Document text
Varsity 541 NEWS NOW Since You Asked: New parking-lot stripes coming to Bear Creek Park soon ... GOP has candidate for House District 5 ... Police ask for public's help in finding missing runner ... Since You Asked: New parking-lot stripes coming to Bear Creek Park soon ... GOP has candidate for House District 5 ... Police ask for public's help in finding missing runner ... BOYS BASKETBALL South cruises No. 5 Panthers never trail, net SWC sweep of No. 7 North Medford Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Feb. 11, 2016 at 2:00 AM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Feb. 11, 2016 at 2:00 AM --> South Medford 72, North Medford 65 RECAP: Conor Carroll posts 19 points and 13 rebounds and Josh Washington adds 17 points and seven rebounds to lead South Medford to its second... » Read more X South Medford 72, North Medford 65 RECAP : Conor Carroll posts 19 points and 13 rebounds and Josh Washington adds 17 points and seven rebounds to lead South Medford to its second win in three meetings this season against North Medford. UP NEXT : Friday, South Medford at Willamette; Thurston at North Medford. » Social News While the prior two meetings between North Medford and South Medford went down to the wire, Wednesday’s rubber match was all about the opening quarter and answering any challenge thereafter in the Southwest Conference boys basketball tilt. Bolstered by a stellar start from senior Josh Washington, the fifth-ranked Panthers opened a 16-8 lead through four minutes of play and never trailed en route to a 72-65 triumph over No. 7 North Medford at South Medford High. Washington, a 6-foot-6 post, scored seven points in South’s early surge and had 14 of his 17 by halftime to complement seven rebounds and three assists overall. “Washington came out with a much bigger fire,” said North Medford head coach Scott Plankenhorn, noting he combined for six points in the other two games. “We weren’t doing what we talked about doing and we were in places on defense that we were not supposed to be and they took advantage of it. That’s what good teams do. They made us pay early and by the time we got the guys where we wanted them to and settled down there, we were in a pretty big hole.” South Medford (19-2, 9-1 SWC) capped the first quarter with a 22-12 advantage and, despite a couple scoring flurries by the Black Tornado, didn’t let North Medford (16-4, 7-3) trim its deficit under five points for the rest of the game. Conor Carroll was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line inside the final two minutes and netted 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to help deny the Tornado. Carroll also pulled down 13 rebounds to go with three assists, which tied him with Kaleb Franklin and Washington. Brian Schireman scored 12 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter in an effort to rally North Medford, which also got 12 points from Tyren Wolfe and eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks from Brad Allen. The win marked the second straight in SWC play for South Medford over the Black Tornado, which topped the Panthers in the preseason Abby’s Holiday Classic championship game. South Medford owns a 53-24 edge in the crosstown rivalry. “We got back to playing the way we needed to,” said South Medford head coach Dennis Murphy. “We guarded much tougher and we made shots (25-for-52 from the field). We talked for the last three days that we have to be aggressive and be in attack mode and make them guard us, and if they foul us, good, we’ll go to the foul line and make foul shots. I think we did a good job of that tonight and played awfully well.” Raymond Benford added 12 points in a balanced effort by the Panthers that saw Eskari Carter added eight points and three boards and Hunter Bradford finish with seven points and eight rebounds off the bench. “It was good to see those guys have so much energy coming right out of the locker room,” said Bradford. “They were just on and I knew it was going to be a good game.” No one embodied that more than Washington, who worked the high-low game to perfection with his teammates and wouldn’t be denied on strong takes to the basket. Washington entered the game averaging 8.5 points per game before turning in his career-best performance. “I’m trying to teach myself how to play with a chip on my shoulders and right now it seems to be working a little bit,” said Washington, who scored six of his 10 points last Saturday in the first quarter at Thurston. “Coming out hot, that’s what I like to do now and I just want to keep on playing like that.” What Murphy liked most, beyond a steady defensive effort against the potent Tornado, was the balance his team showed and resilience to pick up where one teammate left off in continuing to match North Medford. “You just can’t guard one of our guys because we’ve got a lot of guys,” said the veteran coach. “They all had their moments when they did good things. Even a couple of the buckets Riley (Martin) made off the bench, even though they’re only four points, they were still very important in that possession because we needed a bucket and we got it.” One such moment came in the third quarter as North Medford sandwiched 3-pointers by Tucker Barry and Wolfe around an inside basket by Allen for an 8-0 run that trimmed South’s lead to 44-38 with 3:43 remaining. Undaunted, Bradford found Martin for an elbow jumper that was pure and, after a Tornado turnover, Bradford powered his way to a three-point play to keep North at bay. North Medford strung together another run with two minutes to play as Schireman drilled two free throws after a technical foul on the South bench and then Allen knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 60-54. On the other end, though, Allen was tagged with a blocking foul and that set off a constant path to the foul line for the Panthers, who clinched the game by going 12-for-14 at the charity stripe, eight by Carroll. With the victory, South Medford took a two-game lead on North Medford and Sheldon with four games remaining in pursuit of the SWC title. “All week we just knew we had to get this win and we’d be in a good position so it was huge for us to come through like we did,” said Bradford. “I’m so proud of these guys.” For North Medford, which got nine points from Barry and eight points and four boards from Tre Holmes, Plankenhorn said a quick regrouping was in order. “Like I told them, you can’t sulk because Thurston’s coming down to kick your butt (Friday), that’s just the way it is,” said the Tornado coach. “The one tough thing about playing a Wednesday game is we don’t have any time to take something and think about it. We’re right back in tomorrow with one day to focus in and get ready for Thurston, and we need all four of these final (SWC) games.” NORTH MEDFORD (65): Schireman 23, Wolfe 12, Barry 9, Allen 8, Holmes 8, Faust 3, Hunter 2, Lasota 0, Davis 0. Totals: 24-54 9-16 65. SOUTH MEDFORD (72): Carroll 19, Washington 17, Benford 12, Carter 8, Bradford 7, Franklin 5, Martin 4, Cota 0. Totals: 25-52 18-23 72. North Medford;12;13;18;22;—;65 South Medford;22;14;16;20;—;72 3-point goals — North Medford 8-24 (Holmes 2, Schireman 2, Wolfe 1, Barry 1, Allen 1, Faust 1), South Medford 4-10 (Benford 2, Carroll 1, Franklin 1). Fouled out — Franklin, Holmes. Technical foul — South Medford bench. JV score — North Medford 61, South Medford 54. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Feb. 11, 2016 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction Schedules & Events --> Recent Scores --> Prep Notebook Kris Henry Challengers make it back on top in softball Winning the Southern Cascade League title seemed like a pretty bold goal this spring considering the recent history of the Cascade Christian... Varsity 541 Photos Coach K Summer Competition at SOU U19 Memorial Day Challenge North Medford vs. Grant State Track & Field 6A-6 SWC District Championships 5A-3 Midwestern League Districts - Day 1 » More Photo Galleries Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications | Contact Us | Advertise | © Copyright Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.