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39 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, April 15, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 2, 2005 Panthers face Olys in playoff By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune If Dennis Murphy had his druthers, the fourth-ranked South Medford boys basketball team would have locked up the Southern Oregon Conference’s top spot without a fuss. A three-way tie kept that from happening, but what transpired next in a conference playoff may have been the best thing for Murphy’s young Panthers. South Medford (21-5) kick-started its playoff drive with a road victory over then-No. 8 Roseburg last Thursday, and followed that up with Saturday’s home win over ninth-ranked Grants Pass. That rough road to the SOC’s No. 1 seed should prove invaluable as the Panthers strive for a fourth straight berth in the state tournament. "I don’t know when we’ve had to play such tough games back-to-back-to-back like that," says Murphy, whose team capped the regular season with a narrow loss at Roseburg and a rout of Crater. "It really should give us an advantage. We’ve had to play tough and execute under pressure and do the things you need to do to beat quality teams. Hopefully we can take some of that with us now and build up some momentum." Advertisement South Medford opens the Class 4A state playoffs at home with a second-round matchup at 7 tonight against Sprague, a 59-40 winner over Marshfield in Monday’s first round. The Olympians (13-12) have already had a strong prep showing this season after claiming the state football title and boast a strong tandem in first-team all-conference seniors Travis Kuhns and Zach Tatman. Kuhns is a 6-foot-7 point guard averaging 15.9 points per game for the No. 4 seed out of the Valley League. Tatman, who was a standout tight end and linebacker in football, is 6-5 and 237 pounds and adept at muscling his way inside to the tune of 14.8 points per game. Tatman averaged just over 21 points in Sprague’s final three regular-season games, including 28 in an upset of second-place Crescent Valley. The Olys, who prefer a deliberate attack, average about 49 points per game but enter tonight’s contest at South on a five-game winning streak. "You obviously don’t want to play them from behind," says Murphy, whose team averages about 69 points per game. South is led by 6-8 sophomore Kyle Singler, who’s averaging 17.9 points in 18 games for the Panthers after getting a late start to the season because of a broken thumb in football. Also scoring in double figures for South are freshman Michael Harthun (11.7), junior Brent Johnson (11.4) and senior Isaiah Adams (10.1). Junior Kendall Gielow is averaging 9.7 to help give the Panthers a balanced attack. Should South Medford win tonight, it will play host to the winner of a second-round matchup between Centennial and Hillsboro on Saturday. The winner of Saturday’s third-round tilt advances to next week’s state tournament at McArthur Court in Eugene. And even though his Panthers won the right for home-court advantage over the next two rounds, Murphy says his team will be taking nothing for granted entering the state playoffs. "We will not overlook anybody, I promise you that," says the 17th-year coach. NORTH EUGENE AT GRANTS PASS — These two teams met on Dec. 21, with North Eugene using a second-half rally to edge Grants Pass, 67-63, on the Highlanders’ home court. North Eugene’s Alex Brock led all scorers with 23 points, but the Cavemen (18-7) have come a long way since then. GP standout Jake Dastrup, the SOC’s player of the year, has taken over point guard duties full time, and 6-6 post Jason Nunnemaker, who was slowed by a fractured wrist, is in full swing these days. The Highlanders (16-8) finished second to sixth-ranked South Eugene in the Midwestern League with a 12-4 record. North Eugene has plenty of experience with SOC teams, having also lost by 20 points to North Medford and by one point to South. While Brock is the focal point for North Eugene at 16.9 points per game, the Highlanders have also received double-digit scoring in recent weeks from Eric Hill, Andrew Miller and Tim Hernandez. Grants Pass had won nine straight entering Saturday’s league playoff for the SOC’s No. 1 seed, while North Eugene has won six of its last eight games. ROSEBURG AT CLACKAMAS — Roseburg drew the short straw among the SOC co-champions as the No. 3 seed, earning a road date with a Clackamas team that tied Oregon City for second in the Three Rivers League. Unlike the Indians (22-3), who have lost two of their past four games, the Cavaliers (17-7) are on a roll. Clackamas has won five straight and 10 of 11. Nick Eldridge leads the Cavaliers with a 15-point average, while Roseburg first-team all-conference seniors Steven Davis and Isaiah Smith averaged 12.1 points through SOC play. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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