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No. 1-ranked South Eugene sends Tornado packing By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN PORTLAND -- North Medford High's boys basketball team was dispatched from the Class 4A state tournament Wednesday less than 24 hours after it hit the Memorial Coliseum court for the first time. The Black Tornado fell to top-ranked South Eugene, 62-55, in a sleepy consolation bracket atmosphere before a sparse crowd of less than 1,000. North Medford, the Southern Oregon Conference champion, finished its season with a 17-7 record, a Southern Oregon Conference championship and high hopes for next season with four juniors and two sophomores returning for coach Gene Quilhaugh. "I'm not disappointed with these kids at all," said Quilhaugh, who completed his first season with the Tornado. "I'm an educator, and it's my job to teach these kids and help them improve. "They had a nice trip up here, we got some good experience for our younger kids and they got some good leadership from the seniors." North Medford, which lost 60-57 to seventh-ranked North Salem on Thursday night in its tournament opener, watched South Eugene roar back from an early 11-4 deficit to build a 58-40 lead midway through the fourth quarter. "If you had told us we would lose to the No. 7 team in the state by three points and the No. 1-ranked team by seven, I would have been excited and thinking about next year," said Quilhaugh. "Now that I know we can compete with the best teams, I wish we could play up here again, but it's over." As it did after falling behind North Salem in the second quarter on Tuesday night in its opener, the Black Tornado battled back to the end against South Eugene and trimmed the final margin of victory to seven points with solid play from its reserves as well as some starters. "It was a great experience to be up here playing with all my friends one more time," said North Medford senior forward Kelly Jantzer, who finished his career wih five points and six rebounds against the Axemen. "We could have won last night (against North Salem) and it could have been a lot different. "We had so much potential, but we didn't have enough time to play our best ball up here. "That's too bad, but it was still a good experience for all of us." Seniors Jeff Zimmer and Travis Hinkle led North Medford with 10 points apiece and senior wing Dave Husel had eight. Mike Roberts, a 6-foot-8 senior post player, led South Eugene with 20 points and nine rebounds. Husel, who finished two games in the tournament with 28 points, limited all-state guard Blake Stepp of the Axemen to 10 points. "He started off pretty slow against me, but he picked it up some," said Husel. "I'm pretty happy with the defense I played. He's tough." Husel hit two 3-point jump shots, and a 17-foot jumper from the wing to score eight of North's first 11 points in the opening quarter as the Tornado took an 11-4 lead. But South Eugene, still showing the effects of a devastating loss to Jefferson on Tuesday night, finally started to awaken as it picked up the pace of its game and went on a 23-9 run to build a 27-20 lead with 3:52 left in the first half on the way to a 33-24 halftime lead. Roberts, who has signed a letter of intent to play for Indiana, had nine rebounds to go with his 20 points. Roberts dominated inside play, scoring on three layups and a dunk, and pulling down five rebounds, as the Axemen rallied from behind to build their nine-point halftime lead. South Eugene extended its lead to 53-38 and 58-40 before coach Dean Stepp started to substitute freely along with Quilhaugh, with the issue settled. South Eugene, which defeated North Medford 57-42 earlier in the season in Medford, displayed the quickness and inside power and productivity that it showed in that earlier meeting with the Black Tornado. "It's hard to compare the two games," said Quilhaugh. "They got the big lead and they were nice enough to substitute a lot at the end." Quilhaugh's returning players for next season got what the coach termed "valuable experience" as they cut South Eugene's lead from 58-41 to 62-55 in the final 3:33. Post player Tate Mellbye, a 6-foot-2 junior, hit four straight free throws and junior wing Charlie Jensen and sophomore point guard Mike Olson both hit 3-point shots in the final 90 seconds. Sophomore Tom O'Brien scored two points and played well in limited playing time. Olson, who is expected to replace Zimmer as North Medford's point guard next season, had five points and three assists in 5 minutes. "Olson, O'Brien, Tate (Mellbye) and Jensen are all going to be very good players for us next year," said Quilhaugh. "I feel good about our future." Husel said the tournament experience only increases his desire to keep playing the game in college. NORTH MEDFORD (55) -- Zimmer 10, Husel 8, Brownell 0, Hinkle 10, Jantzer 8, Pickrel, Olson 3, Mellbye 6, O'Neil 1, Towne 4, Jensen 3, O'Brien 2. Totals: 19-63 11-15 55. SOUTH EUGENE (62) -- Long 10, Stepp 10, Roberts 20, Ritchie 0, McCarthy 11, Chockley 0, Mold 3, White 0, Pelphrey 1, Mashofsky 1, Blasher 4, Robertson 2. Totals: 20-35 20-29 62. North Medford ............... 15 9 11 20 -- 55 South Eugene ............. 15 18 16 13 -- 62 3-point goals: North Medford 6-16 (Zimmer 2, Husel 2, Olson 1, Jensen 1), South Eugene 2-9 (Stepp 1, Mold 1.) Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.