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Varsity 541 NEWS NOW Hi-fi hunters gather for Grants Pass Record Convention ... Man hospitalized after stabbing at Sams Valley party ... Three rescued after boat capsizes near Shady Cove ... Hi-fi hunters gather for Grants Pass Record Convention ... Man hospitalized after stabbing at Sams Valley party ... Three rescued after boat capsizes near Shady Cove ... BOYS BASKETBALL Slow start dooms South West Linn uses opening 23-0 surge to claim fourth straight 6A title Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Mar. 13, 2016 at 12:16 AM Updated Mar 13, 2016 at 12:42 AM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Mar. 13, 2016 at 12:16 AM Updated Mar 13, 2016 at 12:42 AM --> West Linn 74, South Medford 48 RECAP: South Medford’s Hunter Bradford totals 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the final and earns a unanimous spot on the all-tou... » Read more X West Linn 74, South Medford 48 RECAP : South Medford’s Hunter Bradford totals 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the final and earns a unanimous spot on the all-tournament first team and Kaleb Franklin adds 15 points, four assists and three steals against West Linn. OF NOTE : The Southwest Conference champion Panthers finished 27-3 overall and earned their second runner-up trophy to go with their 2007 state title in 11 seasons. » Social News PORTLAND — South Medford knew it would be a challenge to dethrone the three-time defending West Linn Lions in Saturday night’s Class 6A boys basketball state championship game. It didn’t take West Linn long to show exactly how grand of a challenge it would be here at the Chiles Center. The Lions opened the game with a dunk by Will Matthiessen and didn’t break stride from there in opening a double-digit lead that eventually snowballed to 23-0 in the first quarter before South Medford senior Hunter Bradford could break the drought with 10 seconds to go in the opening frame. Even then, West Linn’s Jaydon Grant went coast to coast to close the quarter with a basket and an insurmountable 25-2 lead. After that it was all about pride for South Medford (27-3), which competed to the end but was simply overmatched by the Payton Pritchard-led Lions (26-3) in a 74-48 runaway that allowed West Linn to become only the second team to win four straight large-classification boys basketball titles. Jesuit won four straight from 2009-12. “We started off horrible,” said Bradford, who entered the first quarter 2½ minutes into the game. “I don’t really know what happened … we just didn’t come out to play and they came out ready and they jumped us quick.” “The second quarter we got it slowed down a little bit and we were doing a little bit better,” added the 6-foot-7 post. “We just tried to keep it close but it was hard, they’re a great team.” Pritchard, a four-star point guard bound for the University of Oregon, was 9-for-24 from the field for 25 points to go with 12 rebounds, six assists, five turnovers and three steals in 28 minutes for West Linn. The reigning two-time state player of the year, who is a shoe-in for No. 3 in the coming days, helped set the tone on both ends of the floor to finish his state tournament career 12-0 as a starter. Pritchard was a unanimous first-team all-tournament selection, as was Bradford, who had 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes. Bradford was constantly harassed inside by the taller Lion frontcourt and finished 6-for-21 from the field. South Medford senior Conor Carroll, who had five points and four boards in the final, was named to the all-tournament second team. Sophomore Kaleb Franklin scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter to go with four assists, three steals, three rebounds and only two turnovers despite the tough matchup with Pritchard. “Our kids aren’t going to quit,” said South Medford head coach Dennis Murphy. “We’ve got great kids and they’re going to battle to the end. You watch Kaleb Franklin and how he played the last 12 minutes of the basketball game, it was just great heart and they’ve had it all year. We all know you reach a point at times when the other team is probably better than you are and they were better.” The only caveat for Murphy and company was it would have been nice to see South Medford play to its true capabilities, but West Linn had a lot to do with that in front of a raucous crowd. “It was a big-big uphill battle, we knew that going in,” said Murphy. “They’re really, really good. I’m just sorry that it’s 25-2 (at the end of one quarter). You might recover from a 12-2 or something but they just get you to play like that. We talked about controlling the ball and trying to control the tempo and obviously we didn’t do that, and we couldn’t kick it into the ocean the first seven minutes.” “As bizarre as it is, the last two games we went and scored four quick points and then we couldn’t score anymore,” added the departing coach after 28 seasons at the helm. “In this one we couldn’t ever score. We surely had moments that we competed so I was proud of the kids for that but they’re just a very, very good basketball team. There’s nothing like those guys in this state.” West Linn senior Brooks De Bisschop joined Pritchard and Bradford on the all-tournament first team but was held to only two free throws by the defense of Bradford and Josh Washington. The Lions, who led by as many as 36 points, got 14 points and four steals from Jaydon Grant and 10 points from Matthiessen. Even with the lopsided championship final, Bradford said his Panthers had nothing to hang their heads about in a season that included a Southwest Conference championship and a fitting end to Murphy’s career. “We had a great year and we battled all the way to the end, I couldn’t ask for anything else,” said Bradford, who had two game-winning shots in three games in Portland. “I love this team and it was a great year. We can’t be mad or sad because we had a wonderful year, the best one we’ve had in a while.” As for Murphy, he tipped his hat to the Lions and hugged his players and assistant coaches knowing the end had to come eventually. “You don’t get any better than this,” said Murphy. “Would you like to win, sure you would, but we knew that was going to be a tough task. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. My whole career I’ve just been very, very fortunate and very, very lucky and had great kids and great assistant coaches and a lot of wins. There’s a lot to be happy about.” SOUTH MEDFORD (27-3) Kaleb Franklin 6-8 3-5 15, Hunter Bradford 6-21 2-5 14, Conor Carroll 1-10 2-2 5, Eskari Carter 1-3 1-2 4, Riley Martin 1-3 0-0 3, Dakota Metcalf 1-2 0-0 3, Josh Washington 0-1 2-2 2, Chase Cota 1-1 0-0 2, Anthony Bock 0-0 0-0 0, Brad Schuster 0-0 0-0 0, Raymond Benford 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 17-52 10-16 48. WEST LINN (26-3) Payton Pritchard 9-24 4-6 25, Jaydon Grant 5-8 3-4 14, Will Matthiessen 4-5 0-1 10, Tate Hoffman 4-6 0-0 8, Cody Coppedge 1-3 2-2 4, Colin Shearmire 2-3 0-1 4, Tim Tawa 1-1 0-0 3, Michael Hadeed 1-2 0-0 2, Brooks De Bisschop 0-3 2-2 2, Braden Olsen 1-2 0-1 2, Jalen Thompson 0-2 0-0 0, Jake Perkins 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Schmid 0-0 0-0 0, Nathan Dombrow 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-59 11-17 74. South Medford;2;17;11;18;—;48 West Linn;25;9;24;16;—;74 3-point goals — South Medford 4-14 (Dakota Metcalf 1-2, Riley Martin 1-1, Eskari Carter 1-2, Conor Carroll 1-5, Raymond Benford 0-1, Hunter Bradford 0-3), West Linn 7-21 (Payton Pritchard 3-9, Will Matthiessen 2-2, Tim Tawa 1-1, Jaydon Grant 1-3, Michael Hadeed 0-1, Brooks De Bisschop 0-1, Braden Olsen 0-1, Jalen Thompson 0-1, Colin Shearmire 0-1, Cody Coppedge 0-1). Rebounds — South Medford 31 (Hunter Bradford 6), West Linn 39 (Payton Pritchard 12). Assists — South Medford 6 (Kaleb Franklin 4), West Linn 12 (Payton Pritchard 6). Total fouls — South Medford 14, West Linn 16. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Mar. 13, 2016 at 12:16 AM Updated Mar 13, 2016 at 12:42 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction Schedules & Events --> Recent Scores --> Prep Notebook Kris Henry Small mat programs make big leap at state It seems fitting that in a leap year, a pair of this area’s fledgling wrestling programs made big leaps at the state tournament in... Varsity 541 Photos South vs West Salem South vs Centennial South Medford Girls vs. St. Mary's Academy South vs Grants Pass South vs South Eugene South vs Roseburg » More Photo Galleries Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications | Contact Us | Advertise | © Copyright Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.