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Cavers dim Grizzly playoff hopes GRANTS PASS -- Ashland missed an opportunity Friday to determine its own destiny for the Grizzlies first boys basketball state playoff appearance since 1991. Instead, Ashland's playoff hopes remain murky after dropping a 56-44 Southern Oregon Conference decision to Grants Pass at Heater-Newman Memorial Gym. While Ashland's state playoff future is in jeopardy, Grants Pass has elevated itself back into post-season contention with one SOC game remaining. The loss drops Ashland into a SOC fourth-place tie with Crater, a 57-38 upset winner over Roseburg, at 6-7. Grants Pass is one game behind at 5-8. A three-way tie for fourth is a possibility because Grants Pass plays at last-place Klamath Union, while Ashland hosts third-place Eagle Point and Crater must face conference champion North Medford in its final game. "We're playing loose," Grants Pass coach Bill Cowell said. "We thought we were out of it a couple of weeks ago. We're figuring at this point we don't have anything to lose." Peter Jordan got the Cavemen going with 10 of his game-high 19 points in the first quarter. Then the Cavemen closed out Ashland by sinking 12-of-19 free throws in the final period. "We were taking the ball to the basket and we got to the line a lot," said Cowell, whose Cavers are now 8-12 overall. James Werbin and Brett Zundel paced Ashland with 16 points each. ASHLAND (44) -- Pippa 0, Kirkpatrick 0, Challman 2, Streng 1, Werbin 16, Kuester 3, Schields 0, Kalemkeris 0, Zundel 16, Potocki 4, Pavilionis 2. Totals: 19 4-9 44. GRANTS PASS (56) -- Lathen 3, Slagle 2, Dawson 7, Lasher 5, Jordan 19, York 0, Dobner 2, DeLaGrange 1, Sorensen 11, Barbee 6. Totals: 18 17-27 56. Ashland ...............12 8 10 14 -- 44 Grants Pass .........16 6 13 21 -- 56 3-point goals -- Ashland 2 (Werbin 1, Kuester 1) Grants Pass 3 (Jordan 2, Lasher 1). JV score Grants Pass won. NORTH VALLEY 68, PHOENIX 38 -- At Merlin, North Valley's biggest quarter of the season sealed the Knights' victory. North Valley (10-10, 7-5 Skyline Conference) drained its first seven shots of the third period and finished the quarter 12-for-15 from the field, fattening an 11-point halftime advantage to 54-28. The Knights' previous high eight-minute output was 23 points on Jan. 15 at Rogue River. Warren Byers had eight of his 16 points and Sam Jarrett had eight of his 12 in the outburst. PHOENIX (38) -- Willard 12, Olson 6, Bartels 5, Condry 3, Jeffers 4, Murphy 2, Rombach 2, Grigsby 2, Rhodes 0, Prewitt 0. Totals: 14 5-9 38. NORTH VALLEY (68) --Byers 16, Jarrett 12, Bruton 8, Pittman 3, Gentry 9, Phillips 6, Seybold 4, Godfrey 8, Hendy 2, DeWaard 0, Grosenbach 0, Wright 0. Totals: 31 2-3 68. Phoenix .....................8 9 11 10 -- 38 North Valley ...........10 18 26 14 -- 68 3-point goals -- Phoenix 5 (Condry 1, Olson 1, Willard 3). North Valley 4 (Pittman 1, Jarrett 2, Gentry 1). JV score -- North Valley won. HIDDEN VALLEY 60, ILLINOIS VALLEY 55 -- At Murphy, Willy Isley scored a season-high 20 points as Hidden Valley (12-10, 8-4 Skyline) took advantage of its advantage inside. Andy Sakraida and Danny Reid helped the Mustangs control the boards. ILLINOIS VALLEY (55) -- Thomas 13, Keitges 17, Heller 12, Despacio 4, Mosses 2, Henry 5, Stolman 2, Neville 0. Totals: 21 8-13 55. HIDDEN VALLEY (60) -- Isley 20, Horning 17, Reid 11, Lee 6, Sakraida 6, Kennedy 0, Skopinich 0. Totals: 22 15-26 60. Illinois Valley ..............14 12 12 17 -- 55 Hidden Valley .............19 13 16 12 -- 60 3-point goals -- Illinois Valley 5 (Heller 2, Thomas 2, Keitges 1), Hidden Valley 1 (Sakraida 1). Fouled out -- Mosses, Thomas. Technical foul -- Hidden Valley coach Tate. JV score -- Hidden Valley 45, Illinois 42. HENLEY 81, ROGUE RIVER 45 -- At Klamath Falls, No. 1-ranked Henley (19-2, 12-0 Skyline) jumped out to a 19-0 lead, fueled by eight first-quarter steals in the Skyline Conference game. Michael Nunes had four steals in the opening period and scored eight points during an eight-second span. Matt Johnson tallied 17 points to lead four Hornets in double figures. Henley 6-10 center Tim Frost provided 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Ron Wessels led Rogue River with 15 points. ROGUE RIVER (45) -- Wessels 15, Shamblin 12, Paxson 10, McMillian 3, Scott 3, Jantzch 0, Horton 2, Peterson 0, Cotner 0. Totals: 18 8-19 45. HENLEY (81) -- Johnson 17, Nunes 14, Warnick 14, Ti. Frost 12, Cunningham 7, Stevens 7, McDonald 4, Rodgers 4, Stock 2, Boyle 0, Tr. Frost 0, Smith 0. Totals: 33 9-13 81. Rogue River .......2 16 12 15 -- 45 Henley ..............27 14 17 23 -- 81 3-point goals -- Rogue River 1 (Shamblin 1), Henley 6 (Nunes 2, Johnson 1, Cunningham 1, Stevens 1, Warnick 1). Technical foul -- Rogue River coach Carter. JV score -- Henley 80, Rogue River 44. CASCADE CHRISTIAN 49, GILCHRIST 44 (OT) -- Senior Joe Moxley overcame flu symptoms to collect three steals and score Cascade Christian's final four points in overtime. On the night, Moxley totaled eight points and five steals despite spending the entire third period in the locker room before returning for the fourth quarter and the overtime period. The win clinches Cascade Christian a tie for third place in the SCC and secures a home playoff game next Tuesday. GILCHRIST (44) -- Smith 0, Bernst 0, Stevens 4, Trapanese 0, knotts 18, Haynes 13, Cavey 0, Caldwell 7, R. Smith 2. Totals: 15 13-22 44. CASCADE CHRISTIAN (49) -- Moxley 8, Kimmelshue 7, Jenkins 5, Baker 19, Kelley 0, Ferrell 0, Cook 2, Milojevich 4, Alvarez 4. Totals: 19 7-12 49. Gilchrist ............6 10 10 15 3 -- 44 Cascade ...............8 9 15 9 8 -- 49 3-point goals -- Gilchrist 1 (Haynes), Cascade Christian 4 (Baker 4). Technical fouls -- 1 (Ferrell). JV score -- Cascade won. ST. MARY'S 71, BONANZA 64 -- At Bonanza, Chris Murphy led all scorers with 19 points. Three other St. Mary's players finished in double figures. The game was tied 52-52 after three periods before the Crusaders pulled away in the fourth. St. Mary's helped its cause by sinking 18 of 24 free throws. ST. MARY'S (71) -- Murphy 19, Haas 16, Becker 16, McNulty 10, Kincaid 4, Malfavon 2, Jones 0, Naumes 0. Totals: 24 18-24 71. BONANZA (64) -- Watkins 0, Kness 15, Earp 15, Case 8, Grohs 4, Scott 3, Olson 2, Hadley 1, Williams 0. Totals: 24 11-17 64. St. Mary's ............16 14 22 19 --71 Bonanza .............11 26 15 12 --64 Fouled Out -- McNulty. Technical Fouls: Becker. J.V. score -- Bonanza won. POWERS 84, BUTTE FALLS 45 -- At Central Point, all-state senior forward Tanner Hamlett scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Powers qualified for the Class 1A state tournament with the Skyline A League Tournament victory between the North and South division champions at Scenic Middle School. Butte Falls (14-11) plays Days Creek at 3:30 p.m. today for the league's No. 2 seed at state. Days Creek defeated Brighton Academy, 51-48, in a battle of division No. 2 teams. Powers used superior size and speed to build a 39-20 halftime margin. Jeremy McKibbin connected on four 3-pointers and tallied 22 points to lead the Loggers. POWERS (84) -- Ellis 13, Clark 10, Hamlett 24, Rector 8, Elam 14, Bushnell 0, Stallard 8, Blanton 2, Belleque 3, Mowe 2. Totals: 42 5-6 84. BUTTE FALLS (45) -- Harrington 5, Rodgers 0, McKibbin 22, Smeltz 6, Nelson 5, McLauchlan 0, Dunlap 4, Stockton 3. Totals: 18 4-7 45. Powers ..................22 17 28 17 -- 84 Butte Falls ..............6 14 14 11 -- 45 3-point goals -- Powers 7 (Ellis 1, Clark 2, Rector 2, Stallard 1, Belleque 1), Butte Falls 5 (McKibbin 4, Nelson 1). Fouled out -- Elam. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.