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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, January 19, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend December 13, 2003 South Medford�s Brent Johnson (41) looks to shoot against a Mountain View defender in Friday�s game. Sharing the wealth It hasn’t taken talented and the third-ranked Panthers long to come together, as evidenced by their latest rout By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Ryan Fiegi admits he was a bit worried how the South Medford High boys basketball team would meld together this season. With exceptional talent at every position, would the players be willing to sacrifice individual statistics for the betterment of the team? Was one ball enough to go around? The Panthers, it turns out, are sharing the orange sphere as if it were a favorite item at the dinner table. Looking every bit the part of the state’s third-ranked team, South Medford soared to a 38-18 halftime lead and romped to a 76-40 nonconference victory over Mountain View of Bend Friday night in the South gym. Advertisement Senior post Craig Johnson led four South Medford players in double figures with 15 points, and all 10 Panthers who suited up found their way into the scoring column. The victory was South Medford’s third of the season — all by wide margins — while Mountain View suffered its first loss following three wins. "We’ve got so many stars on this team that not everyone is going to score 20 points a night," said Fiegi, the Panthers’ 6-foot-5 senior point guard who finished with 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. "I was a little worried at the start how that was going to play out, but no one on this team is a selfish player, and we’re always looking to get good shots." Junior guard Isaiah Adams and senior forward Spencer Hunter came off the bench to score 10 points each for South Medford, and freshman sensation Kyle Singler added nine. The visiting Cougars, who were outsized at every position, went to a spread offense in the first period in an attempt to slow the game down. But the Panthers countered with a trapping 1-3-1 zone defense and took a 17-3 lead by the end of the quarter. "I knew they might try that, and we really hadn’t practiced for it, but our kids did a good job of getting their hands in the passing lanes and creating some turnovers," South Medford coach Dennis Murphy said. "We used up a lot of energy when they were holding the ball on us, but we’ve got a good bench and we were able to keep fresh legs out there." Johnson, the Panthers’ 6-4 senior post who has made a killing in the paint this season, torched Mountain View for eight points in the first period and 11 in the first half. He spent much of the second half on the bench after South Medford had built a huge lead. "I’m playing a lot stronger this season," said Johnson, who had 43 points in the Panthers’ first two games. "I’ve got the mentality that when I’m on the low block and get the ball, I’m going to power it up." The 6-6 Singler, meanwhile, just missed reaching double figures for the third straight game. He, too, had a strong first half, drilling a pair of medium-range jumpers and a 3-pointer and rifling a baseline pass to Johnson for a layup. Singler said he’s had no trouble fitting in with his older teammates. "It’s been a smooth ride," the precocious lad said. "I don’t think the rest of the guys look at me as a freshman. They just see me as their teammate, and they know I can contribute." Mountain View went the final 2:38 of the first half and the first 2:53 of the second half without scoring. South Medford went on a 15-0 run in that span to expand a 32-18 lead to 47-18. The Panthers’ biggest lead was 48 points at 76-28, when reserve forward Jon Weaver swished a baseline jumper with 3:32 remaining in the game. "Physically, we just couldn’t match up," Mountain View coach Craig Reed said. "They’re so tall across the board, and when they go to their bench, there isn’t much of a drop." South Medford enjoyed a 33-21 advantage on the boards and the Panthers forced 22 turnovers while committing only seven. Gary Lee paced Mountain View with 10 points. MOUNTAIN VIEW (40) — Haugen 8, Lodwick 0, Lang 4, Johnson 5, Laszlo 0, Milliron 1, Morris 4, Lee 10, Mayhen 0, Collette 3, Millsap 3, Groves 2, Dawley 0. Totals: SOUTH MEDFORD (76) — Fiegi 11, Heil 1, Adams 10, Berkey 8, Hagert 4, Hunter 10, Weaver 6, C. Johnson 15, Singler 9, B. Johnson 2. Mountain View........................... 3 15 3 19 — 40 South Medford......................... 17 21 22 16 — 76 3-point goals — Mountain View 3 (Groves 1, M. Johnson 1, Collette 1); South Medford 6 (Adams 2, Berkey 2, Singler 1, Hunter 1). JV result — South Medford won. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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