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South pulls away from North Bend By Greg Stiles South Medford set the pace early then pulled away in the second half as the Panthers rolled to an 84-71 first-round victory over North Bend in the 11th annual Abby�s Holiday Classic Thursday night. The Bulldogs (2-4) were able to match strides with the Panthers for the first eight minutes, but quickly fell into double-digit deficits in the second quarter and never got closer than eight points in the second half. "With our press, we�re trying to establish the tempo and there�s no question we got the tempo we wanted," said South Medford coach Dennis Murphy, whose team improved to 6-2. The Panthers next meet Canby, a 48-40 victor over Chico, Calif. They play at 7:45 tonight at South. North Medford takes on St. Mary�s of Berkeley, Calif., at 6 p.m. Eric Fiegi, South�s 6-foot-8 junior center, scored eight of his game-high 22 points in the first quarter as the Panthers pushed the ball up the floor. On the return trip, they hounded the Bulldogs with a full-court press. But thanks to Kyle Johnson�s two 3-pointers, the Bulldogs hung tough and trailed just 21-19 after Adam Schrader sank a pair of free throws at the end of the first quarter. Junior point guard Ryan Heil scored seven of his 21 points during a 13-5 run to start the second quarter, propelling South to a 34-24 advantage with 5:17 left in the first half. "Our goal is to come out and pressure people into making mistakes," Heil said. "As the game went on, we produced more and more points off turnovers." The Bulldogs committed 17 turnovers by games end. They were also burned by South�s quick transition to offense that often saw Fiegi finishing with an uncontested layin. "We had trouble with our transition defense, and they ran the court really well," said North Bend guard Mike Moe. "(Fiegi) outran most of us down the floor and they were able to exploit it. I think that was the difference in the game." The Bulldogs whittled the deficit to 38-32 on a pair of free throws by Brandon Christenson with 2:25 left in the half. But Boomer Marshall converted a pair of turnovers into baskets and the Panthers led 42-32 at the intermission. "We got a couple of steals back-to-back and a six-point lead became 10," South coach Dennis Murphy said. "We got into a good flow." South kept the flow going in the second half. After North Bend trimmed South�s lead to 48-40 on a 3-pointer by Mike Laport, John McKay popped in six of his 17 points to give the Panthers a commanding 58-43 advantage with 3:49 to play in the third quarter. Eventually, the Panthers stretched their lead to 83-63 on a pair of free throws by Heil with three minutes to play. "There were a couple of spurts where we played well and a couple where we looked bad," Murphy said. "The goal now is to be more consistent and to make sure those moments when we�re bad are shorter and fewer. "North Bend was patient on offense. The key for us is to be talking on defense and eliminate the breakdowns." NORTH BEND (71) � Moe 15, Christenson 16, Bockwinkel 0, Laport 5, Schrader 4, Sperling 0, K. Johnson 20, M. Johnson 3, Basey 2, Thurber 6. Totals: 24-62 15-21 71. SOUTH MEDFORD (84) � Tomlins 1, Lower 5, Smith 0, Heil 21, McKay 17, Hilgendorf 3, Olson 0, Mulhollen 6, Johnson 3, Burnett 0, Marshall 6, Fiegi 22. Totals: 33-67 15-19 84. North Bend............................................19 13 19 20 � 71 South Medford.......................................21 21 24 18 � 84 3-point goals � North Bend 8 (Laport 1, Christenson 2, Johnson 5. South Medford 3 (Heil 2, Hilgendorf 1). Fouled out � Schrader, Tomlins. CANBY 48, CHICO (Calif.) 40 � Tyler Stewart scored seven of his game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter to help Canby rally for a win in the Abby�s Holiday Classic at South Medford High. Chico led 30-29 heading into the final period but fell behind early. Canby then made 9 of 12 free throws to seal the win. Garrett Cross led Chico with 12 points but managed only four after an eight-point first period. CHICO, CALIF. (40) � Englebert 6, Wilburn 6, Baccam 6, Pichardo 4, Wilson 4, Cross 12, Kennedy 2, totals: 19 2-5 40. CANBY (48) � Kirsch 3, Stewart 15, Brown 5, Warren 0, Stone 8, Ricksger 8, Miller 2, Yoder 7, totals: 17 11-17 48. Chico.........................................................12 10 8 10 � 40 Canby.......................................................11 6 12 19 � 48 3-point goals � Camby 3 (Stewart 2, Brown 1). Fouled out � Wilson. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.