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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 11, 2005 The Southern oregon University men's basketball team took it down to the wire against Newman (Kan.) this morning in Point Lookout, Mo., and earned their second-ever win at the national tournament. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. - In one spectacular five-second span, Shea Washington displayed all of his skills and vaulted the Southern Oregon men's basketball team to new heights in the process. Brian Beard | Creative Images Washington tipped out a defensive rebound then streaked down the court for a breakaway dunk with six seconds left, as SOU overcame a seven-point second-half deficit to beat Newman (Kan.), 70-67, in the second round of the NAIA Division II National Championships this morning. Newman (22-10) cut the lead to one on Todd Robert's 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left. After a timeout, Raider junior guard Steve Farley was fouled immediately and swished two free throws. Newman's Carl Fine couldn't get off a game-tying attempt before time ran out. As the buzzer sounded at Keeter Gym, Washington leaped into the air and led out a "whoop!" at the top of his lungs. The 6-foot-7 junior forward certainly earned it. He finished with game highs in both points (27) and rebounds (8), and also had two blocks. "With 10 minutes to go in the second half we decided to play defense, which is good," Washington joked. "But it took us all game to get going - maybe because it was early. I don't know what it was, but I'm glad we did it, I'm glad we decided to come play the last 10 minutes of the game." The victory advanced the eighth-seeded Raiders (22-10) into the national quarterfinals, where they will face either top-seeded Jewell (Mo.) or 16th-seeded Cedarville at 3 p.m. Saturday (1 p.m. Pacific time). Southern Oregon has won five games in a row and nine of its last 10, including the first two national tourney wins in team history. "Like we always say," SOU head coach Brian McDermott said, "there's never much difference between winning and losing." That was especially true this morning. The unseeded Jets overcame an early 10-point deficit to take their largest lead, 54-47, on Seth Elliot's free throw with 8:08 to go. Washington was called for an offensive foul on SOU's next possession and the Jets had all the momentum. It didn't last long. SOU tightened the screws on defense and sharpened its execution on offense just in time to get back in the game. The Raiders scored the next six points - four by Washington - to cut the lead to one with 6:44 to go and reclaimed the lead about two minutes later, 58-56, on Ryan Gabel's three-point play. Newman guard LeAndre Peete's inside bucket created the last tie of the game at 60-all. Newman took its last lead moments later on a fast break bucket, but SOU went up for good, 63-62, on Washington's 3-pointer with 2:50 left. Newman had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 20.8 seconds left, but Seth Elliot's first one-and-one attempt missed, setting up the final frantic moments. Brice Roberts corralled the rebound but missed a point-blank putback attempt. The Jets missed three more follow attempts inside before Washington tipped it out long to Gabel, who then hit the sprinting Washington in stride for a thunderous two-handed slam. Washington, who has battled knee tendentious all season long, said he didn't want to take any chances with a layup. "I thought somebody was going to foul me hard from behind and I'm more likely to make the dunk than the layin in a game like that," he said. Added McDermott: "(Washington) showed tonight that he's certainly one of the best players in the country and has been for the last couple years and you expect your big-time players to make big-time plays." SOU took a one-point lead early in the second half, but couldn't hold it for long. Newman scored the next seven points to go up 46-40. The Raiders got off to a fast start in the first half, taking an early double-digit lead, only to watch the Jets storm back and go up 38-36 at the half by hitting 6 of 11 3-pointers. The Raiders scored the first five points of the game and used a 14-6 run to go up 21-11. Farley, who was SOU's second-leading scorer with 15 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the spurt. SOU still led 31-26 with 4:39 to go in the half, but was outscored 12-5 the rest of the way. Carl Fine and Seth Elliot each drained 2 of 3 3-pointers for the Jets in the first half. Roberts' breakaway layup gave Newman its first lead of the game, 33-31, at the 3:34 mark. "It's been like that all year," Farley said. "Sometimes we come out kind of slow, but we stuck with our stuff and that's hard to do in this kind of atmosphere. You know, it's one of those things where, it's a national tournament, we're playing for a national championship and no less, so I don't think there's ever going to be a time when one of guys on the floor is going to give up." The game, the first of eight second-round games scheduled for today, tipped off at 8:30 a.m. (6:30 a.m. PST). The Jewell-Cedarville game is scheduled to tipoff at 4 p.m. (CST) today. Tournament results are available at naia.org.Raiders win in round 2 DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams