Document text
Late run helps Crater surge past North Medford CENTRAL POINT - For more than three quarters, the North Medford High School boys basketball team had Crater on the run, but seven free throws, buckets by Trevor Ryan and an Andrew Norum slam dunk gave the Comets the edge, 66-57, Friday night a Crater High School. Missing 12 of 16 shots in the last seven minutes also didn't help the Black Tornado, which fell to 1-5 in the Southern Oregon Conference with the loss. The Comets improved to 4-2 in the SOC, tied for third with Grants Pass. After trailing by as much as 15 points in the first quarter, North cut the lead to three points by halftime. Crater surged midway through the third quarter, but a Jeff Deline 3-point goal at the third-quarter buzzer put the Black Tornado within striking distance, 49-45. Deline, a junior guard who came off the bench to score 16 points, hit a field goal 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, and sophomore Erik Higgins, who was called up to the varsity a week ago, made two free throws seconds later. North sophomore Beau Hovland rebounded and scored to tie the contest, 51-51, with 6:20 remaining. But North got into foul trouble, and Crater's Chris Pettegrew and Ryan were 4-for-4 from the line. Ryan added a basket to put Crater up, 59-51. North's Deline and senior post Gabe Burchfiel both hits shots to narrow the gap, but it was Norum's dunk with 1:56 remaining that seemed to seal North's fate. "I had the dunk everyone wanted to see," said the 6-foot-5 Norum, who has been battling illness and admitted he didn't play his best. It was Crater's Derek Petersen who sparked the Comet offense most of the night. The senior guard hit five 3-pointers and ended the night with 19 points. "Petersen was on fire," Norum said. "He really gave us a nudge." Crater head coach Matt Meunier also complimented Petersen. "I was really impressed with Petersen's play," Meunier said. "He played better in other aspects than scoring. He contributed in many ways." Burchfiel had the best game of any player, scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 boards. Deline added 16 points for the Black Tornado. "He has been our rock," North head coach Tim Sam said of Burchfiel. "Poor guy, we expect even more out of him." Burchfiel's dominance helped North lead Crater in rebounding, 43-39. But the Comets shot better than 40 percent from the floor while the Black Tornado hit just 20 of 63, for 32 percent. North hit 5 of 17 shots in the fourth quarter, while the Comets were 4-for-8. Sam credited the loss to "a couple breakdowns." "For about 29 minutes, I was happy with our defense," Sam said. "But we need to be a good team for 32 minutes, not 291/2 minutes." After winning the tip-off, Crater jumped out to an 18-3 lead, thanks in part to three 3-pointers by Petersen. Burchfiel had two buckets and two free throws to help narrow the gap to 22-9 going into the second quarter. The Black Tornado outscored Crater, 18-6, in the second quarter to put the contest at 30-27 at halftime. The Comets stayed ahead throughout the second half until Hovland's basket tied the game for the first and only time. Sam pointed out that three non-starters scored half of North's points, and Burchfiel had most of the rest. "A few guys came off the bench and played some great ball," he said. "We are a good team. We feel like we can play with anyone. We just need to find a way to get to the top of that hill." Norum said Crater is still improving. "We are coming together really well," he said. "For us, practice is just as intense as games. We are starting to communicate really well." Meunier said Crater's offense is potent, but its defense needs work. "We didn't have it together, defensively," he said. "We shot the ball well, but our defense was weak. We thought we could open it up, but North never let up. "Every time we got a lead, North stepped up their intensity. They are a team that wouldn't go away." NORTH MEDFORD (57) - Timmerman 0, Deline 16, Hovland 6, Rettmann 6, Barlow 0, Burchfiel 23, Lucas 0, Higgins 6. Totals: 20 15-21 57. CRATER (66) - Petersen 19, Sills 11, Norum 6, Goode 5, Gugliotta 2, Ryan 13, Davis 3, Pettegrew 7. North Medford..........................................9 18 18 8 - 57 Crater.......................................................22 6 19 17 - 66 3-point goals - North Medford 2 (Deline 1, Rettmann 1), Crater 7 (Petersen 5, Sills 1, Ryan 1). JV score - Crater 60, North 57. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.