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South rallies by KU, ends SOC season with perfect mark KLAMATH FALLS - Klamath Union can only think "what if" after Tuesday's 60-45 loss to South Medford in Southern Oregon Conference boys basketball. The Pelicans needed a victory over the second-ranked Panthers to secure fourth place in the SOC and avoid a conference playoff game with Crater. Thus, KU will travel to Crater for a 7 p.m. game Thursday to determine the SOC's No. 4 seed in the state playoffs. Klamath (12-11, 7-7 SOC) played the Panthers almost even early in the game, trailing 16-15 at the end of the first quarter. Then South went on a 21-2 second-period burst to end any chance the Pels had for an upset. The victory gave South Medford (23-1, 14-0 SOC) an undefeated SOC season, but the win could prove costly for the Panthers, who had already secured a berth in the Class 4A state tournament March 5-9 at Portland's Memorial Coliseum. With about three minutes remaining in the game, Eric Fiegi - South's most dominant player - went down with a sprained ankle battling for an offensive rebound. The extent of his injury was not immediately known. Fiegi, a senior center, fueled the Panthers' second-quarter run with eight of his team-high 16 points and Adam Walport added seven in the period. Klamath outscored South 28-23 after intermission, but the Pels could not overcome the 20-point halftime deficit. "We got away from our offense in the second quarter," Klamath Union coach Bret Crawford said. "A lot of that had to do with their defense. They force you to do a lot of things you don't want to do." Crawford is convinced the Panthers deserve their No. 2 state ranking. "South is incredible," said Crawford. "We were putting pressure on them, but they showed poise and had the patience to find Fiegi inside. If he's not there, they will look to (Boomer) Marshall or (Ryan) Heil will penetrate. They have too many weapons. They are very deep." Senior guard Jeff Pisan scored 18 points for the Pelicans. "Pisan was a warrior tonight," said Crawford. "He kept us in the game. He really stepped up. He took the ball inside and challenged Fiegi." SOUTH MEDFORD (60) - Smith 0, Lower 5, Fisher 2, Heil 14, Walport 12, Hagert 0, Olson 0, Johnson 4, Carpenter 0, Marshall 7, Fiegi 16. Totals: 23-57 11-17 60. KLAMATH UNION (45) - Tucker 6, Garcia 4, Baker 2, Pisan 18, Wynn 9, Sargent 0, Mortenson 4, Caleb 2. Totals: 16-55 11-21 45. South Medford....................................16 21 9 14 - 60 Klamath Union...................................15 2 17 11 - 45 3-point goals - South Medford 3-12 (Waldport 1, Heil 1, Lower 1), Klamath Union 2-13 (Tucker 1, Pisan 1). ROSEBURG 70, EAGLE POINT 43 - At Roseburg, Joe Newton scored 34 points, then sat out most of the fourth quarter as Roseburg ended the regular season tied with Grants Pass for second place in the SOC. The Indians (16-8, 11-3 SOC) visit Grants Pass for a 7 p.m. playoff Friday to determine the No. 2 and 3 berths to the state playoffs. Newton, Roseburg's 6-foot-7 senior post who last year was the conference's player of the year, scored 15 of his points in the third quarter and 11 in the second. Newton also shared the team high of 11 rebounds with Brennan Garrelts. Roseburg, which was 4 of 22 on 3-point attempts, nevertheless cruised to a comfortable 35-17 halftime lead. Tim Martinen scored 15 points and Rocky Johnston 10 for Eagle Point, which ended the season 2-22, 1-13 in the SOC. EAGLE POINT (43) - Martinen 15, Johnston 10, Brown 7, Hinkle 6, Tree 2, Henderson 1, Goodson 2, Brewington 0. Totals: 16-37 6-9 43. ROSEBURG (70) - Newton 34, Hall 8, Stembridge 7, Brundige 5, Pust 4, Garrelts 4, Kreig 4, Bauman 2, Chytka 2, Waechter 0, Simone 0, Jeremiah 0. Totals: 26-55 14-21 70. Eagle Point.............................................9 8 11 15 - 43 Roseburg...............................................12 23 21 14 - 70 3-point goals - Eagle Point 5-9 (Martinen 3, Hinkle 2), Roseburg 4-22 (Hall 2, Brundige 1, Stembridge 1). JV result - Roseburg won. Ashland junior Bryan Clevenger scored a season-high 25 points, converting on five 3-pointers. The Cavemen (19-4, 11-3 SOC) used an inside advantage to eventually pull away in the fourth quarter. Tom Cohen added 18 points for Grants Pass, while Kory Mahr and Tyler York each accounted for 10 points. The Grizzlies completed the season 1-13 in the SOC and 5-18 overall. GRANTS PASS (70) - Minor 22, Cohen 18, Mahr 10, York 10, Bailey 4, Draper 2, Mathews 2, Heater 1, Vegas 1. Totals: 24 16-28 70. ASHLAND (50) - Clevenger 25, Presicci 6, Brown 6, Rowe 4, Bryan 4, Palmesano 2, Morris 2, Weston 1, Wright 0, Compton 0. Totals: 19 5-10 50. Grants Pass.........................................18 15 11 26 - 70 Ashland...............................................11 15 9 15 - 50 3-point goals - Grants Pass 4 (Cohen 2, York 1, Minor 1), Ashland 7 (Clevenger 5, Brown 2). Fouled out - Wright. JV result - Grants Pass won. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.