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South sweeps away North Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli South Medford's Ryan Heil, right, drives to the basket against North Medford's Zach Rettmann in Friday's Southern Oregon Conference game at South Medford. No. 3-ranked Panthers have little trouble with short-handed Tornado By KRIS HENRY Facing the state's No. 3-ranked boys basketball team without three starters is an unenviable position for any team to be in. Managing only a 10-point halftime lead over such a short-handed squad isn't much better. But when it comes to intracity rivalries, anything can happen. It just didn't happen for North Medford Friday night at South Medford High. Third-ranked South Medford used a 15-4 run to start the third quarter and never let that lead dip below double digits in a 71-53 triumph over a gutsy Black Tornado squad. Friday's win was South's third straight over North and helped the Panthers (13-1) remain undefeated in Southern Oregon Conference play at 4-0. The Black Tornado dropped to 4-9 overall and 1-3 in SOC play. "I think that's one of the best South Medford teams I've seen since I've been around here," said North coach Tim Sam. "They're really well-balanced and have good depth." On his own sideline, depth was a problem for Sam. North played without seniors Brian Weeks and Travis Poulton, serving their second game of a team-imposed four-game suspension, and senior Zach Taylor, who sat out his second straight game, also for disciplinary reasons. Even without the trio's services, North managed to hang with the heavily-favored Panthers thanks to South's inability to get back on defense and the steady inside play of Gabe Burchfiel. "For 15 years this has always been a tough game," said South coach Dennis Murphy. "It's not necessarily a well-played game all the time but that's what happens in rivalries with all the emotion involved. That's what makes it fun." Ryan Heil made the game a little more fun for Murphy and crew when he scored the last five points of the second quarter to spread South's lead to 10. "It was nice to get that extra confidence boost going into the half," said Heil, who finished with 20 points. "That gave us a little momentum going into that second half." It also sent a message to those in the North locker room. "We knew they probably felt like they could have played better and were going to come out and try to get after us (in the third quarter)," said Sam. South did just that to open the third quarter, scoring on eight of its first 10 possessions. The Panthers' fateful run began quietly, with an Adam Walport 3-pointer and an Eric Fiegi layup answering inside baskets by Burchfiel and sophomore Ryan Lucas. The scoring wave began to form when Boomer Marshall blocked a Lucas offering and the Panthers quickly fed Fiegi for a dunk. Two straight North misses led to another Fiegi basket and a jumper by Heil. Then the wave crested and slammed down on the Tornado as South's fullcourt pressure led to two straight steals by Heil, one finishing with a Fiegi dunk and the other a smooth jumper from Heil that pushed South's lead to 21 points and had North scrambling for a timeout. "We came out in the second half like we had a real purpose," said Fiegi, who scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the third quarter. "My teammates really focused on getting me the ball and were playing hard defense. They really opened it up for me." North made a run of its own behind the play of Lucas, who had 10 of his 12 points in the second half, but couldn't quite get over the hump. "We bounced back after that run and gave ourselves a little crack in the door, but we just couldn't quite get through it," said Sam. Particularly impressive for North was the inside play of Burchfiel, a 6-foot-4 post, and Lucas (6-2) against the 6-9 Fiegi. Burchfiel finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead North. "They stepped up," said Sam. "They didn't play perfect games but they played very hard. I was very proud of their efforts, as well as the team's efforts overall." Fiegi was far from overwhelmed by the Tornado duo, however, as the senior added six blocked shots and six rebounds to his stat sheet and at times appeared unstoppable on the block. "When I get it that low, I'm going to score," said Fiegi. Part of South's inability to break away in the first half was the fact that Fiegi wasn't getting those good looks, or even looks at all. The senior all-star was only 3-for-6 shooting in the first half. "Everybody knows that the ball has to go in and go through him more often than that," said Murphy. "He just makes a lot of good things happen." Picking up the slack, South received nine points apiece from Marshall and Walport, all but Walport's 3-pointer coming in the first half. The Panthers credited North for much of South's inability to dictate the flow of the game in the first half. "You have to give them credit," said Heil. "They hung tough and made some plays." Part of that, Heil said, comes from the fact that South carries a target into every game with its high state ranking. "But we want that target," the senior said flatly. "If you don't have that target then that means you're not one of the elite teams in the state. "Every game is a chance to gain more respect and show the rest of the teams that we're deserving of that ranking." NORTH MEDFORD (53) - Burchfiel 17, Lucas 12, Timmerman 9, Barlow 8, Rettmann 7, Faaeteete 0, Hovland 0, Deline 0, Clifton 0, Rowley 0, Strahm 0, Higgins 0. Totals: 23-60 4-9 53. SOUTH MEDFORD (71) - Fiegi 25, Heil 20, Marshall 9, Walport 9, Lower 4, Olson 2, Johnson 2, Smith 0, Fischer 0, Haggert 0, Carpenter 0. Totals: 30-57 8-10 71. North Medford........................11 16 16 10 - 53 South Medford.........................17 20 23 11 - 71 3-point goals - North Medford 3 (Rettmann, Timmerman 1, Burchfiel 1), South Medford 3 (Heil 2, Walport 1). JV score - North Medford 64, South Medford 53. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.