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--> --> Feb. 4: SOU wrestling streak snapped by MSUN Ashland Daily Tidings The fourth-ranked Montana State-Northern wrestling team sprang two individual upsets en route to a historic 27-10 dual-meet victory over third-ranked Southern Oregon University Saturday night at McNeal Pavilion. The Lights, who won seven of 10 bouts, became the first NAIA team in 33 years to defeat the Raiders on their home mat. Less than eight hours after the defending national champion Raiders (6-3) extended its NAIA-record consecutive winning seasons streak to 32 with a 29-8 romp over ninth-ranked Pacific, MSUN (12-0) broke open a tight dual when unranked 157-pound sophomore Dustyn Azure pinned fourth-ranked Ryan Henry, a former Lights All-American, 38 seconds into the eighth bout. Armed with a 21-10 team score lead, the Havre, Mont. school sealed the win moments later when another unranked competitor, junior Kyle Klonzios, came back from 2-0 and 4-1 deficits for an 8-6 overtime decision over fourth-ranked Chris Huntley at 165. The Lights, winners of five national crowns, had won three straight leading up to SOU's fourth team title last March. "We received quite a wrestling lesson tonight," seventh-year Raider head coach Mike Ritchey said. "We were looking to win, while they were looking to dominate. They were very tough. "We need to be much more aggressive by the time March rolls around," Ritchey added, referring to the NAIA Championships, to be held March 1-2 at Great Falls, Mont. After Montana State charged to an 8-0 lead on the strength of wins by top-ranked Tyson Thivierge at 184 and fifth-ranked Emmett Wilson at 197, second-ranked sophomore 285-pounder Mike Whitehead of Central Point registered SOU's first offensive points in an 11-1 major decision over seventh-ranked Matt Carter. Southern trailed only 8-7 after junior All-American Nolan Harris sprang a takedown with 19 seconds remaining to top Andy Thompson in the 125-pound showdown, and the final Raider victory, a 4-2 decision by fifth-ranked Colin Murphy against Eric Dunmire at 141, pulled the Ashland school within one at 11-10. MSUN's Bobby Mantle set up Azure's heroics with a 22-8 major decision against Shannon Slover at 149. "Ryan (Henry) got caught in a counter-attack, and (Azure) created his own luck by being aggressive," Ritchey said. "Whether it was lucky (for Azure) or unlucky (for Henry), that was the end of the dual." Henry earned All-American status with a fifth-place national finish for MSUN in 1998. In the early match win, the Raiders won eight of the 10 bouts against their in-state rivals to improve to 6-2 overall entering the 8 p.m. showdown with the Lights. Sophomore Wes Balensifer protected his No. 1 ranking at 197 pounds with a 14-6 major decision over Ben Reinhard, while Whitehead topped No. 4 Jon Small in the marquee match at 285. Huntley sealed the win in the ninth bout and improved to 21-6 on the season with his second consecutive dual-meet pin. Pacific, which capped its dual schedule 9-10, received wins from fifth-ranked Troy Hall at 157 and seventh-ranked Kehaa Rezantes at 125. SOU improved to 32-5 against the Boxers dating back to 1961. The Raiders, who hadn't lost to an NAIA squad at home since a 21-18 setback to Oregon Tech in November 1969, return to action next week in Tacoma at the third annual Northwest Wrestling Conference championships. SOU Women's Basketball The Southern Oregon University women's basketball team posted a season-high for scoring and captured its fifth straight victory with a 95-80 Cascade Conference triumph over Northwest College Saturday night at McNeal Pavilion. Led by a 17-point, eight-assist effort by junior point guard Sara Marks, five Raiders scored at least 11 points to lift SOU to 13-9 overall and 9-3 in league play. The Eagles fell to 5-21 and 3-9 with their fourth straight loss. The teams battled to three ties and four lead changes until a Marks jumper with 6:34 remaining in the opening stanza staked Southern to a 29-27 lead and sparked a 12-0 run. SOU, which took a 44-34 halftime edge, never trailed again although NC moved within six, 61-55, with 12 minutes to go on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Emily Helmly. Senior all-star forward Melissa Core posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while junior forward Kara Magee-Arick came off the bench for 14 points. "If the best defense is a good offense is true, that's what we did tonight," Raider coach Kevin Wilson said. "We allowed a lot of points, but we scored a lot as well." Northwest received 17 points from junior guard Kim Haley. Helmly finished with 16. Southern Oregon continues a four-game homestand Thursday against 16th-ranked and league leader Eastern Oregon. SOU Men's Basketball KLAMATH FALLS - LaMont Swinson and Alassane Bakayoko combined for 37 points on 13-for-22 shooting to lead Oregon Tech to a 66-60 win over the Raiders on Saturday night. Swinson scored 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting and Bakayoko added 18 on 7-for-12 shooting. The Raiders, who fell to 10-14 overall and 6-7 in the Cascade Conference, were led by Jeff Tacheny, who tallied 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Moses Olson added 11 points and eight boards. OIT improved to 20-1 overall and 10-4 in league play. The Raiders hit just 41 percent of their shots (24-for-59) but stayed close with strong rebounding - they outrebounded OIT 36-29 - and stingy defense. SOU also got a game-high eight assists and three steals from point guard Hamilton Barnes and nine points and four boards from forward Matt Zosel. The Raiders' next game is Friday at Albertson. 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