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Raiders snap lengthy Owl Court losing streak, 88-85 By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN KLAMATH FALLS -- Southern Oregon basketball coach Brian McDermott finally conquered his nemesis. McDermott's Raiders provided their coach his first win over rival Oregon Tech at Owl Court in nine tries Saturday night, an emotional 88-85 victory in double-overtime before a crowd of 1,916. The win allowed the Raiders to solidify their hold on first place in the Cascade Conference. Southern Oregon sits atop the standings with a 9-2 record, 1 games in front of Albertson College (8-4). Meanwhile, Oregon Tech, the 1998 NAIA national runner-up, slid to 5-6 in the standings. Southern Oregon swept Oregon Tech in conference play for the first time since 1971. "Finally," said McDermott, as he celebrated after the victory. "We played with some pretty big hearts tonight." It was Southern Oregon's first win at Owl Court since Jan. 27, 1993. The Raiders, who trailed 62-53 with nine minutes to play in regulation, refused to lose. A 17-6 SOU run took the Raiders from a 56-49 deficit to a 65-62 lead with 5:32 left in the game. "We're a good team, whether we can win here or not," said McDermott. "But it's nice for me to finally get a win here. Most of these kids didn't have anything to do with all that, but they wanted to get one for me. "We're a pretty confident group right now. We were confident even before this win. This only helps." The rivals battled on even terms. Oregon Tech had a chance to win at the end of regulation when wing Saif Abdur-Rahman missed a 22 -foot jump shot as time ran out. In the first overtime, Southern Oregon's Amos Baker barely missed a shot off a lob pass above the basket with 6/10ths of a second on the clock. "I thought it was going to roll in," said McDermott. Seconds earlier, Oregon Tech coach Danny Miles thought point guard Gerald Boston was going to drain a 16-foot jump shot with the score tied at 75. The shot spun in and out of the hoop. "He got a good look and it looked about half way down," said Miles. "I feel a little snake-bitten this year. This is another example." Rahman scored all 10 of Oregon Tech's points in the second overtime. But it wasn't enough. Southern Oregon guard Tom Chipps, been bed-ridden with the flu for a week, hit a 3-point jumper with 1:58 left in the second overtime to tie the score at 82-82. Center Ryan Valley hit one of two free throws, and point guard Don Guy converted two straight free throws with 23 seconds left to give the Raiders an 85-82 lead. Guy hit two more free throws with 11 seconds left to up the Raiders' lead to 87-82. But Rahman countered with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 87-85. Chipps then made one of two free throws with 3.7 seconds left before the Owls hustled to the other end with North Medford graduate Josh Woodson launching a 25-foot shot on the run from the right side of the court. The ball bounded off the backboard and glanced off the rim as time ran out. "I was trying to draw a foul," said Woodson. "I was trying to flop and get a call to go to the ( free throw) line and get three free throws. "We played pretty well but you have to give Southern Oregon credit," said Woodson. "They are a very good team, and they played hard." Chipps, who combined with Guy to score 45 points, said his flu symptoms disappeared about the time the Raiders clinched the victory. "I'm feeling better by the minute," he said. "This is a huge win for our program. It's my first win here ever, and we wanted coach to get his." Chipps said he didn't hesitate to fire his 3-point field goal in the second overtime after Rahman had given the Owls an 82-79 lead with seven straight points to start the five-minute session. "I'll shoot any time I'm open," said Chipps. "I was feeling it tonight. I had confidence and I had the extra step and more energy than I've had for a while." Guy finished with 24 points and seven assists. Baker had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Raiders. Rahman, the leading scorer in the Cascade Conference, led all scorers with 37 points, boosting his season scoring average to 19.5 points a game. Boston and Toutoule Ntoya both scored 13 points for the Owls, who have an overall record of 17-7. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford,