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THURSDAY February 5, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels January 24, 2004 Ashland boys finally get win By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings The way Ashland boys' basketball coach Rick Cornelius sees it, it had to happen sometime: the Grizzlies would win a conference game. "Our kids have worked really hard all week long," the second-year coach said. "We had a week off and that gave us a chance to collect ourselves and take a deep breath." Ashland (5-10, 1-4) knocked off Southern Oregon Conference rival Crater High (4-11, 1-4) to the tune of 48-33 on Friday night at Mountain Avenue gym to notch its first league win of the season. The Grizzlies took advantage of Comet mistakes, going 24 of 31 from the line including a 18-0 shooting streak from the charity stripe. It came down to D With a three-point winner by junior forward Corey Costantino a minute and a half into regulation, the Grizzlies broke an early 2-all tie. They wouldn't trail again in the game. Still, that didn't mean the win came easy for Ashland. Crater bounced back from a 9-4 run that closed out the first quarter with Ashland up 11-6. By the end of the first half, the Comets poised to fire things up as the Grizz held on to a mere one-point lead at 21-20. The second half looked a lot different, though. Ashland stifled the Crater offense, allowing less than 10 points a quarter from the Comets. "We defended extremely well," Cornelius said. "I was very pleased. Crater runs some pretty good offense. Anytime you can hold a team like that to that limited of a production - you know you've done a good job." On the positive side of the ball, the Grizzlies didn't have an outstanding night shooting from the floor. Ashland made nine field goals and two three-pointers in the game. "One goal we had tonight was to shoot more shots," Cornelius explained. "We didn't shoot as well as we had, but we knew we had to get the ball up more." However, the Grizz utilized runs of 11 and nine points to put the game out of reach for the Comets. "It loosened things up so the kids were freer on the offense," Cornelius explained. "We had to get that." 'Step up' While turnovers were still a sore spot for the Grizzlies, the team did a better job of holding onto the ball and playing out its offense. Ashland scored 10 points or more in all four quarters of the game, including a 17-point output in the final eight minutes of play. "We were much more careful with the ball tonight," Cornelius said. "I think that's a sign that we're maturing and coming along. We're making progress." Sophomore center Josh Cornelius led all players, with 13 points. He also was perfect from the line, going seven of seven on the night. "That was the best game he played this year," Coach Cornelius said of his son. "He shoots the ball well on the interior and I just knew one of our big kids had to step up and take charge." Two other Grizz players - junior forwards Jeff Skinner and Costantino - put up double-digit figures as they tallied 10 points apiece. Crater junior point guard Preston Tate scored 12 points to pace the Comets. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: A new improved archive search is coming! Look for it in mid-February! .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams