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--> --> Dec. 17: Ashland boys fall in title tilt By The Ashland Daily Tidings ANDERSON, Calif. - Usually a 3-3 record isn't much to get excited about. But when it's the Ashland High boys basketball team you're dealing with, it's almost worthy of a parade. The Grizzlies fell to Hayward, Calif., 71-55 Saturday night in the championship game of the Anderson Holiday Tournament. But that loss won't take away a week of impressive basketball for a team that went winless last year in Southern Oregon Conference play. The Grizzlies knocked off host Anderson in the first round and then upset No. 1 seed McClatchey in the semifinals - both a pair of quality victories. "The confidence these guys have right now is tremendous," fifth-year Grizz head coach John Skinner said. "And that's what we needed. The guys needed to see that they can win and can be competitive." Ashland finally ran out of gas against Hayward Saturday night as they struggled from the get-go and fell behind 39-23 at the half. "They are a really tough team," Skinner said. "They dressed 13 and played 10 of them. They are 8-0 for a reason. They were pretty relentless." Ashland was led by senior Isaac Wright's 12 points and a 10-point night by junior Clinton Bryan. "Isaac was timid to start the season," Skinner said. "And he showed some things this weekend. He's 6-4, but he's not as strong as most of the people he goes against, but he doesn't back down." Seniors Lance Streng and Titus Weston were each named to the All-Tournament team. Streng has caught the coaches eye with his play so far. Known more for forcing up shots last year, Streng has turned into the complete point guard and the Grizzlies are a better team because of it. "Lance has changed his whole attitude and the way he plays the game," Skinner said. "He knows what's expected of him and he's stepped up. He has about five to seven assists a game and his teammates know if he gets in the paint to be ready for a pass." Skinner said that the change in the program has a lot to do with the new faces that are now coming through. Only one starter remains from last year's squad. "In the past we've had great kids that were good athletes, but not basketball players," Skinner said. "Ryan Beugli was the only one out of the last couple teams that was a basketball player. Now we've got kids that are basketball players and have come up through our AAU program." Ashland travels to Redmond Wednesday for a non-conference battle. SOU Women's Basketball At Kirkland, Wash., the Southern Oregon University women's basketball team improved to 2-0 in Cascade Conference play with a 94-55 rout of The Evergreen State College Saturday night. The Raiders (5-4) made quick work of the Geoducks as they jumped out to a 51-21 halftime lead after forcing the hosts into a 5-for-22 shooting effort in the first 20 minutes of action. Junior forward Kara Magee-Arick scored a career-high 16 points to lead the Raiders. Junior guard Sara Marks added 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting and junior post Jaime Stanford chipped in with 12. After nine games on the road to start the season, new head coach Kevin Wilson will make his home debut Tuesday night when his Raiders host Western Oregon starting at 7:30 p.m. The Raider men kick off the doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. when they host Northwest College in the opener of Cascade Conference play. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing