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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 31, 2004 South Medford�s Jon Weaver, center, and Kendall Gielow, far right, battle for possession of the basketball during Thursday�s Abby�s Holiday Classic championship game against Crescent Valley. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli South succumbs to CV Smaller Raider squad snaps Panthers’ Holiday Classic win streak By DON HUNT Mail Tribune It’s been said that basketball is for tall people, but don’t tell that to the Crescent Valley Raiders. The Corvallis team put what amounted to four guards and one center on the floor in its matchup against a much taller South Medford squad in the championship game of the Abby’s Holiday Classic Thursday night at South High. Score one for the little guys. Using their superior speed and quickness to full advantage, the Raiders literally ran circles around the Panthers on the way to a 61-48 victory. Advertisement CV ended South’s run of five straight titles in its own tournament. "It’s shocking, isn’t it?" Crescent Valley coach Bruce Reid said after his team ran its record to 9-1. "We’ve been cannon fodder for South Medford the past two years at this tournament, but we’ve got a lot of seniors, and they really stepped it up tonight. "This was our best game by far." Brett Casey scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to lead Crescent Valley’s balanced attack. Michael Golden, who at 6-foot-5 was the lone Raider player measuring over 6-1, had 13 points while slippery left-hander Brice Kelly and Matthias Kullowatz added 12 each. The Raiders frustrated the much taller Panthers at both ends of the court. They employed an active 2-3 zone defense at one end and a spread offense at the other once they got the lead late in the first half. "They had trouble guarding us once we spread the ball out," said Casey, who along with Golden was a first-team all-conference selection in the Valley League last season. "We’ve got some guys who can take you off the dribble, and once we get a step, we’ll get to the basket or dump the ball to one of our shooters. "That was a lot of fun out there tonight." Casey drew a slew of fouls while penetrating the lane in the second half and made 10 of 12 free throws. He also dished off seven assists. Kelly, wearing black shoes and long black socks, also gave the Panthers fits with a herky-jerky dribbling style and an explosive drive to the basket. "Kelly is a passionate gym rat," Reid said. "I don’t know if I’ve ever coached anyone who has spent more time in the gym than him. He’s improved a lot every year." The contest was a seesaw affair through most of the first half. Crescent Valley took a 14-9 lead six minutes into the game, but South Medford scored the final seven points of the period on a pair of rebound baskets by reserve post Myles Daley and a long 3- pointer by freshman guard Michael Harthun to grab a 16-14 advantage. The contest continued to go back-and-forth in the second quarter, but Crescent Valley went on top, 33-30, at halftime thanks to a late burst that saw Golden drill a trey and Brendan Blaustein swish a 13-foot jumper. The Raiders went to their spread game almost exclusively in the second half, with Casey and Kelly taking turns exploiting the slower Panthers by driving to the basket after several passes. "It was an old-fashioned butt kicking," admitted South Medford coach Dennis Murphy, whose Panthers walloped Crescent Valley 88-49 in a semifinal game last season and 82-63 in the title tilt in 2002. "They set the tempo and completely dominated the game in the second half. "They out-quicked us, out-hustled us, out-shot us and executed their offense much better than we did. "Obviously, we’ve got some work to do." Crescent Valley shot 45.2 percent from the field (19 of 42) and 86.2 percent from the free throw line (19 of 23) in addition to committing just five turnovers for the game. South Medford, meanwhile, shot poorly from the 3-point line for the second straight game, hitting only 5 of 19, and hit at a dismal 36.3 percent clip from the field overall. CRESCENT VALLEY (61) — Casey 18, Golden 13, Kelly 12, Kullowatz 12, B. Blaustein 4, C. Blaustein 0, Rice 2, Tarkwon 0, Lakowske 0, Kolb 0. Totals: 19-42 19-23 61. SOUTH MEDFORD (48) — Adams 14, Harthun 13, Daley 8, Singler 4, Gielow 4, Weaver 2, B. Johnson 2, Desimone 1, McKay 0. Totals: 20-55 3-6 48. Crescent Valley........................14 19 13 15 — 61 South Medford...........................16 14 8 10 — 48 3-point goals — Crescent Valley 4-16 (Kullowatz 2, Casey 1, Golden 1) South Medford 5-19 (Harthun 3, Adams 2). Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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