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Panthers top North boys by 3 Cold shooting stifles Tornado By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN South Medford High's Panthers threatened to claw the will to win out of North Medford early in the game. But the gritty Black Tornado would have no part of it. If North Medford's boys basketball team could have shot a respectable percentage against its rival in the intense and physical Southern Oregon Conference opener for both teams Tuesday night, it might have been a different outcome. But the Black Tornado shot blanks for much of the night. North Medford shot just 24 percent from the field (16-for-64), wasting all its defensive intensity and rebounding persistence in a 54-51 loss Tuesday night in the North gym. "They (the Black Tornado) are very athletic and they play very hard," said South Medford coach Dennis Murphy. "They probably aren't going to shoot that poorly very often, which means they're going to win quite a few games." But 24 percent shooting wasn't good enough to get the Black Tornado past the Panthers, preseason favorites among league coaches to win their fourth SOC title in five years. "It wasn't pretty, but it was plenty pretty enough to get a big win," said Murphy. "Not every team in this league is going to come over here and win at North. So, it's a big plus for us to get this win out of the way." While North was shooting 24 percent from the field, South Medford managed to hit 20 of 42 shots (46 percent). The Panthers made 12 of 17 free throws, while North converted 15 of 22. The Panthers took leads of 17-8 and 24-12 on the way to a 28-19 halftime lead. South Medford used its height advantage over North by working the ball inside to 6-foot-7 center Nick Decker and 6-4 forwards David Kime, Colin Grant and John McKay for short-range shots and layups. Decker had six of his eight points in the first seven minutes. South Medford was led by point guard Steve Hilgendorf, who scored 14 points and had seven assists. McKay had 11 points for South. Senior guard Wes Towne scored 10 of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter for North Medford. He buried two 3-point field goals in the final 31 seconds to pull the Black Tornado to within one possession of a chance to tie. "Wes did some nice things," said North Medford head coach Gene Quilhaugh. "Our team had only four turnovers in the first half and 12 for the game. That's a big improvement." Tate Mellbye, a 6-foot-1 senior forward, was a warrior for the Black Tornado under the basket and at the free-throw line. He scored 12 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and was 8-for-8 at the free-throw line. "When you get good position, block out, and you are as strong as he is, you're going to get a lot of rebounds coming down to you at the nine-foot level," said Quilhaugh. "Tate is just tenacious." South Medford held a slight advantage on the boards at 33-30. North had 15 offensive rebounds, which was stunning to Murphy. "For a small team, our kids go to the boards and play hard," said Murphy. "You have to get them credit." North fell to 3-7 overall, while South Medford improved to 6-4. South Medford will take a four-game winning streak into its SOC game Friday night against Klamath Union in the South gym. North Medford will try to even its SOC record Friday night when it plays at Ashland. "We did a lot of good things tonight," said Quilhaugh. "I feel good about us. "The team that was picked to win the league championship came over here to our gym and beat us by three points," said Quilhaugh. "I don't think we were intimidated by them." SOUTH MEDFORD (54) -- Hilgendorf 14, Heil 4, McKay 11, Rasmussen 6, Wallenberg 0, Mulhollen 0, Grant 6, Kime 5, Decker 8, Fiegi 0. Totals: 20-42 12-17 54. NORTH MEDFORD (51) -- Olson 7, Wyers 0, Oliver 0, Foreman 6, Mellbye 12, Towne 19, Jensen 3, O'Brien 0, Casebier 0, Schlichting 4, Clark 0. Totals: 16-62 15-22 51. South Medford ................13 15 12 14 -- 54 North Medford ...................8 11 10 22 -- 51 3-point field goals -- North Medford 4 (Towne 3, Jensen 1). South Medford 2 (McKay 1. Hilgendorf 1.). Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, OR U.S.A.