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Cascade moves on despite loss to Lost River Boys prep basketball Cascade Christian didn't hand No. 2-ranked Lost River its first Southern Cascade League boys basketball loss of the season Saturday, but the Challengers demonstrated something positive to coach Brian Morse. The Challengers dropped a 56-47 decision to Lost River at Grace Christian School, but advance to the postseason for the 10th straight year. Cascade Christian (15-9, 5-5 SCL) plays county-rival St. Mary's in an SCL playoff game Tuesday. The Challengers and St. Mary's finished tied for third in the league standings at 5-5. The site of the game has not been determined. Morse observed that his players showed confidence against last year's Class 2A state runner-up. "If any loss is a good one, this one is," said Morse. "This game will help us to match the intensity we need to win in the playoffs." Tim Alvarez scored eight of his team-high 14 points in the first half to help keep the Challengers close. Cascade trailed 28-25 at intermission, but the Raiders opened the second half with a 10-0 burst. "Defensively we were doing a good job stopping the ball, but we weren't boxing out," said Morse. "A lot of their points were on putbacks." The closest Cascade got after Lost River's early third-quarter run was 44-41 in the final period. But the Raiders took control at that point with eight unanswered points. Lost River's two returning all-state players -- 6-foot-5 forward Lawson Struve and point guard Maurisio Rayas -- combined for 30 points. "They did a good job of pressuring our guards and wings in their zone," said Morse. "They play so well together. They're all seniors and have played together since the sixth grade." LOST RIVER (56) -- Klegseth 0, Baker 0, Hughto 0, Guthrie 11, Pyle 8, Rayas 14, Struve 16, Beasly 2, Taylor 5. Totals: 22 10-19 56. CASCADE CHRISTIAN (47) -- Moxley 12, Kimmelshue 5, Jenkins 3, Baker 6, Ferrell 2, Cook 3, Milojevich 2, Alvarez 14. Totals: 19 7-11 47. Lost River ...............17 11 14 14 -- 56 Cascade Christian ....13 12 9 13 -- 47 3-point goals -- Lost River 2 (Guthrie 1, Rayas 1), Cascade Christian 2 (Kimmelshue 1, Baker 1). JV score -- Cascade Christian 70, Lost River 49. HIDDEN VALLEY 56, PHOENIX 45 -- At Phoenix, Derek Horning scored 11 of his game-high 26 points in the opening quarter as Hidden Valley (13-10, 9-4 Skyline) demonstrated playoff intensity in grabbing a commanding early lead. The Mustangs, who are battling for second place in the Skyline, built a 32-15 halftime lead as Phoenix was limited to 6-of-26 shooting before the break. Phoenix coach Randy Shipley characterized Hidden Valley as playing "like a team headed to the playoffs," while his Pirates played "like a team whose season is over Tuesday." HIDDEN VALLEY (56) -- Horning 26, Palmer 0, Umdahl 0, Skopinich 0, Lee 5, Hagemeyer 0, Isley 8, Reid 8, Drummond 0, Sakraida 2, Kennedy 7. Totals: 25 4-6 56. PHOENIX (45) -- Bartels 11, Condry 8, McCluskey 3, Prewitt 0, Olson 5, Murphy 3, Jeffers 6, Willard 7, Rombach 0, Rhodes 0, Grigsby 2. Totals: 16 10-16 45. Hidden Valley .....18 14 18 6 -- 56 Phoenix ................6 9 17 13 -- 45 3-point goals -- Hidden Valley 2 (Lee 1, Horning 1), Phoenix 3 (McCluskey 1, Murphy 1, Willard 1). JV score -- Phoenix won. MAZAMA 57, ROGUE RIVER 55 -- At Rogue River, despite being shadowed by two defenders, Steve Blevins drained a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer to lift the Vikings to a Skyline Conference victory. Blevins' shot actually was tipped by one of the Chieftain defenders, but not nearly enough as Rogue River dropped to 10-10 overall and 5-7 in conference. Troy Fast scored a game-high 22 points to pace the Vikings, while Blevins added 13. Ron Wessells had 21 points, 17 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead Rogue River, which remained fifth in the conference standings. Ryan Paxson added 12 points and Brian Cotner added 11 for the Chieftains, who played without starter Ricky Shamblin. MAZAMA (57) -- Zahler 4, Fast 22, Milsap 4, Blevins 13, Starkey 5, Black 0, Todd 0, Sparks 0, Michaelis 9. Totals: 23 9-10 57. ROGUE RIVER (55) -- Wessells 21, Paxson 12, Cotner 11, Peterson 3, Horton 0, McMillian 4, Jentzsch 4. Totals: 22 6-12 55. Mazama ................8 25 12 12 -- 57 Rogue River ........14 17 11 13 -- 55 3-point goals -- Mazama 4 (Blevins 1, Fast 2, Starkey 1), Rogue River 5 (Cotner 3, Peterson 1, Paxson 1). JV score -- Mazama 78, Rogue River 42. NORTH VALLEY 46, ILLINOIS VALLEY 43, 2 OT -- At Merlin, North Valley connected on 5-of-6 free throws in the second overtime to nail down a Skyline victory. Sam Jarrett and Warren Byers combined for 29 points to lead the Knights. Illinois Valley was paced by Brandon Henry's 12 points and Caleb Thomas added 11. ILLINOIS VALLEY (43) -- Henry 12, Thomas 11, Despacio 6, Keitges 6, Mosses 4, Heller 2, Stohlman 2, Allen 0. Totals: 20 2-11 43. NORTH VALLEY (46) -- Jarrett 15, Byers 14, Phillips 6, Bruton 4, Grosenbach 4, Godfrey 1, Gentry 0, Hendy 0. Totals: 15 14-17 46. Illinois Valley ......10 11 10 8 0 4 -- 43 North Valley ..........11 11 9 8 0 7 -- 46 3-point goals -- Illinois Valley 1 (Thomas 1), North Valley 2 (Jarrett 2). JV score -- North Valley won. HENLEY 75, LAKEVIEW 43 -- At Lakeview, Tim Frost tossed in a game-high 23 points for the Hornets, who built a 36-15 halftime advantage. HENLEY (75) -- Frost 23, Boyle 2, Warnick 10, Cunningham 14, Stock 3, Stevens 6, Nunes 9, Johnson 2, McDonald 6, Stewart 0, Rodgers 0, Frost 0. Totals: 30 9-14 75. LAKEVIEW (43) -- Hadley 9, Simms 13, Hartman 11, Hogue 2, Strubel 6, Horton 2, Fitzgerald 0, Denbrook 0, Echavarria 0, Baker 0. Totals: 18 3-9 43. Henley ............15 21 24 15 --75 Lakeview ...........4 11 23 5 --43 3-point goals -- Henley 6 (Cunningham 4, Stock, Stevens), Lakeview 4 (Hadley 3, Simms). JV score -- Henley won. ST. MARY'S 53, GILCHRIST 49 -- At Gilchrist, St. Mary's outscored Gilchrist 15-8 in the first quarter and then traded baskets for most of the night in gaining a Southern Cascade League victory. Chris Murphy scored 19 points to pace St. Mary's (12-10, 5-5 SCL), with Geoff Haas adding 12 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Knotts had 23 points to lead Gilchrist. ST. MARY'S (53) -- Becker 1, Malfavon 9, McNulty 8, Naumes 4, Murphy 19, Kincaid 0, Haas 12. Totals: 13 15-25 53. GILCHRIST (49) -- Smith 0, Ernest 0, Stephens 2, E. Smith 3, Trapanese 0, Knotts 23, Hayes 9, R. Smith 2, Cary 2, Caldwell 8. Totals: 17 9-16 49. St. Mary's .............15 8 15 16 -- 53 Gilchrist ...............8 16 10 15 -- 49 3-point goals -- St. Mary's 4 (Murphy 3, McNulty 1), Gilchrist 2 (E. Smith, Hayes). Fouled out -- Haas. JV score -- St. Mary's 60, Gilchrist 58. DAYS CREEK 72, BUTTE FALLS 39 -- At Central Point, Butte Falls jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but Days Creek stormed back to grab the Class 1A state tournament berth. Days Creek, the No. 2 team from the Skyline A Northern Division, qualified for state as the league's second seed with consecutive wins in the league tournament at Scenic Middle School, while South Division champion Butte Falls lost back-to-back games to end the season at 14-12. The Wolves' full-court press changed the tempo of the game in their favor and forced 16 Logger turnovers. After trailing by one point after the opening quarter, Days Creek took control by outscoring the Loggers 35-8 in the second and third quarters. Days Creek seniors Jim Stever and Jason Dunn combined for 39 points. Jeremy McKibbin led Butte Falls with 16. Stever, Dunn and McKibbin were selected to the all-tournament team along with Dusty Harrington of Butte Falls and Ike Ellis and Tanner Hamlett of Powers. DAYS CREEK (72) -- McCulloch 10, Dunn 20, Hiderbrand 2, Nixon 0, Sands 10, Stever 19, Season 2, Hunt 2, Davis 0, Stufflebeam 3, Jackson 4. Totals: 28 12-18 72. BUTTE FALLS (39) -- Harrington 10, Rodgers 0, McKibbin 16, Smeltz 5, Nelson 0, McLauchlan 2, Dunlap 6, Stockton 0. Totals: 17 1-5 39. Days Creek .........16 21 14 21 -- 72 Butte Falls .............17 3 5 14 -- 39 3-point goals -- Days Creek 4 (Dunn 2, Sands 2), Butte Falls 4 (Harrington 2, McKibbin 2). Technical foul -- Rodgers. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.