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May 28, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels February 26, 2004 Bring on the Owls: SOU prevails to force rematch By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings There were two monster dunks, a crucial block and waves upon waves of swishes originating from every possible angle and altitude. And that's not even counting Shea Washington. Southern Oregon junior forward Jin Voeks (right) goes up for a rebound against Eastern Oregon's Trevor Exline (far left). The Raiders outrebounded the Mountaineers 42-24 en route to a 78-69 Cascade Conference tournament victory Wednesday. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings Southern Oregon's star power forward had 16 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, but it was the Raiders' balance and depth that was the difference in a 78-69 Cascade Conference tournament quarterfinal victory over Eastern Oregon, Wednesday night at McNeal Pavilion. Five Raiders scored in double figures and SOU (19-14) shot 56 percent from the field to set up a dream semifinal rematch with archrival and 13th-ranked Oregon Tech (24-8). The do-or-die game, scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m Saturday in Klamath Falls, will likely clinch a NAIA Division II national tournament berth for the winner. "They got us last time, but we've got three days of practice," said Travis Elam, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks off the Raider bench. "We'll work hard, go over there and give it all we got � We'll get 'em." In other Cascade Conference playoff games, Oregon Tech slaughtered Evergreen State 99-46, Albertson beat Northwest 77-60 and Western Baptist upset Concordia 78-76. Clutch plays The Mountaineers (13-13) were within three to five points nearly the entire second half, but could never get over the hump. Their best shot came with about two and a half minutes left, when Larry Smith air-balled a wide-open 3-pointer that would have tied the game. The Raiders then broke the press and got a resounding dunk at the other end by Elam, who delivered his best game of the season. The 6-foot-5 high-flying junior forward put an exclamation point on the win with 10 seconds left by throwing down a two-handed breakaway jam, avoiding the temptation to play to the crowd with something more fancy. "The game was already over," he said. "I didn't want to look bad. Respect, you know?" Elam, who also came through with a key block with 1:17 to go and SOU up by four, wasn't the only surprise hero for the Raiders. Junior forward Brad Coen, who entered the game averaging four points per contest - 1.2 more than Elam, scored 17 on 6 of 6 shooting, including 5-for-5 from 3-point range. Also, sophomore guard Peter Nelson had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. All of the above served as an unbeatable compliment to Washington, the Raiders' sophomore post who is in the running for Cascade Conference Player of the Year honors. Bucking trends The Raiders outrebounded Eastern, which entered the game as the league's No. 1 rebounding team, 42-24, held the Mounties, the league's top shooting team, to 41 percent shooting and 9 of 16 treys. Coen said SOU's inside muscle was the difference. "They're going to get a shot up, whether it's a good shot or not," Coen said, "and when that ball gets up we need to block out and get the rebound and that was the key. We got some key rebounds and some blocks by Shea and Travis." Senior guard Tyree Jones nearly willed Eastern to an upset, but his 24 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals weren't enough to overcome SOU's balance and clutch play down the stretch. Smith added 17 points on 7 of 15 shooting, but he made just 1 of 6 3-pointers. Jones hit a 3 to pull Eastern within two with 1:36 to go. Only five seconds later, Raider guard Steve Farley was fouled near midcourt, a costly mistake by Smith that led to two Raider points. Jones missed a jumper at the other end and another Smith foul led to a pair of Washington free throw makes that put the game out of reach. Guess hoooo Now the Raiders and Owls will meet for the second time in a week at the same site, but with the stakes even higher than before, when home court advantage was on the line. OIT trampled SOU 73-54 last Saturday, but the frantic, often spectacular win over Eastern seems to have given the Raiders a much-needed lift. SOU head coach Brian McDermott said only minor adjustments need to be made on the Raiders' side. "We felt all year that we wouldn't be ready to play them early and that we'd be ready to play them late and I still feel that way," he said. "Really, in that last game there was about a five-minute stretch that they separated from us and the rest of it we played pretty even. We just gotta find a way to eliminate that five-minute stretch." Added Nelson: "We didn't do good enough the last time we were there, so we've got to redeem ourselves a little bit. We're looking forward to it." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams