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St. Mary�s boys roll on PENDLETON � Trailing 35-28 with 3:30 on the clock, St. Mary�s needed a spark if the Crusaders were going to stave off elimination from the boys Class 2A state tournament. Sensing the urgent need, the Crusaders� standout trio of Jason Caplan, Michael Fiddler and Chris Murphy stepped up in a big way to help St. Mary�s rally for a 41-37 victory over Gold Beach in Wednesday�s consolation bracket. Caplan offered up a nice pass to Fiddler at that critical juncture, and the super sophomore electrified the crowd with a slam dunk that breathed life back into the Crusaders and staggered Gold Beach. "That dunk really helped us turn the corner," said St. Mary�s assistant coach Dan Fiddler. "We kind of went on a tear for the rest of the game." Murphy and Caplan each followed with 3-pointers to cap an 8-0 run that helped the Crusaders take a 36-35 lead. St. Mary�s (19-6) then closed out the contest and what turned into a 13-2 run over the final 3:30 with two key free throws by Gabe Christensen and a free throw by Brian Staver that provided a four-point cushion in the waning seconds. Caplan finished with a team-high 12 points and added four assists, while Fiddler had 10 points and Murphy had seven points and five rebounds. Jared Sharp chipped in with a fine defensive performance, taking two key charges and posting two steals. St. Mary�s will play Imbler (17-4) in a consolation game today at 9:30 a.m. The Wapiti League�s No. 2 seed dispatched Harrisburg, 63-47, on Wednesday. GOLD BEACH (37) � Wegner 7, MacLaurie 8, Duey 8, Marsh 8, Zuber 4, Smith 0, McMillan 0, Bowman 2. Totals: 16 4-7 37. ST. MARY�S (41) � P. Staver 2, Christensen 2, Jones 0, Burt 3, Morey 0, Caplan 12, B. Staver 1, Fiddler 10, Murphy 7, Sharp 4, Philips 0. Totals: 16 5-7 41. Gold Beach.................................................10 12 9 6 � 37 St. Mary�s..................................................13 5 11 12 � 41 3-point goals � Gold Beach 1 (Wegner 1), St. Mary�s 4 (Burt 1, Caplan 2, Murphy 1). Fouled out � Zuber. Girls Class 2A State Tournament CITY CHRISTIAN 42, CASCADE CHRISTIAN 37 � At Pendleton, Cascade Christian pulled within one point with 30 seconds to play but could never quite get over the hump as City Christian eliminated the Challengers in consolation bracket play. The Challengers were forced to send City Christian to the line, and the Lions responded by converting their attempts over the final 30 seconds to stretch their lead behind free throws from Jasmine Malmin and Jessica Gama. City Christian connected on 13 of 22 free throws for the game, while Cascade Christian suffered through another night of not getting to the foul line with its 8-for-13 effort. "I don�t know what we�re doing wrong," said Cascade coach Loren King. "I guess we don�t smile right at the guy wearing the striped shirt. "But it�s been a great year. We ended up 21-7 and got two great games up here with a team we didn�t think would be up here." Becky Bracelin scored a game-high 21 points to pace the Lions, who had beaten the Challengers 57-34 in the season opener for both teams. "We�ve come light-years from then," said King. Kelly Clarke had 10 points to lead Cascade, with Kristen Salamone adding eight and Rebekah Gettman scoring seven. Esther Little gave City Christian a boost with a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave the Lions a 22-17 halftime lead. "It was just one of those throw it in the air and hope something good happens shots, and it did," said King. Bracelin, a 5-foot-10 senior point guard and two-time 2A player of the year, made sure City Christian didn�t slip in the second half. "We had two people on her to get the ball out of her hands but the rest of the (City Christian) kids exist just to set screens for her so they can get the ball back to her," said King. CITY CHRISTIAN (42) � Bracelin 21, Little 3, Malmin 9, Wayman 2, Estes 1, Gama 6, Yanov 0. Totals: 14 13-22 42. CASCADE CHRISTIAN (37) � Clarke 10, R. Gettman 7, Kelley 2, H. Gettman 1, J. Conley 5, Roos 4, Salamone 8, Brookins 0, Roseberg 0, McCandless 0, K. Conley 0. Totals: 14 8-13 37. City Christian............................................9 13 9 11 � 42 Cascade Christian.....................................5 12 11 9 � 37 3-point goals � City Christian 1 (Little), Cascade Christian 1 (R. Gettman 1). Girls Class 1A State Tournament ST. PAUL 45, BUTTE FALLS 42 � At Baker City, Butte Falls gave undefeated and top-ranked St. Paul a run for its money before bowing out late in the Class 1A tournament opener for both squads. The Loggers (18-5) had an early lead erased by St. Paul but fought back to pull within one point three times in the last two minutes. Unfortunately, Butte Falls could never get over the hump in dropping to the consolation bracket. "That�s the closest St. Paul has come to getting beat all year," said Butte Falls coach B.J. Rodgers. "We had our chances but we missed two layins and two foul shots in the last minute and half of the game." Krystle Rowley paced the Loggers with 14 points, including a late 3-pointer that pulled her team within one point for the final time. St. Paul (26-0) picked up 15 points from Kylee Schneider and 12 from Laureen Wylie. Butte Falls struggled from the free-throw line, converting only 4 of 12 attempts. St. Paul drained 17 of 25 from the charity stripe. "That�s where we lost it without a doubt," said Rodgers. The Loggers will play Cove, a 63-41 loser to Condon on Wednesday, this morning at 9. BUTTE FALLS (42) � Stockton 3, Smeltz 5, McLanahan 4, Rowley 14, McLaughlin 4, Million 0, Dunlap 2, Matthews 6, McKibben 1, Hamilton 3. Totals: 17 4-12 42. ST. PAUL (45) � Leyva 1, Murphy 6, Richter 2, Wilson 6, Wylie 12, Schneider 15, Sampson 1, Wolf 0, Pohischnelder 0, Kirsch 2. Totals: 14 17-25 45. Butte Falls..................................................12 5 5 20 �42 St. Paul......................................................16 12 5 12 � 45 3-point goals � Butte Falls 4-8 (Stockton 1, Rowley 2, Hamilton 1). Fouled out � Murphy. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.