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Eagle Point pulls away from North By Kris Henry North Medford stepped on its home court Friday night with everything to play for, and Eagle Point stood in the path of the Black Tornado with very little to hang its hat on. Yet it was the game Eagles who gave it their all and North which seemingly sleep-walked through four quarters as Eagle Point put a crimp in the Tornado playoff plans with a 49-34 upset. "We�re kind of playing for pride and a chance to knock somebody out," said Eagle Point coach Keith Williams. "We didn�t do that very well when we went to Klamath on Tuesday, but any time you play a game, there�s always something to play for." Eagle Point improved to 9-14 overall and 4-9 in Southern Oregon Conference play, while North Medford (9-13, 6-7) missed its chance to break a tie with Klamath Union in the SOC standings. The Pelicans (6-7 SOC) lost 93-56 at Roseburg on Friday. "We just started off flat in the beginning and it went that way the whole game," said North Medford senior Kevin Foreman. "It seemed like nothing was falling for us." Foreman put a jump-start into North�s playoff hopes with his game-winning shot at the buzzer a few weeks ago at Eagle Point. He had seven rebounds and six points on Friday but received little help in an attempt to pull off the sweep. "I guess we didn�t take them serious enough, and they came out and put a hurt on us," said Foreman. "They had more energy and wanted to win more than us I guess. We just have to look forward to Crater next week and handle our business and everything should take care of itself." North wraps up its regular season Tuesday at Crater, while Eagle Point plays host to Roseburg. KU plays at South Medford and Grants Pass is host to Ashland. Eagle Point implemented its game plan early and found North a willing host as the Eagles took a meager 18-15 lead into halftime. However, the Eagles were able to stretch the lead to nine points heading into the fourth quarter. "We felt coming in we couldn�t let them get into their transition game where they score easy lay-ins and then bring their full-court pressure against us," said Williams. "We tried to avoid that if we could, and they kind of played at our tempo, which is nice and slow." With Matt Campbell, the Eagles� point guard, nursing a sprained ankle suffered Tuesday, control of the game went to shooting guard Danny Acrey. The senior rarely missed a beat as he and the Eagles worked the clock on each possession, with Acrey often breaking down the defense to find his teammates for close looks at the basket. Acrey finished with 12 points and six assists, with Paul Burdick the prime benefactor of the inside opportunities. Burdick scored a game-high 16 points and had five rebounds. Eric Nackerud grabbed eight rebounds. "He�s very tough off the dribble and he found the open man extremely well for us tonight," Williams said of Acrey. "He played a very solid floor game and did a great job for us all night." Looking far from ready for battle, North committed 26 turnovers and connected on only 13 of 42 shots � including a woeful 4-for-16 from behind the arc. The Eagles had 10 turnovers and went 16-for-48 from the field. "Eagle Point was playing to win and they earned the victory," said North Medford coach Gene Quilhaugh. "Eagle Point took care of the ball and we didn�t." North was able to rally a bit in the fourth quarter, cutting its deficit to 40-34 with 1:44 to play following Ben Anderson�s fourth 3-pointer of the contest. Anderson finished with a team-high 12 points. After the Tornado committed three straight fouls to put Eagle Point in a one-and-one situation at the free-throw line, Campbell rose to the occasion � gimpy leg and all. Campbell hit both ends of the one-and-one, then stood firm to pick up a charging foul against Brian Weeks on the ensuing play. Campbell went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to make it 43-34, then displayed more of his defensive skills by poking the ball away from Weeks on North�s next possession. Acrey followed with two free throws in four attempts, while the Tornado countered with two turnovers. Campbell and Burdick each added two free throws to close out the scoring for Eagle Point, while North clanked 3-pointer after 3-pointer on its final three possessions. Following the game, Campbell said he was surprised he even had a chance to ice the game for the Eagles. "I didn�t plan on playing at all actually, but we needed another point guard out there, so they put me in to dribble and make some free throws," he said. Despite playing sparingly in the game, Campbell�s first efforts touched nothing but the net on the clutch one-and-one attempts. "I was thinking how I hadn�t shot all game and so I was rusty," he said. "It felt good to get that first one." For Campbell and crew, it also felt good to avenge their loss to North in a game the Eagles let slip away a few weeks ago. "We were still pretty upset about the loss at Eagle Point, so that got us ready for tonight," said the senior. EAGLE POINT (49) � Burdick 16, Acrey 12, Gray 6, Campbell 5, Nackerud 4, Horn 4, Johnston 2, Brooks 0, Br. Anderson 0. Totals: 16-48 16-20 49. NORTH MEDFORD (34) � Anderson 12, Foreman 6, Olson 6, Wessells 2, Poulton 2, Taylor 2, Burchfiel 2, Weeks 2, O�Brien 0, Timmerman 0, Hovland 0. Totals: 13-42 4-7 34. Eagle Point..............................................10 8 16 15 � 49 North Medford.............................................9 6 10 9 � 34 3-point goals � Eagle Point 1-6 (Acrey 1), North Medford 4-16 (Anderson 4). Fouled out � Anderson. JV score � North Medford 94, Eagle Point 39. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.