Document text
Golden-less Grizzlies blitz Black Tornado By Danny Penza Updated: Dec 17, 2022 08:45 PM A A 5 View all photos Class 5A Ashland uses big third-quarter run to pick up road win over 6A North Medford With their top scorer stuck at home due to illness, the Ashland boys basketball team was hoping that it would be able to make up for the loss somehow during the Grizzlies’ trip to Medford on Saturday. Enter Eyera Nogues. Nogues scored eight of his game-high 19 points during a third-quarter blitz that saw Ashland outscore North Medford 23-6, as the Izzy Golden-less Grizzlies rode their hot-shooting wave coming out of halftime to a 58-44 win over the Black Tornado. “We always just try to spread the scoring out, but Izzy kinda carries us the most in that department,” said Nogues, a 6-foot-1 senior wing. “I knew I had to step up a little bit and hit some shots.” All Nogues needed was to see a couple of shots fall. “I found a few shots in the first half,” said Nogues, who hit five of Ashland’s seven 3-pointers. “In the second half, my teammates were just finding me and (North Medford) was pressing up on me, so I knew I could blow by my guy and make the right pass or finish.” Nogues, who grew up in Ashland but spent last season at a prep school in Indiana, was one of three Grizzlies to finish in double figures in the absence of Golden. Silas Wright, a 6-foot-7 post, scored 12 of his 17 points after halftime and Sean Thompson added 12 to help Ashland (5-2) to its third straight win. “It’s great to see, but it’s something we expect,” said Ashland head coach Sam Osofsky of the diverse scoring. “This is a great team, and I think that’s what’s special about this group. We have some great individuals who on any given day can be our best player, so to see them play as a team is what you like to see. I think the key to the game was really us all buying into our defensive responsibilities — especially when your leading scorer is out. “We’re playing great team defense and that’s really the key for us. We focused in on that, kept ourselves close when the shots weren’t falling and then a guy like Eyera can explode at any time — and he did today.” Ashland opened the game on an 8-0 run but North Medford (0-5) was able to chip away at the deficit and took its first lead of the afternoon, 18-17, on an Andrew Plankenhorn 3-pointer and Houston Klug and-1 with two minutes left in the first half. But after a 3-pointer by North’s Davis Carr on the first possession of the third quarter, it was all Ashland. The Grizzlies quickly flipped the 21-17 Black Tornado lead into a 23-21 advantage with a six-point spurt. After another Carr 3-pointer momentarily put North back in front, Ashland didn’t waste any time getting the lead back and then extending it, with Sebastian Stowasser and Nogues hitting 3s to cap a 12-0 run and give the Grizzlies their largest lead of the day at 35-24. Another Nogues 3, this one from the left corner, and Wright’s baseline jumper to beat the buzzer put Ashland ahead 40-24 heading to the fourth quarter. “For the first half, I thought we did a lot of good things but we just couldn’t score the basketball,” said North head coach Scott Plankenhorn, whose team suffered a second loss to a Midwestern League opponent in as many days. “The third quarter, our defense fell apart and we spotted them a bunch of 3s. That’s been the problem — we just haven’t put a whole game together, so we’re searching. Against Churchill we won three of the total quarters but that other one was the worst and we got beat up pretty good. Today, we won two quarters but couldn’t find the last two.” Carr’s pair of 3-pointers proved to be North’s only two third-quarter field goals. The Black Tornado also committed seven turnovers in the third quarter alone, continuing a trend that North has struggled with so far this season. “I think we played really well, especially defensively,” said Nogues. “We shoot a lot of shots and some nights they’re going to fall, but it always depends on defense and that’s our biggest thing.” Added Osofsky: “I knew we would have to match North’s physicality. For the challenges they’re having right now, they’re still a Plankenhorn team — they defend really well, they play really hard — so I knew we would have to match that.” Andrew Plankenhorn finished with 14 points, hitting three of his four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Carr added nine points, all of which was scored from behind the arc. The Black Tornado also finished with as many 3s (9) as 2s (9) against the Grizzlies. “We’re just trying to get 32 minutes,” said coach Plankenhorn. “We won three of the four quarters against Churchill, who’s undefeated, and we just had one bad one. We were just trying to build on that. We built on it for 16 today, but just couldn’t get the back 16.” ASHLAND (58): Stowasser 5, Lehnerz 2, Wright 17, Cooper 2, Thompson 12, Nogues 19, Carroll 0, Hermogenes 1, McNamara 0, Barnard 0. Totals: 22 7-8 58. NORTH MEDFORD (44): Carpenter 2, Klug 5, Walker 3, Carr 9, Torres 0, Plankenhorn 14, Stewart 2, D. Scott 0, Curtis 2, Ortega 3, O. Scott 0. Totals: 18 1-5 44. Ashland 12 5 23 18— 58 North Medford 6 12 6 20— 44 3-point goals — Ashland 7 (Stowasser 1, Wright 1, Nogues 5), North Medford 9 (Walker 1, Carr 3, Plankenhorn 4, Ortega 1). Ashland's Eyera Nogues lines up his shot over North Medford defenders at North Medford High School on Saturday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR North Medford's Andrew Plankenhorn attempts a 3-pointer in front of the Ashland bench during Saturday’s game at North Medford High. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR Ashland's Eyera Nogues drives to the basket past North Medford defenders Houston Klug (1), Keenan Stewart (10) and Davis Carr (3) on Saturday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR Ashland's Sean Thompson pulls down a rebound against North Medford at North Medford High School on Saturday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR Ashland's Silas Wright attempts to dribble past North Medford defender Corban Young at North Medford High School on Saturday. PHOTO BY: LARRY STAUTH JR