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South, GP fall in quarterfinals After Wednesday's upset over Jefferson, the Cavemen can't overtake Tigard By DON HUNT PORTLAND - One day after sending shockwaves through the Class 4A state basketball tournament with an upset victory over Jefferson, the Grants Pass Cavemen fell just shy of advancing to the semifinals for the second straight year. In a battle of unheralded teams, sixth-seeded Tigard leaned on the clutch play of Tommy Magnuson in the fourth period to post a 45-42 victory over the 14th-seeded Cavemen. Magnuson, a 6-foot-8 senior post, went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and scored eight of his 12 points in the final quarter to lift the Tigers into today's 8:45 p.m. semifinal matchup against Thurston. Grants Pass fell into the consolation bracket and will meet Westview today at 3 p.m. In a nip-and-tuck physical game that saw neither team lead by more than five points, Tom Cohen of the Cavemen sank a 3-point basket that drew Grants Pass within 43-42 with 28 seconds left in the game. Magnuson swished two free throws with 20.5 seconds remaining to make it 45-42 before Cohen nearly tied the game with another trey with just under 10 seconds to play. A wild scramble for the ball ensued with seemingly six or seven players getting a hand on it before time expired. "I think everyone on the court touched that ball, including the referees," quipped Tigard senior forward Ryan Gabel, who led the Tigers with 16 points and five rebounds. "The ball was sailing all over the place and then, finally, the horn went off." The game was a physical, knock-down, drag-out affair that saw Tigard carve out leads of 13-11 after one period, 21-20 at halftime and 32-30 after three quarters. With neither team able to seize any sustained momentum, Grants Pass appeared to get the break it needed 91 seconds into the fourth period when Tigard point guard Scott Lasswell was whistled for a technical foul after throwing the ball at Brant Minor. Grants Pass trailed 32-30 at the time but Tyler York sank both free throws and then, with the Cavemen maintaining possession of the ball due to the technical, Bruce Voges wedged in a rebound basket that gave GP a 34-32 lead. But Voges fouled Magnuson at the other end and he hit both ends of a one-and-one to tie the game. Grants Pass then turned the ball over and Magnuson hit two more from the charity stripe. On Tigard's next possession, Eric Doak buried a long 3-pointer that gave the Tigers a 39-34 advantage with 4:18 remaining in the game. York finished with 13 points and Kory Mahr had 10 to lead the Cavemen, who saw their season record drop to 22-5. Tigard improved to 22-4. "It just seemed like we could never get the lead and the ball at the same time," Grants Pass coach Bill Cowell said. "The officials let a lot go and I think that played to their advantage because they're the more physical team. "But they also played great defense, probably the best we've seen all year. We could never get into any kind of flow offensively." Grants Pass wound up with 18 turnovers, shot just 36.8 percent from the field and converted only 10 of 18 free throws. The best the Cavemen can do now is fourth place. "It stings to lose a close game like this but we can still get two more wins and come home with a trophy," said Minor, who added nine points for the Cavemen. "The crowd is going to be smaller in the consolation round but it's still basketball and we've still got something to play for." TIGARD (45) - Gabel 6-9 2-3 16, Magnuson 2-4 8-8 12, Doak 3-9 1-2 10, Lasswell 1-4 2-2 5, Mudrow 0-3 0-0 0, Sorg 1-1 0-0 2, Rasmussen 0-1 0-0 0, Annis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-31 13-15 45. GRANTS PASS (42) - York 4-13 2-2 13, Voges 2-2 1-2 7, Cohen 2-9 0-2 5, Minor 3-9 3-5 9, Mahr 3-4 4-6 10, Draper 0-0 0-0 0, Baily 0-1 0-1 0. Totals: 14-38 10-18 42. Tigard.....................................................13 8 11 13 - 45 Grants Pass.............................................11 9 10 12 - 42 3-point goals - Tigard 6-13 (Doak 3-8, Lasswell 1-2, Gabel 2-3), Grants Pass 4-11 (Cohen 1-6, York 3-5). Total fouls - Tigard 15, Grants Pass 18. Fouled out - Mudrow. Rebounds - Tigard 20 (Magnuson 7), Grants Pass 29 (Voges 7). Assists - Tigard 5 (Doak 2, Gabel 2), Grants Pass 8 (Cohen 3). Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.