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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us February 9, 2005 Tribe destroys ice cold Grizzlies By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings The score got out of reach, then out of hand. Before long, the Roseburg Indians showed once again that the gap between the top of the Southern Oregon Conference and the middle is likely much more than a few league wins. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland high senior guard Josh McDermott is smothered by the Roseburg defense during Tuesday night's Southern Oregon Conference game at Mountain Avenue Gym. McDermott was held scoreless in the blowout loss. The Roseburg High boys basketball team improved to 3-0 against Ashland and 9-1 in the Southern Oregon Conference with a resounding 74-41 victory Tuesday night at Mountain Avenue Gym, as Ashland's fifth game against an upper-echelon SOC team turned into its fourth and worst loss against that group. The 33-point blowout, along with South Medford's loss to Grants Pass the same night, allowed the ninth-ranked Indians (19-1) to tie the Panthers atop the league standings with four games left in the regular season. Ashland (14-6, 6-4), meanwhile, fell two games behind third-place Grants Pass and watched its lead over fifth-place North Medford (4-6 SOC) slip to two games. Junior forward Eric Thompson scored six of his game-high 17 points in the first quarter, as the Indians started the game on a 15-1 spurt. The dam broke in the third, when Roseburg used a 14-0 burst to take an insurmountable 47-18 lead. "They didn't shoot the ball extremely well, but our kids stayed with it and we got a lead and took care of business," Roseburg head coach Mike Pardon said. "I think we just kind of stayed with our game plan. I think [Ashland is] a better shooting team than they showed tonight and they didn't shoot the ball well and we were able to go on some runs and get ahead." The Grizzlies' most lopsided loss of the season snapped their three-game winning streak. It also tagged Ashland with its first home loss of the season after six straight victories there. "Right off the bat we got behind and we lost our composure it seemed like and all of a sudden we started playing undisciplined, and that carried through the whole game," said Ashland senior guard Josh McDermott, who entered the game as the Grizzlies' leading scorer before being blanketed all night and held scoreless. "We just had guys wanting to do it by themselves and it just wasn't happening." Senior forwards Jeff Skinner and Corey Costantino provided glimmers of light in Ashland's otherwise black hole of a performance. Skinner led the Grizzlies with 16 points, five rebounds and seven steals, while Costantino added nine points and four boards. No other Grizzly scored more than six. Thompson was one of three Indians who scored in double figures, including senior post Jeff Stricklin, who had 10 points and a game-high 12 boards. Roseburg's Myles Walkup, a senior guard, added 11 points and three steals. Nothing came easy for Ashland, when it came at all. Roseburg's superior size - Stricklin is 6-foot-8 and Thompson 6-foot-7, while Ashland's three tallest players measure 6-foot-4 - eventually drove the Grizzlies outside, where they struggled mightily from beginning to end. Ashland missed its first 10 shots before Costantino finally drilled a 3 with 36 seconds to go in the first quarter. Nothing changed. Ashland finished 7-for-28 from two-point range and 6-for-27 on 3-point attempts. Worse, the Grizzlies scored two field goals in the first and third quarters combined - one in the first and one in the third. "Against a team like that that can defend as well as they can, you can't just pass the ball one time and then look for a shot," McDermott said. Roseburg had its way inside as well, outrebounding Ashland 46-17. The Indians looked vulnerable in the second quarter, when a series of turnovers allowed Ashland to shave a 17-point deficit to 11. Skinner's first 3-pointer - he finished with three - capped a 10-4 Ashland run and sliced Roseburg's lead to 25-14 with two minutes left in the half. The Indians responded with a 6-1 run of their own to take the momentum right back heading into the break. All three Roseburg buckets were scored at point-blank range. "They knew what they were coming into and they came prepared," Grizzly senior forward Brian Kitchell said. "They had a bad game last week against North and I think they were looking to show the league that they were still there." Mission accomplished. Ashland's attempt to nail down its first playoff berth since 1991 continues Friday at Klamath Union (2-8 SOC). After that, the Grizzlies host South Medford and Grants Pass before their regular season finale Feb. 24 at North Medford. Roseburg (74) - Stephens 6, Davis 8, Schott 7, Walkup 11, Smith 5, B. Malone 6, J. Malone 4, Stricklin 10, Thompson 17. Totals: 32 7-15 74. Ashland (41) - Cor. Costantino 9, Col. Costantino 0, Kitchell 6, Skinner 16, Reinstedt 3, Pittman 2, Cornelius 6. Totals: 13 9-14 41. Roseburg 21 10 18 25 - 74 Ashland 4 11 4 22 - 41 3-point goals - Roseburg 4 (B. Malone 2, Walkup 1, Smith 1), Ashland 6 (Skinner 3, Kitchell 1, Costantino 1, Cornelius 1). Technical Fouls - Ashland 2 (Cornelius, Reinstedt). JV Result - Roseburg won. Sports Editor Joe Zavala can be reached at 482-3456 ext. 3020 or [email protected] 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 Slippers Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc libor rate Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress afsa studentloans home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms fasa student loans Matchmaking & Dating Scripts African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation wholesale diamonds Currancy Exchange web conferencing Online Casinos Community Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams