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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us March 7, 2006 NAIA Nationals: Men’s Basketball Bumpy road ahead Southern starts tourney on three-game skid By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings SOU Senior All-american Shea Washington , the Cascade Conference Player of the Year, will again be key to the Raiders’ success at the national tournament. The team advanced to the semifinals a year ago. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings It’s about 3 p.m. on Wednesday, and Southern Oregon men’s basketball coach Brian McDermott is busy scanning through game film of William Jewell. The Raiders learned of their first-round draw at the NAIA Division II national championships about an hour earlier, but already McDermott is dissecting the Raiders’ next opponent, trying to figure out what his team can expect when its roller coaster ride continues. How did he manage to get a hold of game footage so quickly? “Because I’m good,” McDermott said, flashing a mischievous smile. “That’s all you have to know. I’m good.” His team, however, has been another story lately. The Raiders enter their second straight national tournament on a three-game losing streak — the team’s worst skid of the season. The poor finish to the Cascade Conference regular season and postseason almost certainly cost SOU a shot at a high seed, which would have yielded a much easier road to the finals. Instead, the road could get bumpy, and soon. Unseeded Southern (23-8) and 13th-seeded William Jewell (26-7) face off in one of eight first-round games scheduled for Wednesday at Keeter Gym on the campus of College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo. The game is set to tipoff at 5:45 p.m. local time (3:45 p.m. Pacific), with the winner advancing to face either Dominican or fourth-seeded Ozarks, the host team, in the round of 16. Also on the same half of the 32-team bracket as SOU is top-seeded Embry-Riddle (30-2) and fifth-seeded Mayville State (25-5). The second round will be played Friday and the quarterfinals Saturday. The other two Cascade Conference teams that qualified — seventh-seeded Warner Pacific (23-8) and 14th-seeded Oregon Tech (24-8) — are on the bottom half of the bracket and open the tournament on Thursday. The Knights face Holy Names (23-10) and the Owls take on Northwestern (23-7). The Raiders won two games to advance to the national quarterfinals a year ago and were considered national title contenders early this season before sailing into some rough waters. Since running off 15 straight wins and being voted No. 1 in the nation two weeks in a row in early December, the Raiders have faltered, losing seven of 14 games, including four of their last six. How could that happen to a senior dominated team led by one of the best big men (senior forward Shea Washington) in the country? According to McDermott, the short answer is “fatigue.” “The last two days in practice it was the first time since October that we’ve had good back-to-back practices,” he said. “I think what we needed was some rest, both physically and mentally, and it’s happened. We got the rest, and now hopefully we’re geared up to go the rest of the way.” In William Jewell, Southern has a first-round opponent that could be called the SOU of the east. Like the Raiders, the Cardinals are senior dominated, are led by a power forward who can score and rebound (Drew Mathews) and have stumbled since an early surge earned them a high (No. 2) national ranking. Also like the Raiders, the Cardinals settled for second in their conference — the Heart of America Conference — and fell short in their league tournament. There are other similarities, says McDermott. “They look like they’re, athletically, very much like us,” he said. “So they don’t depend on quickness, they depend on execution and toughness.” SOU will have to depend even more on toughness than usual at nationals, thanks to an injury suffered by senior Jeff Williams. The 6-foot-8 post has been a force on both offense and defense for the Raiders, but will see only limited action this week after sustaining an ACL tear during the Raiders’ playoff loss to Albertson on Feb. 22. Usually, a knee injury of that magnitude would sideline a player indefinitely, but the 6-foot-8 Williams has decided to play through the pain in order to help SOU accomplish its goal of winning a national championship. “I think it kind of boils down to it being my last year,” said Williams, who’s will wear a heavy knee brace and hopes to play about 10 to 15 minutes a game. “I feel bad that it happened and I want to be there for them. We’ve all worked our tails off so it’s kind of the last hurrah type deal.” Washington will once again be the key for SOU. The 6-foot-7 two-time Cascade Conference player of the year leads the team in points (19.9 per game), rebounds (8.9) and blocks (55). He’s also a 60 percent shooter, which makes him one of the most formidable offensive weapons in the tournament. After a brief look at the game film, McDermott said that William Jewell may be accustomed to playing man-to-man defense. But even if that’s so, he added, the Cardinals are likely to play zone against the Raiders in an attempt to take away Washington. That’s nothing that SOU hasn’t seen countless times before. The keys to SOU’s offense, therefore, are similarly unchanged: 1. Find some way to get Washington the ball, or … 2. Find the seams in the zone and hit those open jumpers. The Raiders have several options to supplement Washington’s scoring. Senior wing RaShawn McAllister probably has the most potential. The 6-foot-3 sharpshooter is SOU’s second-leading scorer (10 ppg) and has shown the ability to raise his game. Senior guard Steve Farley may also be an X-factor. He’s struggled lately, but is a deadly 3-point shooter (.398) who emerged as a clutch performer during last year’s playoff run. “We just have got to take care of the ball and play the way we play,” McDermott said. Then he paused before adding, “and knock down shots, because we’re going to get zoned.” Sports editor Joe Zavala is with the Raiders in Point Lookout, Mo., and will return to Ashland next week. Leave a message for him at 482-3456 ext. 3020 or [email protected]. 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