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Hot-handed North dispatches Eagles By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN EAGLE POINT -- North Medford High's boys basketball team shot 38 percent from the floor in its first eight games of the season. The Black Tornado won five of those eight. But in its last three games, the Black Tornado shooters have heated up considerably in dispatching three straight Southern Oregon Conference opponents. North shot a season-best 56 per cent (23 for 41) on Tuesday night in gunning down Eagle Point, 73-62, in the Eagles' gym. "We've shot 48, 52 and 56 percent in our last three games, which is great," said North Medford coach Gene Quilhaugh. "When we're shooting well like this, we have an extra advantage with the pace we play." That pace is fast. Just as fast as North's 3-and-0 start in the SOC. "Winning here is a big plus," said Quilhaugh. "Now, we've beaten two good teams (South Medford and Eagle Point) on the road, which is a plus. "Being 3-and-0 is tremendous," Quilhaugh said. "But we could be 3-and-3 if we don't keep up the intensity in our next three games. The win keeps the Black Tornado tied with Crater at the top of the SOC. North used its typical swarming man-to-man defense early in the game to force 12 of Eagle Point's 18 turnovers in the first half en route to a 40-29 lead. The Black Tornado knocked down six 3-point shots in the opening half, including three by guard Jeff Zimmer and two by wing Jason Brownell, who scored a career-high 18 points. "That's easily the best start we've had offensively," said Brownell. "We came out confident tonight. Everybody was feeling good." But as North Medford senior guard and defensive stopper David Husel said, "it's still our defense that makes us go. People aren't liking to see us wear teams out with our defense. But that's what we're doing. "Eagle Point came out and played us hard in the second half," said Husel. "I'm sure their coach got on them at halftime. "We didn't panic," said Husel. "We stayed with our game. We had a big enough lead that we were pretty confident." Zimmer and Husel both added 13 points for the Black Tornado, but it was 6-foot-4 post Travis Hinkle who stepped up biggest offensively with 23 points. He also had 12 rebounds. "Hinkle had a fantastic game," said Quilhaugh. "He went to the basket hard." Jake Kleker led the Eagles with 19 points, and 6-foot-7 center Phil Garrett had 14. "We got the ball into our big guys fairly well, but we didn't do it enough," said Eagle Point coach Keith Williams. "And we didn't come ready to play like you have to against North. "If you can't match their intensity, you're in trouble. If you come out and play soft, you're going to get worked. That's what happened to us in the first half." The reeling Eagles could never recover after falling behind 35-16 nearly halfway through the second quarter and 58-35 with 15 seconds left in the third period. But they tried. Eagle Point, finally matching North's ferocious defensive intensity in the fourth quarter, stormed back to cut the Black Tornado lead 64-56 on a 10-0 run, which included two dunks and a tip-in by Garrett, a power layup and two free throws by forward Kleker. But as it did time after time, North Medford matched an Eagle Point surge of points with a run of its own. Brownell finished off his career-high of 18 points by scoring on a layup and three free throws in the final 1:37 as North went on an 8-0 run to halt the Eagles' final push. "I was trying to get them to play that way the whole game," said Williams. "I didn't get through to them until the start of the fourth quarter. "Basically, I told them it was now or never," said Williams. "But I didn't say it that nicely." Quilhaugh was forced to put his starters back on the floor after it looked like they could take the rest of the night off. NORTH MEDFORD (73) -- Hinkle, Zimmer 13, Husel 13, Brownell 18, Yantzer 3, Jensen 2, Anderson 1, Pickrel 0, Oliver 0, Mellbye 0, McNeil 0, Weyers 0'Brien. Totals: 23-41 19-25 73. EAGLE POINT (62) -- Kleker 19, Garrett 14, Sawyer 6, Lucas 4, Buda 5, Gala 2, Stewart 10, Acrey 2, Johnston 0. Totals: 25 10-17 62. North Medford ............23 17 20 13 -- 73 Eagle Point ..................11 18 9 24 -- 62 3-point goals -- North Medford 8 (Zimmer 3, Husel 2, Brownell 2, Yantzer 1). Eagle Point 2 (Buda 1, Kleker 1). Fouled out -- Zimmer. JV score -- North Medford 56, Eagle Point 44. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford,