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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 27, 2004 South Medford senior guard Isaiah Adams leads the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game. Panthers looking for consistency South meets West Salem, North plays Wilson in opening round of Abby’s Holiday Classic By DON HUNT Mail Tribune One would think South Medford High boys basketball coach Dennis Murphy would be fairly happy with the way his team has performed through its first seven games this season. But Murphy demands a lot. He’s a tough critic. And that explains why he isn’t particularly pleased with his team’s 5-2 start as it prepares for the Abby’s Holiday Basketball Classic. The 15th annual, eight-team tournament kicks off Tuesday at 6 p.m. with two games at South Medford High and two games at North. The Panthers return only one starter from last season’s squad that went 27-2 and finished fourth at the Class 4A state tournament. That player — standout sophomore Kyle Singler — has yet to suit up for a game due to a broken thumb suffered in football. The 6-foot-8 post isn’t expected to take the court until South Medford’s opening conference game against North Medford on Jan. 7. But Murphy has never been one to offer alibis. And none is forthcoming now. Advertisement "I thought that even without Kyle, we’d be more consistent," says Murphy, whose team meets West Salem at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday on its home floor. "We’ve played some good games and beaten some good teams, but we’ve also played poorly. We’ve been on a roller coaster, and I don’t like roller coasters. "I’m hoping we can flatten this thing out." The most recent carnival ride came in California, where the Panthers registered a 67-64 win over a skilled Helix High team from San Diego and smothered a not-as-good Red Bluff, Calif., team, 74- 43. In between came one of the descents, a 64-53 loss to Lake Oswego. South Medford’s only other setback came in its season-opener, 57-51 to third-ranked South Eugene. In that game, the Panthers fell behind 21-9 in the first quarter and were swimming uphill the rest of the way. Murphy knows that part of the Panthers’ inconsistent play stems from its lack of experience. Michael Harthun, though highly touted, is just a freshman. Center Brent Johnson and strong forward Kendall Gielow are juniors, and Gielow is just now feeling comfortable after transferring from North Medford in the fall. The only seniors on the team are shooting guard Isaiah Adams and reserves Jon Weaver, Jordan Wright and Mark McKay, who has been starting in Singler’s absence. Adams leads the team in scoring at 13.1, followed closely by Johnson (12.9) and Harthun (12.6), who has impressed fans with his ball-handling, passing and shooting skills but also has been turnover prone at times. "Michael doesn’t always value possessions like I would like him to," Murphy says. "But he can certainly shoot the ball, and there’s no question he’s getting better." South Medford could get tested against West Salem, a small but athletic team that is expected to contend for a playoff spot in the Valley League. The Titans took South Medford to overtime in a summer league game last June before losing. Cory Davis, a junior point guard who’s been starting since his freshman year, leads the Titans in scoring at 17 points per game. "We’ve got good quickness and good athletes but not much height," says West Salem coach Scott Cross, whose tallest starter is 6-2. "We’ll get out and run, full-court press and try not to let bigger teams set up in their offense." North Medford, meanwhile, will attempt to recover from a 1-4 start when it plays host to Wilson in a first-round game Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. The Black Tornado played up a storm in its season- opener, a 69-49 victory over North Eugene, but has since lost four straight. Worse, the team hasn’t been playing with much passion, coach Tim Sam says. "We can’t just step on the floor and win," Sam says. "We’ve got to battle and scrap for every possession, and right now we’re not doing that." Despite the struggles, senior Drew Herrera has been an anchor at point guard, and senior John Berger has been a force in the post, where he’s averaging a team-leading 15.0 points per game. Wilson, the first team from the Portland Interscholastic League to play in the tournament, is in a rebuilding mode under seventh-year coach Scott Aker. The Trojans, who were 18-8 last season and advanced to the state playoffs, have labored to a 1-4 start this year. One of their losses was 83-50 to second-ranked Jefferson. But the Trojans have two excellent players in 6-4 senior Ian Anderson, who has started since his freshman year, and 6-0 senior guard Evan Dunn, who leads the team in scoring at 18 per game. The best first-round matchup could be between Crescent Valley of Corvallis and Rex Putnam of Milwaukie. The former comes in with a 4-1 record, the latter is 6-1. Both are ranked in the top 10 in at least one of the state’s three polls. Crescent Valley features one of the state’s top inside-outside combinations in 6-1 senior point guard Brett Casey and 6-5 senior post Mike Golden. Casey is averaging 18 points per game and Golden 17. Each earned first-team, all-conference honors in the Valley League a year ago. Crescent Valley coach Bruce Reid has produced 13 state playoff teams in 19 seasons at the school. Rex Putnam is led by 6-4 senior wing Steven Vaughn, who is collecting 21 points and six rebounds per game. Vaughn scored 30 in a victory over Tigard and 31 in a win over David Douglas. "He’s very explosive," Putnam coach Dan Barendse says of Vaughn. The Kingsmen also feature sharp-shooting senior wing Daniel Thompson, who hit five 3-pointers in a loss to Central Catholic last week. The tournament continues through Thursday, with the championship game set for 7:45 p.m. at South Medford. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers