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Grants Pass falls short in state opener PORTLAND -- A gallant Grants Pass fourth-quarter comeback failed to produce a victory in the Cavemen's opening-round game of the Class 4A state basketball tournament Tuesday at Memorial Coliseum. Freshman Dominic Doty scored with 6.2 seconds on the clock to lift McMinnville to a 54-52 victory over the co-Southern Oregon Conference champions. Grants Pass trailed 48-36 with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter before going on a 16-4 run. Rob Lesher's second 3-pointer of the game tied the score at 52 with 1:28 remaining. Both teams missed key shots, but a steal by McMinnville's Jason Pratt with 51 seconds left allowed the Grizzlies (16-10) to run the clock down to 14 seconds before calling time out to set up a play. In a motion offense, the 5-foot-7 Doty circled around to the right, found an opening and drove the baseline for the game-winner. Tyler York took a desperation 30-foot shot as time ran out for Grants Pass, but the ball bounced off the front of the rim. McMinnville's Travis Jones tallied a game-high 22 points, including three 3-pointers, grabbed six rebounds, blocked four shots and had two assists. Doty, whose only field goal was the game winner, had five points. Sophomore guard Brant Minor led Grants Pass with 12 points and directed a comeback in the final five minutes. Grants Pass (19-6) plays a consolation-round game against Oregon City at 10:30 a.m. today, while McMinnville moves into the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Thursday versus defending-state champion Jesuit. McMINNVILLE (54) Hurl 4, Doty 5, Pratt 8,Jones 22, McCoy 4, Briggs 2, Paterson 2, Johnson 6, West 1. GRANTS PASS (52) Lesher 8, York 8, Minor 12, Dobner 6, Elseth 11, Berg 0, Lathen 0, Delagrange 7. McMinnville ......................................................14 11 17 12 54 Grants Pass .....................................................6 13 11 22 52 Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA