Document text
St. Mary's to play in consolation final PENDLETON � St. Mary�s finest boys basketball season in eight years continued in a positive vane Thursday when the Crusaders dispatched Imbler 49-41 in the consolation bracket of the Class 2A state tournament. St. Mary�s advanced to the consolation championship, which determines the fifth- and eighth-place teams. It faces Oakland at 9 this morning. The Crusaders went 0-2 at state last year, their first appearance since winning the title in 1993. They next face an Oakland team that came into the tourney with a state-record 56-game winning streak � including last year�s championship � but lost its opener. On Thursday, the Oakers defeated Heppner 79-53. St. Mary�s lost 51-41 to Oakland in a December game that was closer than the score suggests, said Crusaders assistant coach Dan Fiddler. St. Mary�s was within two points until the final two minutes, then Oakland pulled away on free throws. If St. Mary�s is to have success today, it will need to do the same things it did against Imbler: shoot well from the outside and get outstanding defense from Thatcher Jones at point guard. The Crusaders made 8 of 20 3-point shots, and Jones handcuffed Imbler standout Kevin Johnson, who had scored more than 20 points in each of his two previous games. Johnson, who is 6-foot-2 to Jones� 5-11, managed nine points and was 4 of 17 from the field. "He�s (Jones) a very good defender," Fiddler said. "He�s pretty tenacious. It�s not the first time this year he�s shut down a very good scoring point guard. Oakland, too, is led by its point guard, Blaine Bartholomew, who entered the tourney with a 20.3 scoring average. In the December meeting, Bartholomew scored 19 points, but eight of them were on free throws in the fourth quarter. "He�ll (Jones) have a challenge again tomorrow," said Fiddler. In notching its 20th win against six losses, St. Mary�s bolted to leads of 14-6 and 29-12 on Imbler after each of the first two quarters. The Crusaders kept about a 15-point edge through most of the second half. Chris Murphy scored 17 points and had four steals to lead St. Mary�s. Gabe Christensen came off the bench and made three 3-pointers, including two in the first half, and scored nine points. Jason Caplan scored 10 points and had four assists for St. Mary�s. Michael Fiddler led the rebounders with eight. IMBLER (41) � Campbell 4, Johnson 9, Crow 2, Davis 0, Ian Culbreth 18, McKee 0, Davidson 0, Random 2, Grove 3, C. Culbreth 0, Pierce 1, Kringlen 0. Totals: 17-49 5-6 41. ST. MARY�S (49) � P. Staver 0, B. Staver 1, Christensen 9, Jones 5, Morey 0, Caplan 10, Tesdal 2, Fiddler 6, Murphy 17, Sharp 0, Philips 0. Totals: 18-48 5-15 49. Imbler.........................................................6 6 15 14 � 41 St. Mary�s..................................................14 15 13 7 � 49 3-point goals � Imbler 2 (Johnson 1, Grove 1), St. Mary�s 8 (Christensen 3, Jones 1, Caplan 2, Murphy 2). Girls Class 1A State Tournament COVE 52, BUTTE FALLS 45 � At Baker City, one bad quarter by the Loggers was enough for Cove to earn a spot in the consolation final and send Butte Falls home. The consolation final determines the fourth- and sixth-place teams. The Loggers (18-6) managed a 25-20 halftime lead but fizzled in the third quarter as Cove outscored them 15-2 to claim the lead. The Leopards kept pace with Butte Falls in the fourth quarter to ice the contest. "It was just the third quarter that killed us," said Butte Falls coach B.J. Rodgers. "We outplayed them the rest of the game." In that pivotal quarter, the Loggers struggled with turnovers in their half-court offense, primarily giving the ball back on traveling calls. Krystle Rowley scored 11 points and added eight rebounds to lead the Loggers, while Kayla McKibben came off the bench to add six points and three steals. Elizabeth McLauchlan chipped in six points for Butte Falls, while Lisa Scheele and Kelcie Robinson each had 10 for Cove. BUTTE FALLS (45) � Stockton 4, Smeltz 4, McLanahan 4, Rowley 11, McLauchlan 6, Million 0, Dunlap 0, Pettit 0, Matthews 5, VanLandingham 0, McKibben 6, Hamilton 5. Totals: 16 11-18 45. COVE (52) � Warnock 9, Scheele 10, Hemmer 8, Robinson 10, Hanson 0, Whittall 4, Pereria 2, Mann 9, Cane 0. Totals: 18 15-22 52. Butte Falls.................................................7 18 2 18 � 45 Cove.........................................................10 10 15 17 � 52 3-point goals � Butte Falls 2 (Rowley 2), Cove 1 (Mann 1). Fouled out � Stockton. Skyline Conference Girls Playoffs NORTH VALLEY 41, LAKEVIEW 32 � At Merlin, North Valley committed a season-low 11 turnovers and had assists on all 18 of its field goals in winning the Skyline Conference girls playoff and advancing to the state sub-tournament. The game pitted North Valley, the third-place team in the regular season, against fourth-place Lakeview. North Valley (13-12) visits Douglas Saturday, with the winner going to the state tournament. The Knights also had 14 steals. Elaina Renius led North Valley with 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. LAKEVIEW (32) � Ruda 11, Winners 0, Mason 0, Hartman 2, M. Albertson 7, Goslin 0, Flynn 4, K. Albertson 4, Kiely 2, Morris 2, Fraser 0. Totals: 15 2-10 32. NORTH VALLEY (41) � Renius 14, Bruton 9, Trader 3, Roberts 0, Vial 3, W. Coston 4, Enoch 5, Herrick 0, McNeil 0, Makepeace 0, Silva 0, Ford-Harris 0, M. Coston 3. Totals: 18 3-11 41. Lakeview......................................................8 4 8 12 � 32 North Valley..............................................8 13 13 7 � 41 3-point goals � North Valley 2 (Bruton 1, M. Coston 1). Boys Playoffs HIDDEN VALLEY 45, MAZAMA 41, 2OT � At Klamath Falls, the Mustangs picked up a huge road victory and earned a Class 3A playoff date against Philomath on Saturday. Philomath edged Newport 53-42 on Thursday night to earn its spot in the playoffs. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.