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A South Sweep Heil, Fiegi pace the Panthers By Kris Henry What a difference three days can make. Clearly embarrassed by Tuesday�s woeful shooting performance, South Medford was on a mission Friday night against cross-town rival North Medford. Mission accomplished. The Panthers knocked down 23 of 44 shots from the field in breezing past the Black Tornado, 68-51, in Southern Oregon Conference boys basketball. Coming off an 0-for-12 outing against Grants Pass, Ryan Heil drilled a pull-up jumper to open the game and never looked back in pouring in a game-high 24 points. "I definitely wanted to attack (tonight)," said Heil, who also had eight assists. "For my first shot, I wanted to get one that I was comfortable with and I knew I could knock down. From there it was just a matter of getting good looks and feeling better about my shot." The win enabled South (10-4 overall) to pull into a tie with North (5-8) in the SOC standings at 2-2. With Heil knocking down his early shots, the rest of the Panthers appeared to relax and found their shooting form as well as South managed a 13-2 lead. The Panthers appeared ready to run away with the contest but the resilient Tornado used a barrage of second-quarter baskets by Gabe Burchfiel and Brian Weeks to pull within 24-22. Undaunted, South countered with a 7-0 run to close out the half. "It was more of our lack of focus right then," said North coach Gene Quilhaugh. "We had to work extremely hard to get it back to a close game and then made some mental mistakes." South coach Dennis Murphy said his team�s late run made a huge difference in the Panthers� mentality heading into halftime. "We felt a lot better at halftime coming in that way than the way we were," said Murphy, who accomplished a coaching milestone with Friday�s win. Murphy picked up his 400th coaching victory � including junior varsity stints � at Aloha, St. Mary�s and South Medford. Although Murphy said all of the victories have been special, Friday�s win may have gone a long way in reviving South�s confidence. "You just can�t afford to get beat at home," he said. "We already did that once (against Grants Pass), and that�s why it was so important for us to win this one." Murphy said he was especially pleased with how Heil was able to regroup from Tuesday�s debacle. "He�s a great kid and he really wants to do the best he can," said Murphy. "Maybe sometimes there�s too much self-imposed pressure, so we talked about trying to relax and just go play." Eric Fiegi posted yet another strong night inside for the Panthers, scoring 20 points, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking six shots. Fiegi credited the outside shooting of his teammates for opening the door for his 15 second-half points. "That was definitely big because they couldn�t double me," the 6-foot-8 junior said. "When everybody�s hitting, it sucks the defense out and then it�s just me down there one-on-one with a 6-4 guy." South maintained a double-digit lead throughout most of the second half, although North showed it wouldn�t go down without a fight. "I was proud of our boys for coming back and making it close," said Quilhaugh. "We didn�t lose intensity or our will to win. "Hopefully we�ll mature as a team and when it comes back around for some home games, maybe that will make a difference." Burchfiel and Ben Anderson each had 15 points to pace the Tornado, which appeared to miss the perimeter threat and leadership of Mike Olson. The senior guard is sidelined due to a broken hand. NORTH MEDFORD (51) � Burchfiel 15, Anderson 15, Weeks 8, Foreman 2, Taylor 2, O�Brien 5, Poulton 4, Wessells 0, Timmerman 0. Totals: 18-53 13-24 51. SOUTH MEDFORD (68) � Heil 24, Fiegi 20, Tomlins 5, Mulhollen 5, Marshall 5, McKay 4, Johnson 3, Lower 2, Smith 0, Hilgendorf 0, Burnett 0. Totals: 23-44 19-28 68. North Medford.........................................8 14 12 17 � 51 South Medford.......................................18 13 16 21 � 68 3-point goals � North Medford 2-13 (Anderson 1, Weeks 1), South Medford 3-9 (Heil 2, Mulhollen 1). Fouled out � Poulton. JV score � South Medford 64, North 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 � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.