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Crater rolls past Pirates Photo by Jim Craven / Mail Tribune Phoenix guard Mike Smith, left, and Crater's David Sills scramble for the ball during Tuesday's game at Crater High. By TED BURNHAM for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT - Good things come in threes. Especially for Crater wing Chris Pettegrew, who came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers in less than three minutes as the Comets rolled to a 78-42 victory over Phoenix Tuesday night. Pettegrew, a senior, had 15 points - 13 in the second half - and junior forward Andrew Norum poured in 20 to help the Comets' cause. Junior Brady Rhodes and sophomores Mike Smith and Brett Ellis each scored nine points for Phoenix. The non-league win gives Crater a 4-1 record, while the Pirates drop to 2-2. Pettegrew's first basket in the second half came after a steal late in the third quarter. The 6-foot-1 senior then poured in his three 3-pointers early in the fourth and added another basket near the game's end. "Really I was just trying to get in the flow," Pettegrew said. "The point guard, Brian Goode, found me when he needed to so I could hit the open shots." Ahead 39-24 at halftime, Crater held the Pirates to 18 points in the second half. Phoenix narrowed the margin to 12 early in the third quarter, but the Comets went on a 12-0 run in the fourth to seal the victory. "We are just trying to take it one game at a time and improve each time," Crater head coach Matt Meunier sad. "Defense has been our focus. And tonight we did our job. We wanted to hold them to less than 48, and we did." Norum, a 6-5 forward, scored first for Crater and ended the first half with 15 points and four rebounds. Senior guard Derek Petersen, who had 13 points, hit a couple 3-pointers early. "We have been getting nice play from Norum and Petersen," Meunier said. "They are our 1-2 punch, but we have a lot of different weapons." Norum said the Comets have potential. "Every game we are improving," he said. "We have a lot of respect and trust for each other." Pirates head coach Kevin Dixon said his team is inexperienced and learning. All but one Phoenix player is new to varsity play. "We have a very young team," Dixon said. "We are having all these sophomores match up against seniors. (Crater) may be the best team we have to play this year. "We did some good things and we did some bad things. ... We have some good players. We will just use this loss to get better." Ten players hit baskets for the Comets. Daren Goff and Daniel Gugliotta each had six points, and Jake Zimmerman, Brian Goode, Trevor Ryan and David Sills all added four points apiece. Pirates wing Ryan Howard had six points, and center Meadow Lacy added four points. Ricky Jimenez and Chuck Crockett also added baskets for Phoenix. Pettegrew said the team is on track to be a contender in the Southern Oregon Conference. He also said last week's 71-59 loss to Mazama helped put things in perspective. "We came off a big high with the wins in the first tournament, and we had a rude awakening when we went to Mazama," Pettegrew said. "We learned we can't take any teams lightly. We really have to play hard." "We are starting to mesh really well. We have four seniors and one junior starting, so we have played together for a while. I feel like we are starting to get in the swing of things." Crater travels Friday to play Crook County, while Phoenix heads to the Coquille Tournament. PHOENIX (42) - Smith 9, Rhodes 9, Ellis 9, Howard 6, Lacy 4, Jimenez 3, Crockett 2. Totals: 14 9-12 42. CRATER (78) - Norum 20, Pettegrew 15, Petersen 13, Goff 6, Gugliotta 6, Zimmerman 4, Goode 4, Ryan 4, Sills 4, Davis 2. Totals: 32 4-7 78. Phoenix ..................................................... 9 15 8 10 - 42 Crater .................................................... 22 17 17 22 - 78 3-point goals - Phoenix 2 (Smith, Howard), Crater 8 (Petersen 3, Pettegrew 3, Goff 1, Norum 1). JV score - Crater 57, Phoenix 31. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.