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Varsity 541 NEWS NOW Four generations of Rogue Valley women to tackle 60-mile walk to fight breast cancer ... Since You Asked: Fire response time was faster than reported ... Dems choose Moro as nominee for Bates' seat; she's also on interim list with Moran and Talbert ... Four generations of Rogue Valley women to tackle 60-mile walk to fight breast cancer ... Since You Asked: Fire response time was faster than reported ... Dems choose Moro as nominee for Bates' seat; she's also on interim list with Moran and Talbert ... PREP BASKETBALL Panthers take down Eagles No. 3-ranked South Medford pulls away late in playoff opener Comment By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Mar. 3, 2016 at 2:00 AM By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Mar. 3, 2016 at 2:00 AM --> South Medford 60, Centennial 46 RECAP: South Medford senior Hunter Bradford posts 17 points and five rebounds and Josh Washington adds 14 points and seven rebounds to lead the Panthers to vic... » Read more X South Medford 60, Centennial 46 RECAP: South Medford senior Hunter Bradford posts 17 points and five rebounds and Josh Washington adds 14 points and seven rebounds to lead the Panthers to victory in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs.. UP NEXT: Saturday, 6A playoffs second round, Grant at South Medford. » Social News It won’t go down as one of the most impressive triumphs in South Medford boys basketball history but, at this point in the season, the No. 3-ranked Panthers did more than enough to extend their season Wednesday. Other than the first minute of play, South Medford led throughout against Centennial and used a strong fourth-quarter finish to secure a 60-46 victory in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs. Senior post Hunter Bradford provided a spark off the bench with a game-high 17 points and five rebounds and senior Josh Washington added 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks to help the Panthers (24-2) advance. South Medford will next play host to Grant in Saturday’s second round, with the winner advancing to the 6A state tournament at the University of Portland’s Chiles Center. The 18th-seeded Generals (16-9) earned their fourth straight win with an 80-67 road win over 15th-seeded Newberg on Wednesday. Despite taking an eight-point lead in the first quarter, South Medford couldn’t quite shake Centennial (13-13) and the visiting Eagles faced five-point deficits heading to the third and fourth quarters. “It was rough,” said Bradford, whose team showed the rust of not playing in a week. “The first half we just weren’t in sync and weren’t hitting some things and they made some tough shots. In the second half we kind of came out and picked it up a little and started hitting more shots.” South Medford finished 22-for-41 from the field (54 percent) and spread out the scoring to complement Bradford and Washington. Sophomore Kaleb Franklin (nine points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals), senior Eskari Carter (eight points, four assists, two rebounds) and senior Conor Carroll (seven points, eight rebounds) each posted solid all-around efforts, along with senior Raymond Benford (four points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists). Centennial was boosted by a 9-for-24 effort from beyond the arc (38 percent) but shot 17-for-57 overall (30 percent). Eagles junior Jeret Schmelling hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 points while junior point guard Brendan Ritschard knocked down four treys and had 14 points. “Centennial played us tough,” said South Medford head coach Dennis Murphy. “We told our kids this is not easy when you get to playoff basketball. Everybody, at least at this point, can come down here free and loose and easy because there’s no pressure on them. They played tough and executed at times and shot the ball well.” South Medford’s lead stood at 41-36 entering the final quarter but a three-point play by Carter and dunk by Washington off a Carter assist gave the Panthers all the momentum in the fourth. After an inside basket by Centennial senior Austin Seipp, Benford and Washington each blocked shots and Franklin followed with five straight points to put the Panthers in the driver’s seat for good. In the final quarter, Centennial was 4-for-15 from the field, with three of those field goals coming in the final two minutes. “We just kind of got off offensively and kind of got in a panic mode,” said Centennial head coach Osa Esene, “and we just lost patience a little bit.” Even with the double-digit win, Bradford said the second-seeded Panthers will need to take their games up a notch if they want to reach the state quarterfinals in Portland. “We’ll face a lot better team on Saturday (in Grant) and we know we’re going to have to bump it up a lot,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have a good two days of practice and come in Saturday ready.” CENTENNIAL (46): Schmelling 15, Ritschard 14, Day 8, Seipp 4, Atkinson 3, Arnold 2, Thang 0, Marcum 0. Totals: 17-57 3-3 46. SOUTH MEDFORD (60): Bradford 17, Washington 14, Franklin 9, Crater 8, Carroll 7, Benford 4, Martin 1, Cota 0. Totals: 22-41 12-18 60. Centennial;14;12;10;10;—;46 South Medford;22;9;10;19;—;60 3-point goals — Centennial 9-24 (Ritschard 4, Schmelling 3, Day 2), South Medford 4-11 (Bradford 3, Carroll 1). Reach reporter Kris Henry at 541-776-4488, [email protected], www.facebook.com/krishenryMT or www.twitter.com/Kris_Henry By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry MailTribune.com By Kris Henry Mail Tribune Follow @@Kris_Henry Posted Mar. 3, 2016 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction Schedules & Events --> Recent Scores --> Prep Notebook Kris Henry Challengers make it back on top in softball Winning the Southern Cascade League title seemed like a pretty bold goal this spring considering the recent history of the Cascade Christian... 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