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South Medford surges to Abby’s tourney win By Kris Henry Dec 27, 2022 11:40 PM A A South Medford seemed stuck in neutral for the first five minutes of its opening game of the 32nd annual Abby’s Holiday Classic, then the Panthers hit overdrive and found their rhythm for a 62-54 win over La Salle Prep on Tuesday. Junior point guard Jackson Weiland propelled his team with 30 points and sophomore Boden Howell came through with 17 — each coming up big during a game-turning 16-5 run in the second quarter. “We decided picking up the pace and flying in transition was what we needed to do,” said Weiland. “We can really run, we’ve got a lot of athletes, so we just got out in the open floor and made some plays.” The Panthers (5-4) never trailed after the second quarter to advance into Wednesday’s championship bracket semifinals. South Medford will face Nelson, a 47-42 winner over Ashland, at 5:30 p.m. at North Medford High. In other tournament games, Ashland will play La Salle Prep at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday and North Medford rounds out the action at 7:15 p.m. against West Salem, which won 77-56 over North Eugene. This year’s version of the Abby’s Holiday Classic had already seen a pre-tournament twist when Red Bluff High of California pulled out of the event earlier this month and tourney organizers were unable to fill the void, causing North Medford to receive a first-round bye and automatic berth into the semifinals. Tuesday offered more scrambling when South Medford athletic director James Joy discovered during a walk-through around 4 p.m. that there was a small leak in the roof of the Panthers’ gymnasium, which was to host the top half of the bracket. The other half — essentially just the West Salem-North Eugene game — was already scheduled for North Medford High. Working on the fly, both games slated for South Medford were moved to the Black Tornado gym and that pushed the Panthers’ tipoff to 9 p.m. “It was a little rough,” Weiland said of what became a longer-than-expected day in the gym. “I’ve been up since like 7 in the morning at South doing a kids camp, but it worked out well, we got the win so I can’t really complain.” La Salle Prep (3-4) opened a 9-2 lead midway through the first quarter before South Medford finally started gaining traction with five straight points by Weiland. The teams wound up tied at 12 through one quarter and a three-point play by Weiland ignited a second-quarter run that saw South Medford score on six straight possessions between the point guard and Howell. “I was just feeling it and playing well so I was just being aggressive,” said Weiland. “That’s what my team needed.” The Falcons were able to heat up from 3-point range to end the second quarter down only 35-31, but that same magic was not there in the second half. After five first-half connections beyond the arc, La Salle Prep was only 1-for-11 in the second half. Seniors Nick Robertson and Finbar O’Brien each knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 19 points apiece for the Falcons. Deacon Edgar had five points and four rebounds and fellow senior Dylan Espinosa added four points and six boards for the Panthers, who are seeking their first official tournament title since 2012. South Medford went unbeaten in last year’s truncated two-game tourney that didn’t include a championship game after snow canceled the first day of action. “It’s big,” Weiland said of Tuesday’s win. “We haven’t won this tournament in 10 years so we had to take care of the first one, and we’ve got Nelson tomorrow.” Joy said prior to Tuesday’s game that because the leak was discovered so soon, there shouldn’t be any damage to the basketball court or cause for any future concerns. The focus will be on discovering where the water was coming from and making sure that issue is remedied as soon as possible. LA SALLE PREP (54): Robertson 19, Frick 1, Cote 0, Ceballos 2, O’Brien 19, Jansen 2, Kelly 0, Ellison 9, Barnes 2. Totals: 22-49 4-7 54. SOUTH MEDFORD (62): Edgar 5, Sewell 1, Weiland 30, Howell 17, Shuldberg 3, Henry 0, Akpan 2, Espinosa 4. Totals: 27-48 4-8 62. La Salle Prep12191112— 54 South Medford1223189— 62 3-point goals — La Salle Prep 6-23 (Robertson 3, O’Brien 3), South Medford 4-11 (Edgar 1, Weiland 1, Howell 1, Shuldberg 1). Have a story idea? Reach sports editor Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected] or via Twitter @Kris_Henry Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune South Medford's Jackson Weiland, shown in action last season, scored 30 points to lead the Panthers past La Salle Prep on Tuesday.