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South falls short South Medford junior guard Kaleb Franklin drives in the third quarter for two of his team-high 22 points in the Panthers' home, 62-54 Southwest Conference setback to Roseburg. PHOTO BY ANDY ATKINSON Tuesday Jan 17, 2017 at 2:00 AM Jan 17, 2017 at 10:06 PM Kris Henry Mail Tribune @Kris_Henry South Medford again showed signs of being able to take a step forward under first-year head coach James Wightman on Tuesday but, as has been the case of late, the Panthers limped home down the stretch and missed out on shot at its first Southwest Conference boys basketball victory. Tied at 50-all with four minutes to play, South Medford couldn’t get a defensive stop and struggled on the offensive end to let Roseburg slip away with a 62-54 triumph at South Medford High. The visiting Indians (4-9, 1-2 SWC) scored on seven of their final eight possessions — going 6-for-8 from the foul line — to outscore the Panthers (5-10, 0-4) 10-4 in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter. Roseburg eclipsed the 60-point mark for only the third time this season, and first against a Class 6A opponent. “It’s on the defensive end, that’s where it is for us,” said Wightman of Tuesday’s deciding factor. “We’ve always told our kids around 48 points (allowed) is the goal and defensively we’re just not very good. We’ve got to practice harder and learn to guard each other a lot harder in practice.” “Offensively I thought we were OK at times and we could get any kind of shot that we wanted,” added the coach, “we just couldn’t score, and that’s our issue right now.” South Medford received a season-high 22 points in slashing and often acrobatic fashion from junior point guard Kaleb Franklin, but the Panthers were 1-for-11 from the field in the final four minutes and shot 36 percent overall (20-for-55). Conversely, Roseburg shot 51 percent from the field (21-for-41) and piggybacked off a big night by sophomore Collin Warmouth (24 points, eight rebounds) to keep the Panthers at bay in a contest that went back-and-forth until the closing stretch. Cody Johnson scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter for the Indians. “We’ve been shooting the ball well all season,” said Roseburg head coach Mike Pardon, “but the big thing is we did a nice job taking care of the ball. That’s been our problem all year so we’re getting better. We’ve shown resolve all season. We’ve never backed down and are getting better, and that’s a big win for us.” South Medford senior Riley Martin had seven points and the Panthers got five rebounds apiece from juniors Chase Cota and Jaylin Parnell. Senior Reese Fisher banked in a halfcourt 3-pointer to send the teams into intermission tied at 30-all, and senior Steven Phillips had five points and three boards off the bench for a Panther team that’s still struggling to integrate a host of new faces into the varsity pace of play. “We do show signs, I understand that, but we’re not about the moral victories or how we’re getting better,” said Wightman. “We’re just too up and down right now and we need everyone to step up and get the job done.” ROSEBURG (62): Warmouth 24, Johnson 15, J. Stone 9, Lucido 7, M. Stone 5, Crince 2, Christner 0, Jacks 0. Totals: 21-41 15-18 62. SOUTH MEDFORD (54): Franklin 22, Martin 7, Phillips 5, Mitchell 5, Owens 4, Cota 3, Cunningham 3, Fisher 3, Winans 2, Parnell 0. Totals: 20-55 9-12 54. Roseburg;18;12;12;20;—;62 South Medford;13;17;11;13;—;54 3-point goals — Roseburg 5-11 (Warmouth 3, Johnson 2), South Medford 5-12 (Martin 1, Mitchell 1, Phillips 1, Fisher 1, Cunningham 1). Fouled out — Mitchell. JV score — South Medford 61, Roseburg 47. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry