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--> --> SOU men lose on buzzer-beater By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Northwest's Josh Bull hit a running one-hander from the free throw line at the buzzer Tuesday to topple the Southern Oregon University men 59-57 in the Cascade Conference-opener for both teams. The Eagles inbounded from the side with 6.2 seconds left to Bull, who drove around two defenders before launching the shot with his left hand. A split second after the ball swished through, the buzzer sounded, and the officials quickly ruled that the game was over. Raider head coach Brian McDermott pleaded for the referees to check with the timekeeper, but to no avail. The loss is the Raider's sixth in their last seven games, dropping the team to 4-6 on the season, while Northwest improved to 5-7. "We just sleepwalked through too much of the game," McDermott said. "We didn't play with any passion for most of the game. When we do we're pretty good but we just can't get them to do it enough, I guess ... We were playing like it was a noon ball scrimmage, like no one really cared." After getting outworked for most of the game, the Raiders used a 14-4 run to tie it up at 51 with 4:41 left. Raider guard Hamilton Barnes had eight points in the run, including two 3-pointers, and finished with a team-high 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting (4 of 7 on 3-pointers). The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, but SOU never got over the hump. The Raiders had a chance to take their first lead since early in the first half with 59 seconds left, but Oscar Rodriguez failed to convert a three-point play with the game tied at 55. Northwest forward Tyrone Ellis was fouled at the other end with 30 seconds left and drained both free throws to put the Eagles back on top. After a timeout SOU went to junior guard Moses Olson, who came through with his first bucket of the game on a driving layup to set up the dramatic finish. McDermott was impressed with Bull's game-winning shot, but thought a few ticks may have ran off the clock afterward. "He got into the paint, which we were hoping wouldn't happen, but he made a tough shot," McDermott said. "Now we thought at the very least that the official should check with the scorers table to see if they had forgotten to turn the clock off, and all three officials just looked at each other. "I'm not supposed to be in their locker room, but I did talk to them. They said get out of the locker room." The Raiders looked like they would have their way with the Eagles while breaking out to leads of 8-0 and 12-2 early on, but shot themselves in the foot with turnovers and bad shots the rest of the half. Northwest took advantage, seizing control of the game with a 16-0 run that culminated with Chris Fulford's driving layup at the 8:21 mark of the first half. Northwest eventually got its first-half lead up to eight at 24-16, and led by as many as 12 early in the second half before SOU rallied. The Raiders looked like a different team during the run. SOU post Jeff Tacheny, who hit 5 of 6 shots en route to 11 first-half points, said offensive execution was the difference. "We could easily be the best team in the league, it's just a matter of running the offense," said Tacheny, who finished second on the team with 13 points. "In the first half we were doing fine just executing the offense, then we got out of it." "We've got plenty of talent to get some wins and that's what we're waiting on," Barnes said. The Raiders dominated Northwest on the boards, outrebounding the visitors 46-31. Senior forward Matt Zosel led the way with a game-high eight rebounds, while Rodriguez and Reed Sorensen added seven apiece. The Eagles out-shot the Raiders 42 percent (25-for-59) to 40 percent (25-for-62) and hit 7 of 10 free throws while the Raiders managed just 3 of 12. Southern Oregon continues its Cascade Conference season tonight at home against Evergreen State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing