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Alberton shoots down Raiders By Don Hunt ASHLAND � Albertson College proved to be triple trouble for the Southern Oregon University men�s basketball team on Saturday night. The visiting Coyotes sank 9 of 16 shots from the 3-point line and shot 55 percent from the field to hand the Raiders an 84-68 loss at McNeal Pavilion. Kris Cox had the hottest hand for the Caldwell, Idaho, team, drilling 4 of 5 shots from behind the arc and scoring a game-high 25 points. The victory improved Albertson to 11-8 overall and 4-2 in the Cascade Conference. Southern Oregon fell to 10-8 and 4-3 in league play. "We pretty much live and die by the 3-point shot, and tonight we thrived on it," said Cox, a 6-foot-2 junior guard who came off the bench. "We�ve got several guys who knock it down from downtown." Tennison Tripple hit 2 of 5 shots from the trey line and finished with 17 points, while Neal Robertson drilled 3 of 7 from behind the arc and finished with 13. Despite the barrage of treys, the Raiders trailed just 41-36 at halftime and crawled within 55-52 when former South Medford High star James Wightman nailed a 3-pointer of his own with 11:27 remaining in the game. But the Coyotes took a quick timeout and, after the ball was put back in play, Tripple connected from well beyond the 3 line. Chad Paris hit a free throw at the other end for SOU that made it 58-53, but then Robertson hit another deep trifecta and junior post Ty Shaw followed with a pair of free throws for the Coyotes. Suddenly, it was 63-53 with nine minutes left, and whatever chance the Raiders had of mounting another comeback essentially vanished when Albertson completed a rare five-point play with 7:15 to go. Tripple swished yet another trey and Cox, who was fouled setting a screen as the 3-pointer was in the air, added two free throws that made it 68-54. From there, things only got worse for the Raiders. "The five-point play was the back-breaker," SOU coach Brian McDermott said. "We were already in some trouble and that sequence just killed us." The cold-shooting Raiders were just 39.7 percent from the field and made just 9 of 25 shots (36 percent) in the second half. Junior guard T.J. Caughell registered 13 points, four rebounds and four steals for SOU, and senior guard Tom Chipps added 10 points. Junior post Matt Zosel chipped in nine points and nine rebounds. "We were never able to get on a roll offensively," McDermott said. "We�d start to get something going and then miss a free throw, a layup or some other shot in close. "Right now we�re just not a very good team offensively. We came out tonight and played well defensively for most of the first half, but that team is going to drop some 3s on you at some point. You�ve got to be able to respond, and we didn�t." Paris, like Wightman a former South Medford player, has had some big games for the Raiders until a series of injuries slowed him down. He scored just two points in 17 minutes and was 0-for-1 from the field. Albertson coach Mark Owen was happy to escape the weekend with a split. The Coyotes lost to Cascade Conference-leading Oregon Tech 89-76 Friday night in Klamath Falls. "We would have been thrilled to walk out of here with a one-point win," Owen said. "This is not an easy place to play." ALBERTSON (11-8, 4-2) Robertson 5-11 0-0 13, Offill 0-0 3-4 3, Tripple 7-12 1-2 17, Homik 3-6 0-0 6, Shaw 5-8 3-4 13, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Bruce 0-2 1-2 1, Webb 1-1 2-2 4, Cox 7-9 7-9 25, McCarthy 0-0 2-2 2, Link 0-0 0-0 0, Thacker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-51 19-25 84. SOUTHERN OREGON (10-8, 4-3 ) Haynes 3-6 2-2 8, Caughell 5-12 3-5 13, Zosel 3-7 3-4 9, DeGroot 2-6 4-4 8, Chipps 4-10 1-1 10, Wightman 1-3 0-0 3, Barnes 1=5 0-0 3, Paris 0-1 2-4 2, Tacheny 1-2 2-4 4, Sorensen 0-0 1-2 1, Hinkle 0-0 1-2 1, Chaney 1-2 0-0 3, Hodson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-58 18-26. Halftime score � Albertson 41, Southern Oregon 36. 3-point goals � Albertson 9-16 (Robertson 3-7, Tripple 2-3, Shaw 0-1, Cox 4-5). Southern Oregon 4-14 (Chipps 1-4, Wightman 1-3, Barnes 1-5, Hinkle 1-1, Chaney 0-1). Fouled out � Homik, Shaw. Rebounds � Albertson 36 (Shaw 9). Southern Oregon 29 (Zosel 9). Assists � Albertson 19 (Robertson 4, Shaw 4). Southern Oregon 14 (Haynes 3, Barnes 3). Steals � Albertson 6 (Tripple 2, Shaw 2). Southern Oregon � (Caughell 4). Turnovers � Albertson 16 (Homik 3, Shaw 3). Southern Oregon 12 (Caughell 5). Attendence � 400. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.