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Last-second shot stuns Raider men in tourney opener By MICHAEL STETSON NAMPA, Idaho -- Southern Oregon might have had a pretty good case to complain about Wednesday. The No. 3-seeded Raiders watched as officials botched an out-of-bounds call in the final six seconds that gave Bluefield College (Va.) life, then watched the Ramblin' Rams extinguish the Raiders' postseason existence with a 30-foot buzzer-beater for an 88-87 win in the first round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament. "There are some sad kids in there," Southern Oregon coach Brian McDermott said. "It'll take a while to get over this one." The loss ends Southern Oregon's season and its first national tournament appearance since the while to get over this one." The loss ends Southern Oregon's season and its first national tournament appearance since the 1968-69 season. The Raiders (22-9) will have to get over the image of Bluefield's Jimmy Stemple launching a 30-foot trey at the buzzer that hit nothing but net, completing a late rally in the see-saw battle. "I was definitely out of my comfortable range, but just like I said, as soon as it left my hand I knew it was going in," said Stemple, who scored just six points but had 12 assists. Stemple's miracle 3-pointer was set up by SOU's poor free-throw shooting down the stretch -- hitting just 5-of-11 in the final 3:28 of the game -- and the blown out-of-bounds call. With just 5.8 seconds left, Don Guy went to the line with SOU leading 86-85 and rattled home the first shot, but then missed the second. The rebound was batted around and went out of bounds, apparently off a Bluefield player. But the officials saw something different, awarding the ball to the Ramblin' Rams on the side. From there, it was a quick pass up-court to Stemple, who knocked down the game-winner. "This year I've learned not to be surprised by anything," Bluefield coach Tommy Brown said. "We've had so many ups and downs. I've seen this team make some tremendous comebacks. I wasn't surprised. Happy, but I wasn't surprised." The comeback was one of many by both teams. SOU started the game flat, shooting just 6-of-20 and watching the Rams ramble out to a 24-11 lead with 8:41 gone in the half. Scott Logue's 2-footer sparked the Raiders, who rallied with a 28-8 run over the next 7:46, and looked like they might run away from Bluefield. But the atypically relaxed Raiders let the Rams battle back, taking a 47-41 led to the locker room. "We just didn't defend like we needed to defend. We played slow and tentative defensively," McDermott said. "That's not the way we play -- we've got to defend people. We can't let people score 47 in a half." The Raiders didn't do much better in the second half, despite pulling out to a 65-55 lead with 10:49 left to play on a Shavon Haynes baby-hook inside. But back came the Rams, closing behind Wes Wilson's 3-point barrage, and Stemple, who hit two bombs, including the game-winner. "We made some silly plays the last four or five minutes," McDermott said. "We left shooters when there's no need to leave shooters and they took advantage. "We missed just enough free throws and just enough silly plays to let them get back and have a shot at it, and they made a long 3." Bluefield advances to a Friday meeting with fellow underdog Mount Senario, a 102-72 winner over St. Joseph's. The Rams were led by Toby Curry's 20 points, while Andre Law added 16. BLUEFIELD COLLEGE (14-7) Law 4-13 8-11 16, Maynard 6-8 0-0 12, Stewart 7-11 1-2 15, Curry 5-17 8-9 20, Stemple 2-5 0-0 6, Wilson 5-6 0-0 15, Shipbaugh 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Walker 0-2 4-6 4. Totals: 29-62 21-28 88. No. 3 SOUTHERN OREGON (22-8) Baker 5-12 5-10 16, Chipps 9-20 1-3 21, Valley 1-3 0-0 2, Haynes 6-7 0-0 12, Guy 6-9 2-4 16, Arbow 1-4 0-2 3, Strickler 1-2 0-1 2, Lacy 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Schmerbach 1-4 0-0 3, Logue 6-14 0-1 12. Totals: 36-76 8-21 87. Halftime--Bluefield College 47, Southern Oregon 41. 3-point goals--Bluefield College 9-21 (Law 0-2, Curry 2-9, Stemple 2-4, Wilson 5-6), Southern Oregon 7-20 (Schmerbach 1-3, Guy 2-3, Chipps 2-8, Baker 1-4, Arbow 1-2). Fouled out--Haynes. Rebounds--Bluefield College 42 (Maynard 12), Southern Oregon 41 (Baker 11, Logue 11). Assists--Bluefield College 19 (Stemple 12), Southern Oregon 17 (Guy 7). Total fouls--Bluefield College 18, Southern Oregon 22. A--NA. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.