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Phoenix ousted from state tourney Story by FRANK SILOW CORVALLIS -- Phoenix had its shooting touch in the first half of the Class 3A girls state tournament fifth-place semifinals against Seaside at Gill Coliseum Friday. But the Pirates couldn't adjust to Seaside's switch from a zone to a man-to-man defense after intermission and bowed out of the tournament by absorbing a 37-31 defeat. "The first half was the best since we've been up here," Phoenix coach Kyle Walker said. "We did a great job by limiting them to just one shot. We hit the shots that they gave us. When we were open, we were able to knock a high percentage down off their zone.'' The Pirates (15-11) stung the Seagulls (21-3) for 43 percent on 9-of-21 shooting from the field before the break, but connected for 4 of 15 in the second half. The Pirates' 20-15 halftime margin disintegrated to a 27-23 deficit after three quarters when Phoenix scored just three points in the third period. "We became less aggressive," said Walker. "We didn't have anyone taking it to the bucket. They really frustrated our kids." The Pirates were down by eight points with 1:40 remaining in the game but rallied late. Phoenix cut the margin to four and had possession of the ball with just under one minute remaining but missed its opportunity to further cut into Seaside's lead. "It was one of our better games," said Walker. "We fought back and made it really a good game." Seaside also caused the Pirates to change their style on the defensive side. "Seaside's a very athletic team from top to bottom," said Walker. "We usually press, but we didn't because we didn't want to give up easy baskets at the other end." Phoenix was the Skyline Conference's No. 2 seed in the postseason. "We came up here trying to extend our season every day," said Walker. "We had a good tournament without having a real veteran crew." SEASIDE (37) -- Kraske 11, Daggat 11, Soller 6, Arndt 5, Brown 2, Heslop 2, Morrison 0, Teeple 0. Totals: 15-46 6-16 37. PHOENIX (31) -- Curtis 9, Prisbrey 7, Jackson 5, Bones 4, Gonzalez 2, Nikodym 2, Clark 2, Meredith 0. Totals: 13-36 4-8 31 Seaside ................6 9 12 10 -- 37 Phoenix ...............10 10 3 8 -- 31 3-point goals -- Seaside 1 (Daggat 1), Phoenix 1 (Prisbrey). Fouled out -- Jackson. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA