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Cavers cripple South's playoff hopes BOYS PREP BASKETBALL South Medford's late-season push for a Southern Oregon Conference boys basketball state playoff berth took a bad turn Tuesday. The Panthers came into the SOC contest against Grants Pass with a three-game winning streak and positioned in a three-way SOC tie for fourth. But South got off to a poor start and never overcame the uphill struggle in a 53-46 loss to the Cavemen. The defeat drops the Panthers (10-12, 5-7 SOC) one game behind Ashland for the conference's fourth and final playoff spot. South finishes conference play with games at Eagle Point and Roseburg. "It now becomes extremely difficult for us to make the playoffs," South Medford coach Dennis Murphy said. "You have to play better than we did at home." Grants Pass' 18-5 first-quarter margin proved decisive in the game. The Cavemen also capitalized on a big advantage on free throws, making 23 of 34 compared to just 5 of 9 for the Panthers. The Cavemen made only two field goals in the second half, but were 21 of 31 from the foul line. "We had to play catch-up basketball the whole night," said Murphy. "We didn't play very good position defense. When you're behind you have a tendency to reach and not move your feet." Senior forward Peter Jordan scored a game-high 22 points to lead Grants Pass. Jordan had three 3-pointers and was 7 of 11 on free throws. "You can't spot teams 13 points and expect to win," said Murphy. "We didn't necessarily make Grants Pass make the tough shots because we kept fouling them. Also, their zone caused us problems. We couldn't get shots." GRANTS PASS (53) -- Jordan 22, Lathen 2, Slagle 3, Dawson 9, DeLaGrange 2, Sorensen 5, Barbee 10, York 0, Dobner 0. Totals: 13-43 23-34 53. SOUTH MEDFORD (46) -- Wallenberg 11, Tomlins 0, Hickey 8, Hilgendorf 3, McKay 0, Rasmussen 4, Grant 5, Foster 6, Decker 9, Heil 0. Totals: 21-50 5-9 46. Grants Pass ..............18 9 8 18 -- 53 South Medford .......5 10 12 19 -- 46 3-point goals -- Grants Pass 4 (Jordan 3, Barbee 1), South Medford 1 (Hilgendorf 1). Fouled out -- Decker. JV score -- Grants Pass won. EAGLE POINT 61, KLAMATH UNION 40 -- At Klamath Falls, John Lucas scored 13 points to lead three Eagle Point players in double figures as the Eagles solidified their hold on third place in the SOC. Senior post Phil Garrett added 12 points and six rebounds for the Eagles. Klamath Union played Eagle Point to a 15-all first-quarter tie, but the Pels were outscored a combined 34-13 over the next two periods. Klamath Union (3-18, 1-11 SOC) received a game-high 16 points from junior point guard Adam Bailey. EAGLE POINT (61) -- Rouhier 11, Sawyer 4, Lucas 13, Buda 2, Johnston 5, Stuart 6, Acrey 6, Kleker 2, Garrett 12. Totals: 23-45 13-17 61. KLAMATH UNION (40) -- Munsen 8, Bailey 16, Axberg 3, Baker 4, Woodrum 6, Thomas 3, Caleb 0, Eccles 0, Smith 0, Aspera 0, Mortenson 0. Totals: 12-43 12-17 40. Eagle Point ..........15 15 19 12 -- 61 Klamath Union ........15 9 4 12 -- 40 3-point goals Eagle Point 2-8 (Lucas 1, Rouhier 1), Klamath Union 4-12 (Axberg 1, Bailey 3). JV score -- Eagle Point won. ASHLAND 49, CRATER 41 -- At Ashland, The Grizzlies built a 16-point lead going into the fourth quarter and then held on for the victory despite furious pressure applied by the Comets. Jimmy Werbin scored 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting while Brett Zundel had a double-double by scoring 10 points and pulling down 11 rebounds (six offensive). CRATER -- Wright 0, Price 0, Wangel 4, Korthals 7, Foster 0, Campbell 2, Smith 0, Jacobs 17, Harthun 11. Totals: 15 5-8 41. ASHLAND -- Pippa 8, Challman 2, Zundel 10, Kalemkeris 0, Werbin 21, Potocky 2, Pavilionis 6. Totals: 17 7-10 49. Crater .............9 5 8 19 -- 41 Ashland .......9 14 15 11 -- 49 3-point goals -- Ashland 2 (Werbin 1, Pavilionis 1), Crater 2 (Korthals 2). JV score -- Ashland 63, Crater 49. LAKEVIEW 53, MAZAMA 52 -- At Klamath Falls, Nick Hadley's two free throws with 10 seconds remaining proved to be the difference. Mazama (9-8, 6-4 Skyline) had an off-night from the field, connecting on only 1-of-20 3-point attempts. LAKEVIEW (53) -- Hadley 13, Simms 7, Hartman 12, Strubel 6, Echavarria 1, Horton 8, Baker 6. Totals: 19-44 13-20 53. MAZAMA (52) -- Strom 2, Michaelis 11, Sparks 2, Flackus 7, Starkey 7, Zahler 2, Fast 10, Milsap 4, Blevins 7, Wallace 0. Totals: 22-63 7-19 52. Lakeview ...........7 18 13 15 -- 53 Mazama .............13 6 10 23 -- 52 3-point goals -- Lakeview 2-5 (Simms 1, Horton 1), Mazama 1-20 (Flackus 1). JV score -- Mazama won. HENLEY 70, NORTH VALLEY 51 -- Top-ranked Henley used an explosive first half and then cruised through the second half for the victory. Tim Frost led all scorers with 25 points. NORTH VALLEY (51) -- Bruton 7, Pittman 2, Jarrett 10, Byers 10, Gentry 5, Grosenbach 2, Phillips 6, Seybold 2, Godfrey 2, Hendy 5, Forbuss 0, Wright 0. Totals: 17 10-15 51. HENLEY (70) -- Stock 0, Boyle 0, Warnick 16, Cunningham 6, Stevens 8, Nunes 3, Johnson 12, McDonald 0, Rodgers 0, Tm. Frost 25, Tr. Frost 0. Totals: 25 16-20 70. North Valley ..........4 11 16 20 -- 51 Henley ................14 20 18 18 -- 70 3-point goals -- North Valley 7 (Jarrett 2, Byers 2, Phillips 2, Bruton). Henley 4 (Stevens 2, Warnick, Nunes). ST. MARY'S 56, BONANZA 36 -- Junior center Geoff Haas led a balanced St. Mary's attack with 15 points in a key Southern Cascade League game at the Crusaders' gym. Chris Murphy, a sophomore forward, added 11 points as St. Mary's (10-10, 3-5 SCL) had five players score eight or more points. BONANZA (36) -- Earp 5, Noble 0, Kness 10, Olson 0, Hadley 5, Williams 2, Scott 2, Case 0, Grohs 2, Watkins 8, Norris 2. Totals: 15 2-4 36. ST. MARY'S (56) -- Becker 9, Malfavon 8, Jones 0, McNulty 9, Naumes 4, Phillips 0, Kincaid 0, Christensen 0, Stout 0, Murphy 11, Haas 15. Totals: 22 9-12 56. Bonanza ..............7 5 15 9 -- 36 St. Mary's ........10 15 20 11 -- 56 3-point goals -- Bonanza 4 (Earp 1, Kness 2, Hadley 1), St. Mary's 3 (Becker 2, Murphy 1). Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.