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Olson�s gem leads North into semifinals photo by Andrew Mariman By Don Hunt Mike Olson didn�t score in the final 10 minutes of Thursday�s game against Centennial in the opening round of the Abby�s Holiday Basketball Classic. But the North Medford point guard still finished with 23 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and added six assists to lead the Black Tornado to a 71-65 victory in the North gym. The win earns the Tornado a date in today�s semifinals of the eight-team tournament at South Medford High against St. Mary�s High of Berkeley, Calif. Tip-off is 6 p.m. Olson, an all-state wide receiver and defensive back on North Medford�s football team that played in the state championship game on Dec. 9, is making the transition to the hardwood look remarkably easy. Never mind that his energy level ran a bit low in the fourth quarter of Thursday�s game. "He�s not quite there yet," North Medford coach Gene Quilhaugh said, "but you saw what he did for three quarters." Olson was not a one-man show, however. Thomas O�Brien added 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists, Ben Anderson had 12 points and six rebounds and Gabe Burchfiel came off the bench for nine points. Senior post Joe Gustafson scored 23 for the Gresham-based Eagles. The victory was North Medford�s second in a row following an 0-5 start. With Olson leading the charge, the Tornado roared to an 8-0 lead 3� minutes into game and enjoyed a 19-12 advantage after one period. The differential twice grew to 11 points in the second quarter but the 6-foot-4 Gustafson kept the Eagles in the game with his strong play around the basket. Centennial trailed just 34-28 at the half and quickly moved within two points early in the third period on a rebound basket by Gustafson and a 5-foot jumper from the baseline by Jimmy Speak. North Medford went on another spurt to lead by 10 but the persistent Eagles again clawed back, scoring the final 10 points of the third period to forge a 51-51 tie. Speaks� driving layup with 6:39 to play gave Centennial its first lead of the night at 55-54 and from there the game was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way. "We played tough defense early but we didn�t keep the pressure on and that allowed them to get back into the game," Olson said. "We need to play defense for 32 minutes if we�re going to beat the good teams on our schedule." The late-game hero for the Tornado was Anderson, who buried a 12-foot baseline jumper with 1:28 to play that broke a 63-63 tie and put North ahead to stay. Anderson added four more points in the final 32 seconds to keep Centennial at bay. "I came off a screen on the baseline and got a good look," Anderson said of his big basket. "Their big guy (Gustafson) came flying at me but it I had already gotten the shot off." Centennial helped its cause by making 25 of 33 free throws. Sean Cosper and Jimmy Speak backed up Gustafson with 14 and 11 points, respectively, for the Eagles, who fell to 3-4. CENTENNIAL (65) � Gustafson 23, Cosper 14, Speak 11, Chezik 8, Knudsen 4, Jones 3, Miller 2. Totals: 20 25-33 65. NORTH MEDFORD (71) � Olson 23, O�Brien 14, Anderson 12, Burchfiel 9, Foreman 4, Poulton 4, Wessells 3, Weeks 2. Totals: 28 13-20 71. Centennial ................................12 16 23 14 � 65 North Medford..........................19 15 17 20 � 71 3-point goals � North Medford 2 (O�Brien 1, Olson 1). Fouled out � Foreman. ST. MARY�S (Calif.) 64, SHELDON 50 � DaShawn Freeman scored 18 points to lead St. Mary�s of Berkeley, Calif., to an opening round win at North Medford High. John Sharper added 14 points and Simon Knight 12 as St. Mary�s connected on 6 of 14 from 3-point range and held a 51-32 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Matt Haliski led Sheldon (6-2) with 15 points. Tyler Ross had 12. SHELDON (50) � Haliski 15, Ross 12, Erickson 5, Marsden 4, Smith 4, Martell 3, Mart 3, Copley 2, Trench 2, Saw 0, Terry 0. Totals: 19-47 7-14 50. ST. MARY�S (64) � Freeman 18, Sharper 14, Knight 12, Sanning 6, Boyd 5, Straus 5, Fielder 2, Moore 2, Morocco 0, Tarham 0. Totals: 25-53 8-8 64. Sheldon...................................................11 10 11 18 � 50 St. Mary�s................................................21 13 17 13 � 64 3-point goals � Sheldon 3 (Erickson 1, Ross 1, Haliski 1), St. Mary�s 6 (Fanning 2, Sharper 2, Boyd 1, Straus 1). Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.