SOU NOTES

ASHLAND – After opening the 2011-12 season with a split in California last week, the Southern Oregon men's basketball team travels to Lewiston, Idaho, for games against Montana State-Northern and Lewis-Clark State this weekend.

The Raiders, 1-1 overall this season, will face MSU-Northern at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and will take on L-C State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Southern Oregon dropped an 87-86 game at William Jessup in the season opener on Nov. 2 before rebounding to defeat NAIA Div. I No. 25 Fresno Pacific 96-89 the following night. Eric Thompson (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) earned Cascade Collegiate Conference Red Lion Player of the Week honors after totaling 51 points and 17 rebounds in the two games.

“We knew we were going to be able to shoot the ball well,” SOU head coach Brian McDermott said of the team's season-opening trip. “We knew we were going to be pretty good there, and that kind of showed itself last weekend. We also knew that we were a work in progress defensively, and that showed itself many many times over on the weekend. That's not going to be a fix overnight; we just have to keep working hard at getting better defensively.”

The Raiders will have a chance to show that first step toward defensive improvement against a Montana State-Northern team that was picked to finish first in the Frontier Conference this season and ranked No. 15 in the NAIA Div. I preseason poll. The Lights have already played eight games this season, compiling a 6-2 record.

Shaun Tatarka leads MSU-Northern in scoring with an average of 12.6 points per game, followed by David Maddock (10.4) and LaVon Myers (10.3). The Lights have twice played Cascade Collegiate Conference member Warner Pacific, defeating the Knights 61-60 on Oct. 29 and losing to WPC 69-67 in Portland on Nov. 5.

They're a team that's kind of like our league,” McDermott said of the Lights. “They've got good players; they shoot the ball really well and they're very physical. So it will be a great challenge to go out there and play with them”

Lewis-Clark State opened the season Monday night with a 76-53 victory over Walla Walla. The Warriors were picked to finish fifth in the Frontier Conference and will be playing for a new coach this season. In recent seasons, the Warriors have had impressive showings against the Raiders. Lewis-Clark State is 3-0 against SOU in the last four years, including a 93-60 victory over the Raiders last season in Lewiston.

“Typically they're a very athletic team,” McDermott said of L-C State. “Obviously playing on their home court will help them.”

McDermott looks forward to the opportunity to play a few more games and work through some of the early-season issues to find more consistency and a team identity. He believes the experience gained in these early games will help prepare the team for some tough matchups during the CCC season.

“Hopefully we can continue to make progress and have our lineup get a little more solidified,” McDermott said. “We're making progress, we've got good kids and I think this tough part of the preseason schedule will do what it's supposed to do, get us ready for conference.”