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50 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, April 6, 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 February 27, 2004 St. Mary’s tips Westside Christian By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune Last-second scoring is old hat to Austin Grant. The sophomore point guard, hero of last fall’s Class 2A/1A boys soccer state-championship game when his shot ricocheted off a defender and into the net with one second left in overtime for a 1-0 win, pulled off more crunch-time heroics Thursday night. Driving to the basket for the potential game-winner, Grant drew a controversial fifth foul on Westside Christian junior point guard Steve Campbell, then knocked down the first of two free throws with 6.6 seconds left to break a 48-all tie. Grant’s second attempt was errant, but the St. Mary’s boys basketball team still had a Class 2A first-round state-playoff victory in hand — after holding its breath through senior guard Zeke Emmons’ weave down the court and too-strong floater at the buzzer. The Crusaders (15-7) next travel to No. 2-ranked Oakland in Round 2 at 7 p.m. Saturday. The winner there earns a berth in the eight-team state tournament March 4-6 at the Pendleton Convention Center. Advertisement None of that would be possible without another clutch effort from Grant. Campbell hit 1 of 2 free throws with 32.9 seconds left to pull the Eagles (17-9) into a tie, then St. Mary’s called time out with 17.2 seconds remaining. The Crusaders isolated their playmaker up top against Campbell, and Grant drove the left side of the lane, enticing just enough contact on his layup attempt to lure a whistle. "He didn’t get me that good," Grant said. "It was just mostly ball, but it was a little bit of hand — just enough to change the shot." St. Mary’s head coach Tim Pflug, who is trying to direct the Crusaders to a fifth-straight state tournament in his eighth and final season, said he was confident with the ball in Grant’s hands at the end. "Our play was flatten down along the baseline everybody, and Austin, if you get in the key, you gotta shoot it," Pflug said. "That’s exactly what he did." The second seed out of the Southern Cascade League, St. Mary’s wouldn’t have been in position to win at the end without a sterling all-around performance from freshman post Garrett Fiddler. Using his 6-foot-6 frame wisely, Fiddler amassed 22 points, nine rebounds and six blocks. Pflug didn’t know if Fiddler would be available to play until Wednesday after sustaining a wrist injury against Gilchrist on Feb. 20. "He had an MRI, and we thought it was fractured," Pflug said. "When he found out that it wasn’t fractured, the personality just changed. I think he was a little bit afraid at first, but you could tell he was very competitive out there." Westside, a Lake Oswego school that was the No. 3 seed out of the West Valley League, did the bulk of its offensive damage in the second quarter. The Eagles, in that period alone, racked up 24 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, to take a 29-26 edge into the break. They had trailed 16-5 early in the second, thanks to a 13-0 Crusaders run. Neither side led by more than six in the second half. For Westside, the 6-3 Campbell scored 14 of his 18 points in the opening half; Emmons accumulated 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals; and senior post Sean McEwen score 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting. Grant’s nine points and sophomore guard Richie Kaimie’s seven points and five assists — plus solid second-half defense on Campbell — augmented Fiddler’s output for St. Mary’s. "This was probably the most exciting game we’ve had this year," Fiddler said. Thanks to Grant, the Crusaders can also count it as victorious. WESTSIDE CHRISTIAN (48) — Zek. Emmons 11, Goddard 0, McEwen 10, J. Potts 0, Campbell 18, Denton 7, G. Potts 2, Steele 0. Totals: 20-49 2-7 48. ST. MARY’S (49) — Kaimie 7, Kulig 2, Fiddler 22, Staver 0, A. Grant 9, C. Grant 5, Stout 2, Greene 2. Totals: 17-42 11-14 49. Westside Christian ..................... 5 24 11 8 — 48 St. Mary’s .................................. 14 12 17 6 — 49 3-point goals — Westside Christian 6-12 (Campbell 3, Denton 2, Zek. Emmons 1), St. Mary’s 4-11 (A. Grant 2, Kaimie 1, C. Grant 1). Fouled out — Campbell. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] 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. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times