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52 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, November 15, 2004 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 Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People 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 March 7, 2004 South Medford�s Isaiah Adams, left, drives to the basket past Aloha�s Andy Douglas. Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Panthers smother Warriors South Medford earns trip to Class 4A state tournament with convincing win against Aloha By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune It’s hard to imagine it getting any better for top-ranked South Medford than it was Saturday night in front of a standing-room only crowd. Be it by defense and rebounding or perimeter shooting and interior toughness, South Medford pulled off a methodical dismantling of visiting Aloha in the third round of the Class 4A boys basketball state playoffs. The Panthers (25-1) opened a 9-0 lead and were never seriously threatened in scoring a 63-36, runaway victory over the visiting Warriors (19-8). The win was South’s 41st straight at home, and advances the Panthers into the eight-team, Class 4A state tournament at McArthur Court in Eugene. South will face defending champion Redmond, a 58-48 winner over No. 9 Grant, at 6:30 p.m. in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Advertisement "We never let up and that was the biggest thing," said South senior point guard Ryan Fiegi. "We just kept going at them all night." South senior Caleb Berkey drained four of his team’s six 3-pointers en route to a game-high 14 points in a balanced Panther attack. Fiegi had 12 points, six assists and five rebounds, while senior Craig Johnson added 10 points and seven rebounds and freshman Kyle Singler had eight points and eight rebounds for South. "All around that was a great game for us," said Berkey. "Everyone made a big contribution." South senior Andy Hagert added seven points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists as all 11 Panthers scored against the No. 4 seed from the Metro League. While the points were flowing from all outlets for South, the same couldn’t be said for Aloha as the Warriors were blanketed by the Panthers’ pressure defense. "We just weren’t executing on offense tonight," said Aloha head coach Ken Yarnell, "but that was because a lot of what South was doing." The Warriors converted only 13 of 42 shots from the field (31 percent), and hit about a five-minute scoring lull early in the second quarter that allowed South to take a 21-10 advantage. "Defensively we just had such a presence that they couldn’t score," said Johnson. "They had a good team and we came out and just put the clamps on them." Joe Wolfinger, a 7-foot Aloha senior, led the Warriors with 13 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots before fouling out with 4:45 to go in the game. A focal point of the Aloha defense, Wolfinger managed only three field goals and saw his team get outrebounded 35-18. "He’s got some skill and is pretty tough when he gets the ball down low," said Singler, who shared duties on the 7-footer with the Johnson brothers, Craig and Brent. "Our defense really stepped it up so he couldn’t get the ball and we boxed out well to keep him off the boards." Yarnell said he expected South to turn up the defensive pressure and be solid in the paint, but the Warriors weren’t prepared for Berkey to steal the show with his pure shooting. "We were hoping they wouldn’t shoot it like that," said the former Medford High standout of the mid-1970s. "They’re a hard team to contend with when they’re shooting the ball like that." And a team that Yarnell said will be a handful next week. "They’re as good as any team we’ve played and we’ve played a lot of good teams," Yarnell said of South. "They have a chance to play Saturday night (in the state championship) and win it." But even as the Panthers were feted for their third straight berth in the state tournament, they weren’t about to celebrate too much. "You just feel proud to be a part of the whole thing," said South Medford head coach Dennis Murphy. "I just want to enjoy this for now." ALOHA (36) — Wolfinger 13, Reedal 9, Pryce 10, Martin 4, Thierry 0, Brittle 0, Douglas 0, Rembert 0, Wright 0, Asbury 0, Daniels 0, Teckman 0, Fassnidge 0. Totals: 13-42 9-13 36. SOUTH MEDFORD (63) — Berkey 14, Fiegi 12, C. Johnson 10, Singler 8, Hagert 7, Adams 5, B. Johnson 2, Sabori 2, Hunter 1, Heil 1, Weaver 1. Totals: 21-45 15-25 63. Aloha...............................................8 9 12 7 — 36 South Medford..........................14 14 15 20 — 63 3-point goals — Aloha 1-5 (Reedal 1), South Medford 6-16 (Berkey 4, Hagert 1, Adams 1). Fouled out — Thierry, Wolfinger. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, 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 © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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