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Fiegi leads South past Sheldon photo by Andrew Mariman South Medford�s Eric Fiegi goes up for two of his 25 points against Sheldon�s Matt Heliski on Thursday. By Kris Henry It took a while for Eric Fiegi to realize that he was at least four inches taller than anyone else on his home court. But once he did, Sheldon had no chance against South Medford as the Panthers rolled to their seventh straight victory with a 57-43 romp in the second round of the boys Class 4A state playoffs. The 6-foot-8 junior scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and finished with 12 rebounds and five blocked shots in leading the Panthers to a third-round date at Benson at 5 p.m. Saturday. "I finally relaxed in the second half," Fiegi said. "I think I came out in the first half and I was too tensed up to play in a playoff game at home." The Panthers (20-5) as a whole struggled to score in the first quarter, needing a pullup by Fiegi just before the buzzer to narrow Sheldon�s lead at 9-8. After that it was all South as the Panthers scored on six of their next seven possessions and the Irish (17-8) failed to find the basket for the first four minutes of the second quarter. "One of the things that was real important was when Eric scored at the end of the first quarter. That kind of kick-started us," said South coach Dennis Murphy. "I also thought we got them playing our pace with the press. They started taking quick shots and then all of a sudden we started to get baskets going the other way. That was huge." Despite having a senior-laden team, Sheldon appeared lost at times when the Panthers applied their full-court pressure. Even when the Irish broke through, they forced their shots and failed to find a comfortable rhythm. "They were pretty athletic, and it was a tough situation for us because no one really presses in our league," said Sheldon coach Lane Johnson. "You can practice against pressure but when you have to play against the athletes South Medford has, that�s really tough. That hurt us in the first half." The Irish went into halftime on an upbeat note, however, as senior Shadbuja Marsden canned a 3-pointer at the buzzer to trim South�s lead to 31-22. The Panthers were able to stretch their lead to 35-22 before Sheldon finally found a hole in South�s scheme as post Matt Haliski turned three straight defensive rebounds into fastbreak layups for his teammates. South�s lead dropped to 41-34 with four minutes to go in the game before Fiegi took matters into his own hands with 10 points to close out the Irish. The Panthers scored on eight of their ensuing 11 possessions. "Our 6-foot-4 guy (Haliski) did a pretty good job on (Fiegi) for most of the game, but he just kind of wore us down," said Johnson. "We just tip our hats to South Medford, they did a great job." Beyond a strong defensive presence the Panthers seem to bring every night, South received efforts from a myriad of players. Nine Panthers scored at least one point, with junior Ryan Heil posting a strong night with 10 points, five rebounds and a handful of assists. Heil�s highlight of the game, however, came early in the contest when he took a charge early that negated a fastbreak attempt by Derek Martell and inspired his teammates. "We came out with a lot of energy, and that helped us," said Heil. "That led to some easy buckets and forced them into a few turnovers." Alan Johnson came off the South bench to add six points and five rebounds, while Jared Mulhollen had five points and John McKay added four despite being sidelined for much of the first half after being bloodied by a flying elbow. "Alan Johnson stepped up real well off the bench," said Murphy. "He had a couple big buckets for us and defended well. We all know we need that kind of effort from those kind of kids when you get into these games." That type of overall team effort will be more than challenged Saturday against a 19-5 Benson squad that shares the No. 3 ranking in the state with Jesuit. "It�s definitely a big game, but we know they�re beatable so that�s where our focus will be and hopefully we�ll go up there and get a win," said Fiegi. It�s unlikely many people outside the Rogue Valley give the Panthers much of a shot against the Portland team. "We just look at it as a great challenge," said Murphy. "We have great respect for Benson. One of the nice things is there�s no pressure on us. We can go up and relax and play and give it our best shot. You�ve always got a chance." SHELDON (43) � Copley 7, Haliski 8, Martell 7, Marsden 5, C. Mart 2, Erickson 4, Perry 8, Ross 2, King 0, Trench 0, J. Mart 0, Smith 0. Totals: 16-51 9-10 43. SOUTH MEDFORD (57) � Fiegi 25, Heil 10, Johnson 6, McKay 4, Burnett 1, Smith 2, Mulhollen 5, Marshall 2, Tomlins 2, Lower 0. Totals: 23-57 9-15 57. Sheldon.......................................................9 13 6 15 � 43 South Medford.........................................8 23 10 16 � 57 3-point goals � Sheldon 2-15 (Marsden 1, Perry 1), South Medford 2-5 (Heil 1, Mulhollen 1). Fouled out � Martell. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.