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PREP BASKETBALL: Ashland shocks EP in top-10 clash By Mail Tribune staff Updated: Feb 15, 2022 09:55 PM A A 5 View all photos No. 9 Grizzlies continue their rise by staging a fourth-quarter surge past No. 6 Eagles EAGLE POINT — On the same day that they cracked the top 10 of the Class 5A coaches poll for the first time in two months, the Ashland boys basketball team went out and got one of their biggest wins of the season Tuesday night. Behind a huge fourth-quarter performance, No. 9-ranked Ashland was able to break a 32-all deadlock and pull away down the stretch to claim a 49-38 win over sixth-ranked Eagle Point for the Grizzlies’ second win over a top-10 Midwestern League foe in a week. Last Tuesday, it was Ashland staving off Crater, currently ranked seventh, for a 57-53 boys basketball win. This time around, the Grizzlies had to rally from a double-digit deficit in the first quarter to make it happen against the Eagles. “It was a big night for the Grizzlies,” said Ashland head coach Sam Osofsky. “It was just a really special defensive effort.” Egan Shields, Ashland’s 6-foot-10 junior center, led the charge with 14 points and two pivotal offensive putbacks during the Grizzlies’ 17-6 surge in the fourth quarter. Hawthorn Lapierre added 13 points and joined Izzy Golden, who finished with 11 points, in knocking down key 3-pointers in the final frame for Ashland (10-7, 7-3 MWL). Golden also had four free throws to extend the lead in the fourth. Tommy Johnson had 14 points and nine rebounds and Brennen Neyt added eight points for Eagle Point (16-3, 9-2), which dropped two games behind MWL-leading Churchill in second place. “In the fourth quarter we just got deflated mentally,” said EP head coach Ryan Marrs. “As soon as Ashland went above us in score, you could see that some guys on the team were a little shook by that and started getting down a little bit and it just took too long to get back going.” “It’s got some implications,” Marrs added of a loss that hinders potential MWL title hopes, “but the good news is we get them at the end of the season and we have five conference games to go still. I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and we’ll keep working and fighting and put a nice bow on this at the end of the season. It’s just one game.” On the other side, the Grizzlies improved to 6-2 since coming back from a COVID-19 pause in late January and seem to be hitting their stride. “We’re definitely playing with confidence,” said Osofsky, “and I think that comes with our trust in our defense. We’ve definitely proved that we can keep teams at our pace and when we do that, I think it can be tough down the stretch to find buckets against us.” That proved to be the case for too many minutes for the Eagles, although some of that was self-induced, according to Marrs. “We just went away from the game plan in the second half,” said the coach. “We were settling for some 3-pointers too early and just not being patient. It just wasn’t a good shooting night for us.” Osofsky said he felt fortunate to be able to escape Eagle Point with a win, similar to the scenario last week in Central Point. “Ryan’s doing a great job over there,” said Osofsky of the Eagles. “That team is well-coached and really tough. I think they have the opportunity to really surprise a lot of people even still moving forward. We’re just kind of a unique matchup with our size.” Sebastian Stowasser knocked done three of Ashland’s nine 3-pointers to help the Grizzlies’ cause, while Triston McGuire pulled in seven rebounds to help EP on the boards against the likes of Shields and the 6-foot-8 Lapierre. Ashland next hits the road Thursday to play Springfield, while the Eagles return to the cour Friday at Willamette. ASHLAND (49): Stowasser 9, Lapierre 13, Golden 11, Barnes 2, Shields 14, Wright 0, Cooper 0, Thompson 0, Lehnerz 0. Totals: 14 12-18 49. EAGLE POINT (38): Quintero 4, Smith 2, Dutton 0, Pierece 0, Neyt 8, Carlton 2, Johnson 14, McGuire 4, Redondo 4. Totals: 16 3-7 38. Ashland5131417— 49 Eagle Point128126— 38 3-point goals — Ashland 9 (Stowasser 3, Lapierre 2, Golden 3, Shields 1), Eagle Point 1 (Johnson 1). Fouled out — Johnson. JV result — Ashland won. PHOENIX 53, NORTH VALLEY 46: At Merlin, Phoenix needed every bit of its 14-point first-quarter lead as the Pirates held off a late North Valley comeback bid to pick up the Skyline Conference win. Phoenix (9-12, 4-4 Skyline) led 23-9 after the opening period but was outscored 30-20 in the next two quarters to enter the fourth ahead only 43-39. Miguel Valadez scored a game-high 17 points to lead Phoenix, while Robin Trenbeath chipped in 12 and Jack Monroe added nine. Stephen Lauby finished with 12 points for North Valley (0-20, 0-8). PHOENIX (53): Brown 0, Monroe 9, Stubbs 0, Je. Selden 3, Ja. Selden 2, Valadez 17, Trenbeath 12, Harper 4, Ayala-Talbott 3, Bolstad 3. Totals: 20 7-15 53. NORTH VALLEY (46): Lauby 12, Champion 10, Robinson 4, Garaeu 0, Cartwright 5, Kilborn 8, Hawkins 6. Totals: 14 12-25 46. Phoenix 23 6 14 10— 53 North Valley 9 15 15 7— 46 3-point goals — Phoenix 6 (Monroe 1, Trenbeath 3, Ayala-Talbott 1, Bolstad 1), North Valley 6 (Lauby 2, Champion 2, Cartwright 1, Kilborn 1). Technical foul — Phoenix coach McNichols. JV result — Phoenix won. CASCADE CHRISTIAN 63, BROOKINGS-HARBOR 54: At Brookings, fourth-ranked Cascade Christian extended its hold on a potential Far West League title behind 28 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots from sophomore Austin Maurer. Senior point guard Cody Reece added 19 points, five assists and two steals for the Challengers (17-5, 7-1 FWL), who used a 17-8 edge in the third quarter to pull away. Brookings-Harbor (13-7, 5-3), which was led by 17 points from Jaron Fronckowiak, fell two games behind Cascade for first place in the FWL and into a tie with St. Mary’s. CASCADE CHRISTIAN (63): Reece 19, Wallace 3, P. Maurer 7, Hess 0, A. Maurer 28, Nering 0, Westlake 0, Kleker 0, Richardson 6. Totals: 21 16-25 63. BROOKINGS-HARBOR (54): Beaman 12, Fronckowiak 17, Harms 2, Et. orman 0, Dietrich 0, Serna 7, Russell 16. Totals: 20 6-11 54. Cascade Christian12161817— 63 Brookings-Harbor818721— 54 3-point goals — Cascade Christian 5 (Reece 1, P. Maurer 1, A. Maurer 1, Richardson 2), Brookings-Harbor 8 (Beaman 2, Fronckowiak 4, Serna 1, Russell 1). Fouled out — Russell. Girls EAGLE POINT 36, ASHLAND 22: At Eagle Point, a pair of 3-pointers from Rikki Baldwin provided Eagle Point with a spark in the third quarter, where the Eagles held Ashland scoreless, en route to the Midwestern League victory. Following a slow start, Eagle Point (5-12, 2-8 MWL) got more aggressive attacking the basket in the second quarter and went out in front at halftime with a 19-15 edge. Baldwin finished with seven points and also had three steals. Emilee Nielsen added eight points and Morgan Dole had seven for the Eagles. Gabby Heiken paced the Grizzlies (1-15, 0-9) with seven points and knocked down two 3-pointers. ASHLAND (22): Carter 4, Jenkins 4, Heiken 7, Robinson 2, Pokrob 5, Montgomery 0, Sayre 0, Lundgren 0. Totals: 5 3-5 22. EAGLE POINT (36): Raber 2, Dole 7, Nielsen 8, Hanan 4, Baldwin 7, Balero 4, McCornack 4, Pena 0, Munoz 0. Totals: 10 10-19 36. Ashland6907— 22 Eagle Point415125— 36 3-point goals — Ashland 3 (Heiken 2, Pokrob 1), Eagle Point 2 (Baldwin 2). JV result — Eagle Point won. PHOENIX 49, NORTH VALLEY 37: At Merlin, Phoenix’s Makynna Nolan scored all of her 13 points in the first quarter, leading the Pirates’ red-hot start in a Skyline Conference win. Nolan, Morgan James and Anabell Delgado all scored 13 points for Phoenix (8-13, 2-6 Skyline), which led 10-0 early and 18-11 after the first quarter. James filled up the stat sheet with six steals, six rebounds and four blocks to go with her 13 points, while Delgado also recorded six steals. Nolan and Delgado each hit three 3-pointers, accounting for all six of the Pirates’ treys. Phoenix, which snapped a four-game losing skid, recorded 20 steals. Karlee Touey scored a game-high 20 points for North Valley (10-11, 2-6). PHOENIX (49): James 13, Nolan 13, Potratz 2, Delgado 13, Rector 6, Mohamud 2. Totals: 14 15-23 49. NORTH VALLEY (37): Moore 6, Cooke 0, Hawkins 3, Schrock 0, Wheeler 6, A. Godfrey 0, S. Godfrey 2, Touey 20, Neelans 0. Totals: 14 8-14 37. Phoenix1871113— 49 North Valley11989— 37 3-point goals — Phoenix 6 (Nolan 3, Delgado 3), North Valley 1 (Hawkins 1). Fouled out — James. JV result — North Valley won. DOUGLAS 49, CASCADE CHRISTIAN 37: Julia Brehm and Jordynn Jones each scored 11 points for Cascade Christian in the Far West League home loss. Timnah Roberson added seven points for the Challengers (5-17, 0-8 FWL), who fell behind 15-6 after one quarter and were unable to recover. Maleata Polamalu scored 22 points to pace Douglas (13-5, 6-2). DOUGLAS (49): McWhorter 0, Lee 0, Sapp 10, T. Polamalu 2, Hester 0, M. Polamalu 22, Bennett 11, Avery 0, Perron 4, Calvert 0. Totals: 22 3-4 49. CASCADE CHRISTIAN (37): Shipman 0, Sweem 4, Williams 2, Brehm 11, Jones 11, Pierson 2, Roberson 7, Purrier 0. Totals: 13 9-13 37. Douglas1581412— 49 Cascade Christian610912— 37 3-point goals — Douglas 2 (M. Polamalu 2), Cascade Christian 2 (Jones 1, Roberson 1). Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneAshland's Egan Shields drives to the basket during the first quarter. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneEagle Points Tommy Johnson drives to the basket during the second quarter. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneAshland's Hawthorn Lapierre shoots for three points during the first quarter. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneEagle Points Adan Quintero drives to the basket during the second quarter. Andy Atkinson / Mail TribuneEagle Points Alejandro Redondo drives to the basket during the first quarter.