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60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, March 6, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 21, 2004 South Medford�s Craig Johnson, left, looks for an opening against Grants Pass� Nolan Morgan. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Champion Panthers stay red-hot Top-ranked South Medford shoots 60 percent from the field in routing No. 10 Grants Pass By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune On fire doesn’t do the South Medford boys basketball team justice. Scorching? That’s closer. But let’s not get too close, because, as Grants Pass discovered Friday night at South’s packed gym, the Panthers are leaving opponents burned. Advertisement South — the No. 1-ranked team in the state’s Class 4A ranks and No. 7 in the West Coast region, according to the National Prep Basketball Poll — should be required to dispense aloe vera to the competition following its blazing shooting displays. Instead, the Panthers just hand out losses. The 10th-ranked Cavemen were the latest to suffer that fate, gamely falling, 71-55. In moving to 13-0 in the Southern Oregon Conference, South (22-1 overall) shot 60.5 percent (26-for-43) from the field and better than 50 percent in all four quarters. "We’re pretty patient until we get the open shot, and we don’t rush anything," said freshman sensation Kyle Singler, who scored seven of the Panthers’ first nine points and finished with a team-high 15 on 6-for-8 shooting to go with five assists and four rebounds. South wrapped up its third straight conference championship Tuesday, but the Panthers remain intent on protecting a streak that is now 46 wins in the program’s last 47 SOC games. "The statement that there’s a lot of weapons I think is true," said Dennis Murphy, who now has eight conference crowns in his 16 years as South head coach. "But I think the biggest thing is our team’s got a lot of heart, and they’re playing with a lot of confidence. I mean, they really are. And we do have some great streaks going, and I don’t think they want to see them end." The Panthers, who have won 16 in a row since a 66-55 loss to El Camino of Oceanside, Calif., on Dec. 20, led from start to finish in subduing Grants Pass (15-7, 8-5 SOC). South stormed to a 12-3 lead in the first 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the Cavemen trimmed it to 23-19 through one quarter. Senior post Craig Johnson’s rebound and powerful putback of a missed free throw by senior point guard Ryan Fiegi provided the half’s last points and a 36-29 Panther cushion at the break. The second half started with an 11-2 South surge to make it 47-31 on Johnson’s three-point play off a feed from senior wing Andy Hagert. But GP — which gave the Panthers their sternest test from an Oregon opponent this season on Jan. 27, a 61-60 South road victory — kept coming. The Cavemen sliced the deficit to 60-52 with 2:51 left in regulation when senior point guard Matt Cowell’s left-corner 3-pointer off an assist from senior guard Jake Dastrup completed a 9-0 streak. Following a 30-second GP timeout, senior guard Mike Pollock stripped Fiegi to spark a fastbreak. Pollock passed left to senior post Wes Lathen, but Fiegi raced back to swat Lathen’s layup and Johnson grabbed the rebound, preserving the eight- point cushion. "I was probably just focused ... because I was so mad at myself for turning it over," said Fiegi, who overcame three fouls in the first quarter to contribute 10 points and six assists. "I wasn’t gonna let them score." Fiegi was then fouled and hit both ends of a one-and-one to bump the margin to 62-52 with 2:31 remaining and begin a 9-0 spurt to ice the win. "Big players make big plays," Murphy said of Fiegi’s block. "And again, he did." Despite the Panthers’ blistering shooting and a full-court press that helped force 18 turnovers, GP hung around by swiping 13 steals among South’s 16 turnovers, draining seven 3s to the Panthers’ six and getting an inspired performance from Dastrup. He displayed an array of drives and jumpers in scoring a game-high 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor, snared a team-best eight boards and secured three steals. "He had a really strong offensive game," said Bill Cowell, the Cavemen’s eighth-year head. "We just needed somebody else to join him, and nobody did tonight. "We didn’t have any patience. We wanted to shoot the early shot if we were open, but if not, we wanted to come out and make them play defense. And we didn’t do that practically at all. We just were never in a half-court offense all night long." Pollock had 12 points and Matt Cowell dished five assists for GP, which must beat visiting North Medford on the last day of the regular season Thursday to force a playoff for the SOC’s No. 3 seed. Neither the Cavemen nor the Black Tornado (9-4 SOC) wants to finish fourth, because a state playoff-opener at second-ranked Jesuit awaits that team. The Crusaders, however, sit a notch below South in the state polls, and the Panthers illustrated why Friday. Johnson combined 11 points with 11 rebounds, senior wing Caleb Berkey scored 10 points, Hagert hit all four of his shots for nine points and South’s reserves — junior guard Isaiah Adams, senior wing Spencer Hunter and sophomore post Brent Johnson — outscored GP’s reserves, 16-3. South also won the battle of the boards, 27-23. But the most impressive thing, of course, was the shooting, which was just the continuation of what has been a red-hot second half of the SOC season for the Panthers. "We haven’t shot less than 50 (percent) the whole second half of the season," Fiegi said. "So I don’t know, it’s just kind of our mind-set right now — we’re gonna hit our shots." Maybe scalding is the appropriate term. Or maybe the Panthers — who close the regular season against second-place Roseburg (10-3 SOC) at home on Thursday, then open the Class 4A state playoffs by hosting the Midwestern League’s No. 3 seed March 3 — are so hot they’re indescribable. They’re indefensible to their opponents, at the least. GRANTS PASS (55) — Pollock 12, Dastrup 22, Lathen 6, Higgins 6, Cowell 6, Berg 3, Morgan 0. Totals: 19-46 10-14 55. SOUTH MEDFORD (71) — Hagert 9, Singler 15, C. Johnson 11, Berkey 10, Fiegi 10, Adams 7, B. Johnson 2, Hunter 7. Totals: 26-43 13-21 71. Grants Pass ............................. 19 10 10 16 — 55 South Medford ........................ 23 13 17 18 — 71 Grants Pass 7 (Pollock 2, Dastrup 2, Higgins 2, Cowell 1), South Medford 6 (Berkey 2, Hagert 1, Singler 1, Adams 1, Hunter 1). Fouled out — Lathen. Technical fouls — Fiegi, coach Cowell, Cowell. JV result — Grants Pass won. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times