This
is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE
(3-4-04)
Not
only did the Awesome Owls defeat Southern Oregon last Saturday night, but for
Coach Miles it was also his 729th victory of his career…..all as
the Oregon Tech coach.
In
addition to that the victory meant that the Owls have earned another trip back
to the Division Two National Championships in Branson, Missouri March 10 through
the 16th.
As
usual a crowd of over 2,000 watched the Owls fall behind early, but turned up
their bruising defense to make a great 34 to 4 run and put the result away.
In
the games that we have watched, it has been the extremely tight man to man
defense of the Owls plus some great three point shooting that has earned them a
record of 15 and 2.
Many
years ago it was my pleasure to do Oregon Tech sports along with Walt Badorek.
They were fun and as today…the Owls played to full house crowds.
It was in the early stages of Danny’s career, but it was apparent even
then that he had great control of the game.
Many of the players in those days were from Junior Colleges, but of late,
local athletes have led the way for the Owls.
Five
of the squad are seniors, including Todd Mathews who summed it up when he said:
“I could have gone anywhere in this country, and I feel blessed for the
opportunity to play here.” He added:
“The crowd has always been a big part of our success, and I know so
many people in the crowd, and I had never said thanks to them.
I felt I owed it to the crowd.”
Matthews scored 19 points, including 3 of 5 from the three point range
Kevin
Baker, another senior, who scored 11 points said:
“It was crazy out there.
The game was so electric.
I couldn’t have picked a better game to be my last at home.”
Of
the trip to Branson….Miles said:
“Every time I come back from the National tournament, I figure\ I might
not go back.
You can never count on it.
It’s nice to go back with this group of kids.
They’ve been my favorite.”
The
Owls and Coach Miles have certainly brought great recognition to the community.
They’ve
also blazed new trails in recent years on the basketball court and brought well
earned recognition to Oregon Tech.
Our congratulations…..and may those victories continue at Branson.
This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.