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41 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds 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 Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 17, 2004 Johnson’s career night carries South past Helix RED BLUFF, Calif. — Brent Johnson picked a perfect time to have a breakout game for the South Medford boys basketball team. The 6-foot-7 junior post dominated inside, scoring a career-high 30 points to lead the Panthers past Helix of California, 67-64 in double overtime, in the first round of the Red Bluff Holiday Classic. "Brent put us on his back and carried us," South coach Dennis Murphy said. "They just couldn’t handle him in the post." When Johnson wasn’t making turnaround jumpers or putbacks, he was at the foul line, where he converted 12 of 14 attempts which proved to be crucial in the tight affair. Helix seemingly had an answer for everything the Panthers threw at them, including Johnson, who was bested by Lance Hurdle’s 31 points for the San Diego school. Advertisement South Medford led 45-43 with less than a minute to play in regulation, but Hurdle hit a tying shot. The Panthers set up a potentially game-tying shot on the other end, but Kendall Gielow couldn’t put back an Isaiah Adams miss and the game went to the first overtime. Again, the Panthers held a two-point lead, 57-55, but Helix hit a tying shot with 10 second to play. With 29 seconds remaining in the second overtime, Adams hit a back-breaking 3-point basket, putting South Medford up for good at 66-60. "That was a big shot for us," Murphy said. "They still would have had to foul us, but thankfully it didn’t go that way." Adams finished with 17 points while Gielow and freshman guard Michael Harthun each added eight points to augment Johnson’s impressive performance. The first-year starter was averaging 10.5 points per game entering Thursday’s game. "We’ve never gotten that kind of production out of him," Murphy said. "We’re not looking for 30 a night from him, but he is going to be a dominant force for us now." Despite the exciting win, Murphy said his team will need to play better if they want to advance to Saturday’s title game. "We shot the ball very poorly and we committed a lot of turnovers," Murphy said. "Part of that can be attributed to their quickness. We were fortunate to win." Many of the Helix players had just joined the team on Tuesday after playing in the San Diego section of the California state football championships. The Panthers take on Lake Oswego today after the Lakers beat Enterprise of Redding, 45-41. Both squads, however, will be without their standout sophomore posts since South is minus Kyle Singler while the Lakers are minus second-team all-stater Kevin Love. HELIX (64) — Lan. Hurdle 31, Law. Hurdle 10, Brown 6, Tinsley 0, Fountain 2, Cardwell 4, Shelton 4, Harvey 7. Totals: 28 6-15 64. SOUTH MEDFORD (67) — Johnson 30, Adams 17, Harthun 8, Gielow 8, McKay 2, Daley 2, Weaver 0. Totals: 24 14-18 67. Helix.......................................12 8 16 9 12 7 — 64 South Medford....................17 8 7 13 12 10 — 67 3-point goals — Helix 2 (Law. Hurdle 2), South Medford 5 (Adams 3, Harthun 2). Fouled out — Shelton. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers