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52 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, March 19, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 13, 2005 Benson�s Jeremy Lathan comes away with a steal under the South Medford basket toward the end of the game. South Medford players Isaiah Adams, left, Brent Johnson, background, and Mark McKay try to get the ball back. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli A disappointing finish South Medford falls to Benson in fourth-place game at 4A tournament By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune EUGENE — South Medford had every chance to walk away from McArthur Court with a smile on Saturday afternoon. Instead, the fourth-ranked Panthers made their drive home that much longer as they let the fourth-place game slip away to Benson in a ragged 59-57 affair. South Medford (24-7) led by as much as 13 in the third quarter but couldn’t put the Techmen away as they outscored the Panthers 25-17 in the fourth quarter to steal the victory. "They came out and just wanted it more than we did in the fourth quarter," said South freshman Michael Harthun, who had 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting. "They were hitting their free throws and we weren’t going inside enough. They were just converting better than we were." Advertisement Benson point guard Jeremy Lathan drilled a 3-pointer and was fouled on the play with 5:12 to play. His ensuing free throw tied the game at 44-all, and breathed life into a Benson squad unwilling to go away without a fight. The Techmen grabbed their first lead of the game since 8-7 on a Nick Burns 3-pointer moments later to make it 47-46, then Benson began an impressive free-throw barrage that allowed them to score on each of their final seven possessions. Benson (23-6) connected on 11 straight free throws at one point in the fourth and hit 21 of 25 overall to keep the Panthers at bay. "There’s been no quit in this team all year," said Benson coach Troy Berry, whose team survived a double-overtime game with Canby on Friday. "It just shows all the drive and the will that we have. "I think our legs were tired but our hearts were big." South hung tough over the final stretch as well, with a 3-pointer by Isaiah Adams tying the game at 51-all and a three-point play by Kyle Singler cutting Benson’s lead to 56-55 with 40.8 seconds to go. Two more free throws by Lathan, who was 6-for-7 from the stripe in the fourth and had a game-high 23 points, made it 58-55 with 26 seconds to go. Singler then missed on a drive to the basket, but Brent Johnson tapped the rebound out to Adams, who swung the ball over to Kendall Gielow in the corner and his hurried shot from beyond the arc drew iron and Benson grabbed the rebound. South then fouled Sean Brownhill with 10.8 seconds to go, and he made 1-of-2 free throws to make it a two-possession game. Singler added a rebound basket in the final seconds to cap the scoring. The 6-foot-8 sophomore, who was selected to the all-tournament first team, finished with a team-high 15 points on 6-for-18 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds to go with three assists. But like his teammates, couldn’t quite muster the energy to do more. "I don’t know if it was three games in three days or what, but we just came out flat it seemed like we really didn’t want it as much as they did," said Singler. Gielow had 13 points and seven rebounds and Johnson added nine points and seven rebounds in a game that crept along with no rhythm in the first half and little fire in the second. "We had nothing," said South coach Dennis Murphy. "From the very beginning there was never a hop in our step. It was almost at times like we were pained to even be here, and I struggle with that." Saturday’s loss put a damper on what has otherwise been a season of overachievement by the young Panthers. In placing sixth, the Southern Oregon Conference co-champions earned their first- ever back-to-back trophies at the 4A boys basketball state tournament. South finished fourth last year, and was third in 1996 and seventh in 1998. None of that mattered after the game. "Even being fourth we’d still be disappointed," said Singler. "But it was disappointing how we played today. We outmanned them, but they just outworked us." No. 10 BENSON (23-6) Lathan 4-11 12-13 23, Brownhill 4-8 6-8 16, Owens 0-3 0-0 0, Sanders 1-4 0-0 2, Hampton 1-2 3-4 5, Lemar 0-3 0-0 0, Burns 5-13 0-0 13, Sobomehin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-44 21-25 59. No. 4 SOUTH MEDFORD (24-7) Harthun 4-10 0-0 10, Adams 2-6 0-0 6, Johnson 3-7 3-4 9, Singler 6-18 2-4 15, Gielow 5-10 2-2 13, McKay 1-2 0-0 3, Weaver 0-0 0-0 0, Daley 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 21-55 8-12 57. Benson.........................................8 7 19 25 — 59 South Medford..........................10 11 19 17 — 57 3-point goals — Benson 8-17 (Lathan 3-6, Brownhill 2-2, Sanders 0-1, Lemar 0-2, Burns 3-6), South Medford 7-17 (Harthun 2-5, Adams 2-4, Singler 1-2, Gielow 1-3, McKay 1-2, Daley 0-1). Rebounds — Benson 27 (Lathan 6), South Medford 41 (Singler 9). Assists — Benson 9 (Lathan 4), South Medford 11 (Adams 3, Singler 3). Personal fouls — Benson 14, South Medford 16. Fouled out — Gielow. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Advertisement s