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M/SUNNY Temp: 48 °F Wind: N at 3 mph Monday, April 14, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 15, 2003 Grants Pass lets a chance of placing at state for a third straight year slip away against South Salem By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune PORTLAND — The mental and physical fatigue of playing three hard-fought Class 4A state tournament basketball games finally caught up to Grants Pass on Friday morning. The Cavemen let victory, and a guarantee of placing at state for the third straight year, slip away in the second half as South Salem took advantage of 19 turnovers by GP to steal a 54-52 consolation triumph at Memorial Coliseum. "If we just don’t turn it over we were going to win this game," said Grants Pass coach Bill Cowell. "There’s no regrets, though. It was a winnable game, we just didn’t win it. They’re a good team." Grants Pass (21-7) twice managed a double-digit lead over the Saxons, the last with only 12½ minutes to play in the game, but couldn’t stave off a final charge by South Salem (23-6). "We weathered a big storm there and fought back and showed some character," said Saxons coach Rick Havercroft. "And because of that, we’re deserving to be playing on Saturday." South Salem will meet fourth-ranked Jefferson in today’s fifth-place final. Thomas Gardner scored a tournament-high 35 points, including 23 of his team’s final 25, in leading the Democrats to a 71-65 win over South Eugene in the morning’s other consolation game. Kory Mahr led the Cavemen with 20 points and eight rebounds, even without being a prime factor in GP’s 22-13 surge in the first quarter. Instead, the Cavemen hit six 3-pointers in the period — one fewer than GP had hit (7-for-27) in its two other tournament games. Mike Pollock and Jake Dastrup each hit two treys in the quarter, with Mark Heater and Tom Higgins also connecting from long range against South Salem’s zone defense. "We weren’t expecting them to shoot that well from the perimeter," said Havercroft, "otherwise we wouldn’t have gone with that kind of defense. "When everybody else is clicking, that makes them a very, very tough team." South Salem’s switch to a man-to-man defense began the gradual descent for the Cavemen. They went up 26-16 with two minutes gone in the second quarter but struggled from there with six turnovers, one basket and one missed shot on their next eight possessions. While GP was coming apart, be it by fatigue or the Saxons’ defense, South Salem was coming alive behind 5-foot-6 point guard Jeremiah Dominguez. The slick guard began growing more comfortable with drives to the basket, opening up good scoring opportunities for his teammates. He finished with a team- high 16 points and seven assists. "At a point we thought we were going to let the game slip away," said the junior. "But when we were able to get the ball, push it and penetrate, that helped get us going." Grants Pass had its lead trimmed to 43-42 after three quarters, then saw it disappear for good when Dominguez slipped a pass to Kevin Oliver on the block for a layup. Mahr sparked a surge when he was fouled scoring an inside basket to make it 52-50. Although his ensuing free throw went awry, Heater hauled it in and found Ryan Davidson on the baseline for a shot that also missed its mark. On the prior possession, it was Davidson’s 3-pointer that cut the Saxons’ five-point lead. After both teams exchanged turnovers, South Salem got the ball back with 1:50 to play and spread the court, using Dominguez’s sure-handed skills to leak all but 32.6 seconds off the clock before GP finally committed a foul. "We didn’t want it to go as far as it did, we just couldn’t keep the ball out of Dominguez’s hands," Cowell said of his team’s desire to trap the Saxons instead of fouling, which would have saved time and created more possessions. Dominguez went 1-for-2 from the line to put South Salem up 53-50, and Davidson followed with a layup when the Saxons denied any potential 3-point attempt. Dominguez once again went 1-for-2 from the line — his only misses of the day in 12 trips — to give GP hope with five seconds left. But Matt Cowell was unable to break loose following the inbounds play and was forced to heave up an errant, off-balance 3-pointer going away from the basket. Although disappointed with Friday’s loss, Bill Cowell said his team more than made its mark this season. "It’s always hard to lose the last game, but I don’t think we can in any way diminish how far we came this year," said the coach. "The guys have come so far and had so many great moments." "It was going to end today or tomorrow anyway," he added. "We’d rather play on Saturday, but it didn’t happen for us." SOUTH SALEM (54) — Federico 4-9 0-0 9, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Veit 2-8 2-3 6, Griffin 2-3 0-0 4, Dominguez 2-9 10-12 16, Taylor 3-6 0-0 8, Pederson 2-2 0-0 5, Oliver 3-3 0-0 6. Totals: 18-42 12-15 54. GRANTS PASS (52) — Heater 1-2 0-0 3, R. Davidson 2-6 0-0 5, Mahr 7-10 6-7 20, Cowell 0-4 0-0 0, Pollock 3-3 0-0 9, Higgins 1-2 0-0 3, Mace 0- 1 0-0 0, Dastrup 2-3 0-0 6, Chamberlain 1-1 0-0 2, Lathen 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 19-35 6-7 52. South Salem ......................... 13 13 16 12 — 54 Grants Pass .............................. 22 8 13 9 — 52 3-point goals — South Salem 6-15 (Federico 1-5, Griffin 0-1, Dominguez 2-5, Taylor 2-3, Pederson 1-1), Grants Pass 8-16 (Heater 1-2, R. Davidson 1- 2, Mahr 0-1, Cowell 0-2, Pollock 3-3, Higgins 1-2, Mace 0-1, Dastrup 2-3). Rebounds — South Salem 14 (Veit 5), Grants Pass 25 (Mahr 8). Assists — South Salem 12 (Dominguez 7), Grants Pass 17 (Cowell 9). Personal fouls — South Salem 10, Grants Pass 13. Fouled out — Pollock. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S