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TUESDAY December 16, 2003 - Subscribe - Contact Us Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels December 10, 2003 Grizzlies speared by red-hot Vikings, sickness By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings The Grizzlies are sick and tired of losing, but they're also just plain sick. That, and Justin Clark's big night, proved too much for the Ashland High boys' basketball team to overcome. Ashland High junior forward Corey Costantino drives through two Mazama defenders, including senior forward Kyle Slezak (41), in prep boys basketball action Tuesday at Mountain Avenue gym. The Vikings went on to beat the Grizzlies, 57-44. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings Clark scored a game-high 28 points and Mazama fought off a late charge in a 57-44 win over the depleted Grizzlies Tuesday night at Mountain Avenue gym. The Vikings jumped out to a 17-9 lead after one quarter and pushed that lead to as many as 19 at the end of three before the Grizzlies finally woke up. By then it was too late. Josh Cornelius' inside bucket with three minutes left capped a 14-4 Grizzly run that closed the gap to 47-38, but Mazama (1-0) hit six of eight free throws down the stretch to win going away. "We're young, we're sick and we don't know how to overcome adversity," Grizz second-year head coach Rick Cornelius said. Sick and Tired Ashland played without starting forward Jeff Skinner, who was out with the flu, while starting guards Logan Bishop and David Morris played extended minutes with flu-like symptoms. Several other Grizzlies also played sick, as the team lost its second straight to open the season. "We have some real sick kids and we're counting on puppies who just quite frankly are not ready to go out there and handle any kind of varsity pressure," said Rick Cornelius. "It's going to take a while and we know that." Josh Cornelius scored 11 and three other Grizzlies - Morris, Corey Costantino and Brian Kitchell - added eight to lead a balanced, if not successful, Ashland attack. Costantino also pulled down nine rebounds and Morris eight. Clark, who outscored the entire Grizzly team 25-24 through three quarters, notched 11 in the first quarter, three in the second, 11 in the third and three in the fourth. Only two other Vikings - Thomas Rios (9) and Damon Mosley (8) - added more than five. Clark did most of his damage from outside, draining four 3-pointers, including back-to-back bombs in the third that put the Vikings up 39-22. Mazama took a 28-16 lead into the break behind a 12-for-22 shooting performance and a defense that limited Ashland to just six makes in 26 attempts. For the game, Mazama shot 53 percent (20-for-38) to Ashland's 33 (18-for-54). Reasons to Believe With Kitchell, a 6-foot-3 junior, and Cornelius, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, doing most of the bangins inside, Ashland outrebounded Mazama 31-23, including 11-6 in the fourth quarter. That wasn't near enough, however, for the Grizzlies to overcome 14 turnovers and several missed layups in a performance as sloppy as it was valiant. "They got hot early and kind of put us back on our heels," Rick Cornelius said, "then when we tried to respond, we just didn't have it. When you're young, you're going to have games like this. Mentally, we just were never in the game." The Grizzlies have two seniors - Morris and Bishop - listed on their 11-man varsity roster. Five juniors and four sophomores make up the rest of the squad. The group is attempting to be the first Grizzly team in over a decade to even challenge for a playoff spot, much less gain one. Despite Tuesday's dismal performance, Rick Cornelius predicts the Grizzlies will surprise people. "We have probably four or five guys who can fill it up, believe it or not," he said. "We're going to be fun. I know, you wouldn't know from looking at tonight � but we just got caught on a bad night." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Road Cams