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CLOUDY Temp: 38 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Wednesday, April 2, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 13, 2003 South Medford braces for Hillsboro By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune PORTLAND — Any team would love to see a No. 4 seed as its quarterfinals opponent at the Class 4A state boys basketball tournament, but that’s not necessarily the case for South Medford. The sixth-ranked Panthers (22-2) face one of the hottest teams in the tournament at 1:30 p.m. today when they take on Hillsboro, one of four Metro League teams advancing to Memorial Coliseum. "They were picked to finish second in their league, so they’re obviously a good basketball team," 15th-year South coach Dennis Murphy said of Hillsboro. "But at the same time, they lost 12 games prior to getting into the tournament so you’re not sure what you’ll get." While the Spartans (16-12) struggled through the regular season in one of the state’s toughest leagues considering their turnout in Portland, they’ve caught fire at the right time, winning five straight and seven of their last eight. Hillsboro needed a win over Glencoe in a league playoff to even get into the state playoffs, then pulled off three straight road victories to make the 16-team tournament field. The Spartans used that momentum to post one of the more impressive triumphs in the first round Tuesday, tying two tournament records for 3-point field goals for a team (12) and by an individual (8, by Tomas Mosqueda) to upset 10th-ranked Springfield, 79-68. "That’s where most of their points come from," Murphy said of Hillsboro’s perimeter attack. "They’ve had nights where they light it up, but they’ve also had nights where they’re off and they’ve gotten beat pretty bad. You can live by the 3 but also die with it." Making Mosqueda’s performance even more impressive is the fact that he’s not even the best guard on his own team. Junior James Loe averaged 20.5 points per game during the regular season, ranking the 5-11 guard eighth among the state’s scorers. While Mosqueda, a 6-2 senior, was busy knocking down 8 of 10 3-pointers, Loe used a combination of mid-range jumpers and slicing attacks at the basket to equal Mosqueda for a game-high 26 points to go with 11 assists. "We’ve got to come back and defend those two guys extremely well," said Murphy. "James Loe is especially tough. We just feel like we’ve got to try and keep him in front of us. It’s kinda like (Jefferson’s) Thomas Gardner, he’s going to get his points. You just hope it’s not a lot." Adding intrigue to today’s matchup is the fact that Hillsboro coach Greg Edwards was a former assistant coach under Murphy at South Medford seven years ago. Edwards coached the sophomore squad for one season and was the junior varsity coach for three more years before taking over at Hillsboro three years ago. "He really was the one who got our AAU program going," said Murphy. "Obviously we’ve built on it since then, but in its initial years, Greg was the one making it happen." Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S