Hall of Fame
The 1967-68 Raider men’s basketball team, coached by Bill Holmes, brought the program back to the NAIA national tournament stage on the 20thanniversary of its first appearance. The team’s run-and-gun style yielded nine outings of 100 points or more, including three straight at the start of the season, and an Oregon Collegiate Conference championship. Speedy 5-8 senior point guard Terry Stahel was the catalyst, and 6-4 senior swingman Tony DiUlio led the OCC in scoring and rebounding, going down as one of the elite players in program history. The starting unit, comprised of those two along with forward Gary Johnson, center Ted Loftus and guard Al Hutchins, was known as the “Gunners,” while reserves Ron Maillard, Craig Johnson, Rick Kellso, Gary LaSala and Mike Williams offered their own distinct style, earning the label of the “Storm Troopers.” The Raiders went 23-6 overall, 14-2 in conference play, and defeated Northwest Nazarene 107-85 in front of a capacity crowd at McNeal Pavilion in a regional playoff to secure a spot in the NAIA tournament. Following the win, jubilant players carried Holmes off the court and tossed him into the adjacent swimming pool. A 40-hour bus ride then delivered them to Kansas City, where 15th-seeded Hanover, Ind., awaited in the first round. Southern Oregon led 27-24 midway through the first half before running out of gas, falling behind 56-44 at halftime and going scoreless in the first 10 minutes of the second half in a 107-59 loss. The Raiders wouldn’t return to the tournament for another 31 years.
