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Fiegi fuels Panthers past North By Don Hunt The South Medford Panthers romped past their crosstown rival, racked up their 20th victory and reeled in a trip to the Class 4A state basketball tournament on Friday night. And just for good measure, senior center Eric Fiegi registered a season-high 30 points as the Panthers rolled to a 78-49 win over North Medford in the Black Tornado gym. The victory clinched a tie for the Southern Oregon Conference championship and secured the SOC�s No. 1 state playoff berth for the Panthers, who own a three-game lead over Grants Pass and Roseburg with three games to play. South owns the tiebreakers over both teams. "It�s always a sweet win when you beat your crosstown rival, and to sew up a trip to state makes it even SOUTH MEDFORD 78, NORTH MEDFORD 49 RECAP: Eric Fiegi erupts for a season-high 30 points to fuel the Panthers over the Black Tornado and wrap up the SOC's No. 1 state playoff berth. KEY STAT: South Medford goes on a 20-5 run over the final 61/2 minutes of the first half to break way from an 18-18 tie and take a 38-23 halfitme lead. UP NEXT: Tuesday, Crater at South Medford, 7 p.m.; Tuesday, North Medford at Grants Pass, 7 p.m. sweeter," said the 6-foot-9 Fiegi, who connected on 14 of 17 shots from the field and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line. "It�s great to lock that up, but we�ve still got a lot of work to do." Senior guard Ryan Heil added 18 points, eight assists and three steals � with no turnovers � for the Panthers, who padded their league and overall records to 11-0 and 20-1, respectively. The Black Tornado plummeted to 3-8 and 6-14. "The fact that we clinched a trip to the state tournament hasn�t really sunk in yet," Heil said. "But it�s been a dream for most of us since the third grade. "We missed out last year and the year before, but this is our year." Behind the inspired play of senior guard Zach Taylor, the undersized and outmanned Tornado hung tough early. Taylor scored North Medford�s first seven points and Aaron Barlow drilled a pull-up jumper in the key that staked the hosts to a 9-6 lead halfway through the first period. But six points by Fiegi, three by Heil and one by Boomer Marshall put the Panthers on top 16-13 at the end of the quarter. North Medford fought back to earn an 18-18 deadlock 1� minutes into the second period, but then South shifted into overdrive, outscoring the Tornado 20-5 over the final 6� minutes of the first half to grab a 38-23 lead at the intermission. Fiegi fueled the onslaught with 10 points, Heil augmented it by nailing South Medford�s only 3-point basket of the night and Marshall brought the Panther fans to their feet with an acrobatic reverse layup that he was fouled on and parlayed into a 3-point play. "We started playing tougher defense, and that in turn ignited our offense," said South Medford coach Dennis Murphy, whose Panthers snared their 15th straight win. "We got off to a little bit of a slow start, but once we started to hustle, everything fell into place." Fiegi had 18 points at halftime and perhaps could have surpassed his career-high of 39 set against Eagle Point last season. But Murphy pulled him twice in the second half, including the final 4� minutes of the game. Fiegi also finished with six rebounds and five blocked shots. "He was working hard to get position, and North didn�t do much to deny him the ball," Heil said of Fiegi. "When he gets the ball on the low block, within 5 or 6 feet, no one in the state can stop him." Any chance of a Tornado comeback was squashed in the third quarter when South Medford went on a 21-6 run to build a 59-29 lead, its biggest of the night. South Medford shot 52 percent from the field (34 of 65) while North Medford hit just 34 percent of its shots (16 of 47). The Tornado added to its misery by committing 22 turnovers compared to just eight by the Panthers. "We�ve had a lot of strong starts and tonight was no exception," North Medford coach Tim Sam said. "But it�s been a challenge to sustain that momentum against the good teams. "We needed to be more patient against their press, but we�re a young team, and once we started to make mistakes it seemed to snowball. "And South�s a good team. They�re deserving of their ranking." Senior post Gabe Burchfiel paced the Tornado with 15 points and 13 rebounds. SOUTH MEDFORD (78) � Fiegi 30, Heil 18, Walport 6, Johnson 6, Smith 6, Marshall 4, Carpenter 4, Lower 2, Olson 2, Fischer 0, Hagert 0. Totals: 34-65 9-14 78. NORTH MEDFORD (49) � Burchfiel 15, Hovland 11, Taylor 8, Clifton 6, Lucas 4, Rettmann 3, Barlow 2, DeLine 0, Higgins 0, Timmerman 0, Faaeteete 0. Totals: 16-47 16-21 49. South Medford..................................... 16 22 21 19 � 78 North Medford...................................... 13 10 8 18 � 49 3-point goals � North Medford 2 (Hovland 2), South Medford 1 (Heil 1). Fouled out � None. Technical fouls � North Medford (illegal substitution). JV score � South Medford 55, North Medford 44. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.