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Raider men claim first title in 31 years ASHLAND -- It's been quite a turnaround for the Southern Oregon University men's basketball program. After posting a 2-29 record in coach Brian McDermott's first year three seasons ago, the Raiders clinched their first conference title in 31 years Friday night with a 66-56 victory over Concordia at McNeal Pavilion. The NAIA Division II's sixth-ranked team improved to 13-2 in conference and 19-8 overall. "It's a turnaround for the program, but not necessarily for the kids in it," said McDermott. "There's only one player with us from the bad years. We had some success last year." Southern Oregon finished the game with a 17-2 run over the final seven minutes. The Raiders took the lead for good at 56-54 with 3:14 remaining when senior guard Don Guy stole a pass and fed a streaking Chris Schmerbach for a layup. Another Guy steal 24 seconds later resulted in an alley-oop pass to Amos Baker for a dunk to give the Raiders a four-point lead. "We got a lot of easy transition things," said McDermott. "We got going on the break because of Ryan Valley. He got some big rebounds and started things with some really good outlet passes." Sophomore guard Tom Chipps led the Raiders with 17 points, while Schmerbach came off the bench to toss in 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. The Cavs, who led 38-33 at halftime, managed only 18 second-half points on 29 percent shooting from the floor after intermission. Concordia shot 56 percent in the first half sparked by Alphonso Niles' 8-of-11 from the field. "We didn't play very well in the first half," said McDermott. "We were disjointed. In the second half we just tried to do what we're supposed to do a little better." Southern Oregon improved to 10-0 at home this season and swept the season series from Concordia for the first time since the Cascade Conference was formed in 1992. The Raiders, who have won 13 of their last 15 games, complete the regular season 7:30 p.m. tonight, hosting Northwest College CONCORDIA (13-17, 7-8) Schweiss 0-1 0-0 0, Pickett 0-1 2-2 2, Fauth 2-8 0-0 4, Niles 9-16 0-1 18, Harrison 1-3 2-3 4, Lemiere 1-2 0-0 3, Jimmerson 2-3 3-3 8, Maduro 4-9 0-0 9, Howard 2-4 0-0 4, Carter 2-8 0-0 4. Totals: 23-55 7-9 56. NO. 6 SOUTHERN OREGON (19-8, 13-2) Haynes 2-4 0-0 4, Guy 1-5 4-9 6, Baker 5-13 0-0 13, Chipps 7-15 2-2 17, Valley 3-5 0-0 6, Schmerbach 5-7 2-3 14, Logue 1-5 2-2 4, Strickler 0-3 2-2 2, Lacy 0-0 0-0 0, Arbow 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 24-58 12-18 66. Halftime--Concordia 38, S. Oregon 33. 3-point goals--Concordia 3-10 (Fauth 0-3, Niles 0-1, Harrison 0-1, Lemiere 1-1, Jimmerson 1-2, Howard 1-2), S. Oregon 6-11 (Baker 3-3, Chipps 1-2, Schmerbach 2-4, Strickler 0-1, Arbow 0-1). Rebounds--Concordia 35 (Carter 8), S. Oregon 37 (Valley 9). Assists--Concordia 11 (Fauth 4), S. Oregon 19 (Guy, Baker 6). Total fouls--Concordia 21, S. Oregon 14. Attendance--800. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.