No. 18 SOU holds off Simpson's upset bid

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ASHLAND — Lindsey Scheffler's free throw with 3.9 seconds remaining gave 18th-ranked Southern Oregon a 69-68 victory over upset-minded Simpson in women's basketball action Tuesday night at McNeal Pavilion.

Senior Jacki Speer turned in her sixth double-double of the season with 24 points and 16 rebounds for the Raiders (7-0). Speer made another move up the SOU record book, moving past Julie Finch's 1,384 points for third on SOU's all-time scoring list.

Southern Oregon held a 34-32 lead at the half after 20 minutes of play that featured 11 lead changes and the Raiders shooting 21 free throws compared to zero from the Red Hawks.

The Raiders made three of their first five shots to start the second half and pushed the lead to 42-36 with 17 minutes to play.

But Simpson (0-10), in search of their first victory ever over SOU, kept the pressure on the Raiders.

The two teams battled back-and-forth and Simpson took a 68-66 lead with 29 seconds left on a layup by Dominique Simmons.

After the two teams traded possessions, Scheffler was fouled in the backcourt and went to the line and made one of two with just under four seconds remaining. Simpson's half-court heave was off the mark to end the game.

Kayla Rackley led Simpson with 22 points and four 3-pointers.

Krystal Smith had 14 points and six rebounds for the Raiders.

Men's Basketball

SOUTHERN OREGON 87, SIMPSON 67 — At Ashland, Justonn Smith had 15 points and seven rebounds and former North Medford High standout Drew Herrera added 14 points and seven assists to lead Southern Oregon.

Roland Johnson and Chris Mackovjak both had 13 points for the Raiders, who improved to 5-1 for the program's best start since the 2005-06 team started the season 15-1. Humphrey Jackson added 11 points for SOU.

Simpson (1-8) was led by Jason Stubbs' game-high 19 points.

SOU shot 57 percent in the second half and finished the game shooting 57 percent on 34 of 59 shots.

Southern Oregon returns to action Friday and Saturday when they host the annual Flagship Inn Invitational. Oregon Tech opens the tournament up Friday at 5:30 p.m. against Willamette and Southern Oregon battles William Jessup at 7:30.

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