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Free throw woes hamper Pirates in opener Skyline boys basketball roundup PHOENIX -- Missed free throw opportunities proved costly for Phoenix in its Skyline Conference boys basketball opener Friday. While Phoenix struggled from the line, North Valley made the most of its free throw chances and pulled away late for a 61-48 victory. It was the Knights' second win over Phoenix in the last 10 days. North Valley defeated the Pirates 55-45 in the finals of the North Valley Booster Club Holiday Tournament Dec. 29. Phoenix (5-5, 0-1 Skyline) hurt its cause by converting only 5 of 12 foul shots, including three front-end 1-and-1 misses in the fourth quarter. "They hit us with a pretty tough zone," Phoenix coach Randy Shipley said. "We had trouble getting good shots. They did a nice job of extending their zone." North Valley built a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Pirates rallied to slice the margin to two with about seven minutes to go. Then the Knights outscored Phoenix 16-5 to end the game. "We couldn't hit a shot and they seemed to hit all their free throws down the stretch," said Shipley. North Valley converted 14 of 20 from the line in the game, including 10 of 13 in the final stanza. Senior guard Josh Grosenbach led the Knights' foul shooting with a 6-of-8 effort in the fourth quarter. Senior point guard Luke Gentry paced three North Valley players in double figures with 19 points. Sam Jarrett added 15 and Grosenbach chipped in 14. "Jarrett is one of the best players in the league," said Shipley. "If he gets the slightest opening he hits the shot every time." Andy Bartels continued his outstanding play for Phoenix with a team-high 18 points. Junior point guard Sean Murphy contributed 10. "It was Sean's second strong game in a row," said Shipley. "He led us in assists and played a solid floor game." NORTH VALLEY (61) -- Jarrett 15, Gentry 19, Grosenbach 14, Keeling 0, Ironside 0, Phillips 8, Wright 2, Godfrey 3, Mave 0. Totals: 21 14-20 61. PHOENIX (48) -- Bartels 18, Kohler 0, Rombach 4, Murphy 10, Jeffers 6, Prewitt 2, Brink 2, Duffell 6, Rhodes 0. Totals: 19 5-12 48. North Valley ....17 17 10 17 -- 61 Phoenix ............16 12 13 7 -- 48 3-point goals -- North Valley 5 (Jarrett 3, Gentry 2), Phoenix 5 (Bartels 3, Murphy 2). Fouled out -- Duffell, Murphy. JV result -- Phoenix won. MAZAMA 87, ROGUE RIVER 44 -- At Rogue River, shorthanded Rogue River jumped out to a 10-2 lead before getting steamrolled by Mazama's pressing defense. The Chieftains were missing leading scorer Jeff Jentzsch and senior starter Richard Horton due to illness. Derrick Schoner knocked down all four of Rogue River's 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, as did Jason Luchterhand. Mazama's Tyler Starkey led all scorers with 26 points. MAZAMA (87) -- Starkey 26, Zahler 18, Hickel 14, Strom 7, Nunerly 5, Hebia 0, Wagner 0, Rhoades 6, Bocchi 4, Milsap 4, Means 0, Gerhardt 3. Totals: 34 14-19 87. ROGUE RIVER (44) -- Schoner 14, Luchterhand 14, R. Mortinson 4, L. Mortinson 6, Welch 2, Badley 4, Perryman 0. Totals: 15 10-16 44. Mazama ..........12 25 21 29 -- 87 Rogue River .....13 11 9 11 -- 44 3-point goals -- Mazama 5 (Starkey 3, Strom 1, Nunerly 1), Rogue River 4 (Schoner 4). Fouled out -- Badley. HIDDEN VALLEY 66, LAKEVIEW 63 -- At Lakeview, junior guard Kevin Ries picked up the slack for Hidden Valley leading scorer Willy Isley, who was out with a two-game suspension, by pouring in 23 points. Ries canned six 3-pointers. Dereck Horning added 17 points for the Mustangs. Hidden Valley held a 48-39 lead entering the final period, then had to hold off a late Honker rally to preserve the victory. The Mustangs hurt themselves with a sub-par 19-of-42 effort from the free-throw line. HIDDEN VALLEY (66) -- Drummond 9, Carr 2, Ries 23, Thomas 5, Horning 17, Hagemeyer 6, Kennedy 4. Totals: 21 19-42 66. LAKEVIEW (63) -- Ciarrocca 0, Albertson 3, Denbrook 6, Richards 0, Strubel 30, Grant 3, Wright 15, Fairburn 6. Totals: 26 8-15 63. Hidden Valley ......9 18 21 18 -- 66 Lakeview ...........13 11 15 24 -- 63 3-point goals -- Hidden Valley 7 (Ries 6, Drummond 1), Lakeview 3 (Albertson 1, Grant 1, Strubel 1). Fouled out -- Denbrook 1, Fairburn 1). JV result -- Hidden Valley won. ILLINOIS VALLEY 62, HENLEY 58 -- At Cave Junction, Illinois Valley scored the game's first 14 points as the Cougars dealt defending Skyline Conference champion Henley its first league loss since 1998. Henley rallied to within 50-49 early in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Greg Cunningham. But Illinois Valley converted on 4 of 6 free throws in the waning moments. Brandon Henry scored 16 points and snared 13 rebounds for Illinois Valley. Justin Neville added 16 points and Ry Heller had 14. HENLEY (58) -- Bushvizen 16, Stewart 12, Cunningham 10, Frost 9, Rogers 6, Stock 6, Jertberg 9, Gauntz 0. Totals: 23 5-9 58. ILLINOIS VALLEY (62) -- Henry 16, Neville 16, Heller 14, Watkins 6, Fahrnkopf 6, Russell 3, Houston 1, Newman 0, Fox 0. Totals: 24 11-19 62. Henley ...............13 13 15 17 -- 58 Illinois Valley ....21 13 10 18 -- 62 3-point goals -- Henley 7 (Bushvizen 2, Cunningham 2, Stewart 1, Stock 1, Frost 1), Illinois Valley 3 (Neville 1, Heller 2). Fouled out -- Stock. JV score -- Illinois Valley 84, Henley 68. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, OR U.S.A.