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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 22, 2006 South�s Kendall Gielow drives past, from left, Jefferson�s Lathan White, Herschal Slaughter and Dante Bryant for two points in the second half in the Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational on Saturday. Living up to the hype By CLIFF PFENNING for the Mail Tribune PORTLAND — In a battle between size and speed, top-ranked South Medford showcased how size can overcome speed as the visiting Panthers powered past No. 3 Jefferson 80-69 Saturday in boys basketball at Jefferson. South, with four starters 6-foot-7 or taller, used a 19-4 run at the start of the third quarter to take a 51-37 lead and never let the Democrats closer than eight points in the final game of the daylong Martin Luther King, Jr., Invitational. The Panthers improved to 14-1 heading into a Tuesday game at Roseburg. "This just builds up our confidence," said senior forward Kendall Gielow, who led South with 23 points. "This lets us know that we can play with anyone. "I wish the state playoffs started (Monday)." Advertisement South also got 19 points from senior Brent Johnson and 18 points and 12 rebounds from senior Kyle Singler before a crowd of nearly 1,500 fans. Senior guard Lathen Wallace, who is headed for Oregon State, led Jefferson (11-2) with a game-high 25 points before fouling out. Jefferson, with just one starter taller than 6-4, used its speed to cause 24 turnovers, including four straight possessions early in the fourth quarter. And South hurt itself by hitting just 19 of 40 free throws, missing its final seven attempts. By then, though, the Panthers had sewn up the game, primarily with its defense. The Demos made just 6 of 34 3-point attempts and attempted just 17 free throws. "Our game plan isn’t 3-point shooting, but trying to get to the basket," said Wallace, a 6-3 shooting guard. "But they’re a lot bigger than us, and they defended really well, so we had to shoot from outside. "We play against teams that are as big as they are in AAU tournaments, but not in high school ball." South led 52-39 after three quarters and led by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter. The Demos play Portland Interscholastic League rival Benson for the league lead on Tuesday. The Panthers won despite early foul trouble for Singler, who picked up his third foul in the second quarter and sat for nearly six minutes. But, their size and solid play from reserve guard Tony DeSimone helped the team hold the lead until the final two seconds of the first half, which ended with Jefferson leading 33-32. South hit 6 of 9 field-goal attempts in the second quarter but still gave up the lead thanks to seven turnovers and hitting just 2 of 7 free throws. "We were all frustrated at halftime," Johnson said. "We knew we should have been up by 10. But the coaches got us focused on our passing and powering the ball inside, and that’s what we did. "It feels great to come here and win." South coach Dennis Murphy said the 24 turnovers weren’t a bother to him. "We practiced against six guys all week, but you can’t simulate their speed," Murphy said. "So we knew we were going to have turnovers. But, we wanted to defend well and get the ball in the paint and we did that really well." "We wanted to play up here so we would know what might happen at the state tournament," Johnson said. "I know if we face them again, we’ll reflect on this game." If both teams win their respective district titles, they wouldn’t play each other until the final day of the state tournament, with both teams hoping that game would be the state final. A team from the Southern Oregon Conference hasn’t won the Class 4A boys title since Klamath won in 1965. Singler said the season has already been magical in that the Panthers have gone from being one of a handful of state title contenders at the start of the season to THE contender for the state title. "It’s pretty amazing how we’ve gone to No. 1 in the state," Singler said. "We know there’s not a team that’s as big as us, so we have that on everyone. We’re just trying to work hard and practice hard and keep our season going the way it is." Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s