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OIT's year turned out better than anticipated By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN Early in the season, Medford native Danny Miles was hoping to coach his 29th Oregon Institute of Technology basketball team to 17 wins. This, after all, wasn't one of the most talented teams he's had. But there were some nice ingredients, including four holdovers from the 1998 team that came within three points of winning the NAIA Division II national title. Those players were guard Josh Woodson, a former North Medford High player, wings Josh Conrad and Greg Regan and forward Joey Bruner. But Miles had the Owls overachieving and playing their best basketball when it counted most -- late in the season. A late-season run sent the Owls to the Cascade Conference tournament title and a fifth-place finish in the NAIA Division II national tournament. Tech finished with a 30-7 record. It was Miles' fourth 30-win team. "We didn't have many double-figure scorers, but we had a lot of complementary players," says the 54-year-old Miles, who earlier this season passed Oregon State's Slats Gill for most career wins at one Oregon college. He will add to that record, which currently stands at 623, during the balance of his coaching career at Oregon Tech. Miles will be honored April 2 at the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis by the National Association of College Basketball Coaches for winning 600 games during his career. Oregon Tech won two games in the NAIA Division II national tournament before falling to tournament host College of the Ozarks, 84-54, in the quarterfinals Saturday. `We ended up having very good chemistry on this team, and we seemed to win every close game," says Miles. "We were a good offensive team with a lot of shooters." On defense, Woodson, 21, a junior, stood out by setting OIT single-season and career records for steals. He had 107 this year, giving him 206 entering his senior season. "That record will probably never be broken," says Miles. "I think Josh was the best defensive player in the conference." Woodson scored 13 points in OIT's loss to College of the Ozarks. "Josh was one of a few of our kids who stepped up in that last game," says OIT Sports Information Director Bobby Thompson. "He really had a fabulous game. He was all over the court." Woodson scored 32 points and made 12 steals in three national tournament games. He led the tournament in steals through three rounds. "I take a lot of pride in my defense," says Woodson, who was the Owls' defensive player of the year for the third straight year. "One of my goals was to be the best defensive player here for four years. So far it's been that way." He looks forward to being a team leader next season. "It'll be my senior year, and I want to make it back to the national tournament and have a great year," he says. "I wish this year had ended a little better than having a 30-point loss in our last game." (Randy Hammericksen is the Mail Tribune's sports columnist. He can be reached at 776-4499 or [email protected] ) Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA