Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us March 1, 2005 Playoff odyssey ends By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings LAKE OSWEGO - In a defensive battle, it was a brief offensive blitz that proved to be the difference. The Lakeridge boys basketball team went on a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to break open a close game en route to a 55-47 win over Ashland on Monday in a Class 4A state subtournament game at Lakeridge High School. Grizz senior Corey Costantino drives to the hoop against two Lakeridge defenders. Costantino had 15 points in the sub-tournament game, the second-highest Ashland scorer. Vern Uyetake | For the Tidings The victory propels the Pacers (12-13) into the first round, where they will play at South Eugene on Wednesday. Ashland ends the season 16-9 after making the playoffs for the first time since 1991. "I thought early in the game we had an opportunity to establish the kind of tempo that we wanted to play and we let it slip away," Ashland head coach Rick Cornelius said. "I knew that if we got caught up in a game where we had to go up and down with them it would be difficult." Ashland junior forward Josh Cornelius scored inside to bring the Grizzlies within one point with 6:52 remaining, but Lakeridge took over from there. Garrison Sullivan scored on a hook shot, Kenneth Rice added another inside bucket, then junior guard Jason Oertell scorched Ashland's defense with back-to-back 3-pointers, giving the Pacers a 43-32 lead with 5:05 to go. Cornelius' shooting exhibition - he scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter - brought Ashland back to within three with 39 seconds left, but the Pacers hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to put it away. "That was a pretty winnable game, we felt like, but they just made big shots - they made plays and we didn't," said Ashland guard Josh McDermott, one of six Grizzly seniors who played their final prep game. "We had opportunities, obviously, all night and just could never get over the hump." The Grizzlies scrapped and clawed their way to a 32-27 rebounding advantage against the taller Pacers, but shot themselves in the foot with poor outside shooting. Ashland hit just 38 percent (19-for-50) of its field goal attempts, including 29 percent (6-for-21) from 3-point range. Mental lapses also cost Ashland. The Grizzlies turned the ball over 13 times to Lakeridge's five and the Pacers scored 14 points off Ashland miscues. Rice, a 6-foot-6 post, and Vince Thomas, a senior point guard, gave Lakeridge a powerful inside-outside punch. Rice scored 19 points on 7 of 15 shooting and also pulled down five boards, while Thomas added 15 points, six assists and four rebounds. Cornelius didn't have much help in the scoring department from his Grizzly teammates. Only one other player, senior forward Corey Costantino, scored in double figures. Costantino finished with 15 points, while senior forward Jeff Skinner added a game-high 12 rebounds. McDermott chipped in nine points, four rebounds and three assists in another solid all-around effort. The Grizzlies got off to a fast start en route to leads of 6-2 and 10-5, but Lakeridge scored nine straight to grab a 14-10 lead. Skinner hit a 3 to start the second quarter, giving Ashland its final lead of the game at 15-14. The Pacers held Ashland to five points in the second quarter until McDermott banked in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to bring the Grizzlies within four, 24-20, at the break. The momentum didn't carry into the third quarter, however, as Lakeridge had an answer for every Grizzly challenge. When Ashland cut the lead to two at 26-24, the Pacers scored four straight. Ashland cut the lead to one twice more, but both times the Pacers responded - first with a Rice bucket, then with the decisive fourth-quarter rally. "I'm not going to say I was satisfied, but it was a great year," Skinner said. "After 14 years we brought Ashland back to the playoffs. We put the footstone in the ground and hopefully they can build on it." Sports Editor Joe Zavala can be reached at 482-3456 x 3020 or [email protected]. Ashland (47) Erickssen 0-0 0-0 0, Costantino 7-17 0-2 15, Kitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Skinner 1-7 1-2 4, McDermott 4-8 0-0 9, Littleton 0-0 0-0 0, Reinstedt 0-3 0-0 0, Cornelius 7-15 2-2 19. Totals 19-50 3-6 47. Lake ridge (55) Cook 3-7 0-0 9, Fahey 0-0 0-0 0, Costello 1-3 2-2 4, Thomas 5-13 4-7 15, Sullivan 2-4 0-0 4, Olson 0-1 0-0 0, Rice 7-15 5-7 19, Brady 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 20-47 11-16 47. Ashland 12 8 10 17 - 47 Lakeridge 14 10 7 24 - 55 3-point goals - Ashland 6-21 (Cornelius 3-6), Lakeridge 4-13 (Cook 3-6). Rebounds - Ashland 32 (Skinner 12), Lakeridge 27 (Brady 6). Assists - Ashland 7 (McDermott 3), Lakeridge 15 (Thomas 6). Fouls - Ashland 15, Lakeridge 7. Fouled Out - None. Technical Fouls - None. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams