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Southern Oregon men shock No. 4 Albertson, 67-62 ASHLAND -- Senior wing Chris Schmerbach says he saved his best game for Southern Oregon's biggest men's basketball win in three seasons under coach Brian McDermott. Schmerbach scored 24 points, including six 3-point field goals in eight attempts, to lead the Raiders to a 67-62 upset over fourth-ranked Albertson College on Friday night at McNeal Pavilion. It was the Cascade Conference opener for both teams. "I think we just beat the best team in the league," said McDermott. "It's definitely the biggest win I've had here. "Beating Oregon Tech here last year was big, but this is bigger, considering all the circumstances involved. It was our league opener, we were at home and we had a big crowd (approximately 700 fans). What a way to get (the fans) coming back." The Raiders (4-3, 1-0) will try to make it a weekend sweep of the Idaho schools tonight with a win over Northwest Nazarene. The game will start at 8 p.m. at McNeal PavilionSchmerbach, a senior from Klamath Falls, matched his career-high scoring game. It was the first time Southern Oregon had beaten Albertson since the 1994 season. "I thought the kids just sucked it up and got it done when they had to," said McDermott. "I'm proud of that." It was Southern Oregon's second-biggest upset win over a ranked team in history. In 1993, the Raiders defeated top-rated Hawaii Pacific, 92-91, on a last-second 3-point shot. Southern Oregon led much of the first half and took a 26-24 halftime lead. Albertson took a 32-30 lead on a layup by Sherman Ewell with 17:32 left in the first half. SOU regained the lead seconds later on a Tom Chipps layup. The Raiders opened up a 10-point lead at 57-47 with 5:55 left in the game on a tip-in by center Scott Logue. The Raiders outscored Albertson 10-4 during the surge. But Albertson tied the game at 58-58 on a 3-point field goal by Alfonzo Edwards. Chipps answered for Southern Oregon with a 3-point field goal from the left wing and Schmerbach nailed two free throws to give the Raiders a 63-58 edge with 1:30 left. Two free throws by Chipps with 47 seconds left gave SOU a 65-60 advantage, and Logue added a free throw to make it 66-60 with 23 seconds left. Amos Baker made one free throw after being fouled hard while driving to the basket in the closing seconds. Chipps scored 12 points for the Raiders, while Don Guy and Ryan Valley each added nine points. Ewell led Albertson (7-2, 0-1) with 14 points. Center David Fife scored 11 points for the Coyotes and Edwards had 10. Albertson, one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, had just a 39-37 edge over the Raiders, who are starting one of the bigger front lines in school history with Logue (6-7), Valley (6-8) and Baker (6-6). "We tried the big lineup for a few games last year, but it hurt us too much defensively," said McDermott. "It's working better this year, and that lineup helps us set the tone for what's to come in games." No. 4 ALBERTSON (7-2, 0-1) Ewell 5-15 4-8 14, Muniz 2-8 2-2 7, Humphreys 3-10 0-0 6, Riley 1-7 2-2 5, Edwards 3-12 2-2 10, Minden 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 1-3 0-0 3, Smith 4-6 3-6 11, Fife 2-2 2-2 6. Totals 21-63 15-22 62. SOUTHERN OREGON (4-3, 1-0) Guy 4-6 0-1 9, Baker 0-4 2-4 2, Chipps 4-10 3-6 12, Valley 4-7 1-1 9, Logue 3-4 1-2 7, Haynes 1-2 0-0 2, Arbow 0-2 0-0 0, Strickler 0-1 0-0 0, Killingsworth 0-0 0-0 0, Lacy 0-2 2-2 2, Hunter 0-0 0-0 0, Schmerbach 8-11 2-2 24. Totals 24-49 11-18 67. Halftime--Southern Oregon 26, Albertson 24. 3-Point goals--Albertson 5-19 (Ewell 0-2, Muniz 1-3, Riley 1-4, Edwards 2-5, Jones 1-3, Smith 0-2), Southern Oregon 8-14 (Schmerbach 6-8, Guy 1-1, Baker 0-1, Chipps 1-3, Strickler 0-1). Fouled out--Smith. Rebounds--Albertson 39 (Ewell 15), Southern Oregon 37 (Baker 7). Assists--Albertson 12 (Smith 4), Southern Oregon 16 (Guy 8). Total fouls--Albertson 19, Southern Oregon 19. A--700. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,