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Grants Pass rolls to win at state By CLIFF PFENNING PORTLAND � If the sixth-seeded Grants Pass Cavemen were looking for the positives that came from a two-game losing streak in February, they found it in a well-played first half Tuesday afternoon. Grants Pass committed just one turnover in the first 16 minutes, took a 10-point halftime lead and went on to beat 11th-seeded Westview, 76-61, in the first round of the OSAA/U.S. Bank Class 4A boys basketball state tournament at Memorial Coliseum. Senior Ian Elseth scored 14 of his team-high 20 points in the first half, senior Andy Dobner had 10 points and junior Tyler York added 10 points and five assists to lead the Cavemen (24-2) to the quarterfinals. They next play third-seeded Jesuit (21-4) Thursday at 1:30 p.m. "It's a big relief to get a win in the tournament," said Dobner, who remembered last year's 54-52 loss to McMinnville in the first round. "It was good we played on Saturday and won by 20 points. That helped us get ready for the tournament instead of sitting around for two weeks." Westview, the No. 3 team from the Metro League, dropped to 18-9 and will play Redmond in the consolation round at 9 a.m. today. Grants Pass needed to play a sub-tournament game against North Salem because it lost twice in the same week in early February. Roseburg lost just once in league play and won the Southern Oregon Conference's automatic berth into the tournament. "When we lost those games, we realized we needed to play harder," said Dobner, who averaged 10.8 points per game during the season. "We realized we have to stick together more as a team." When the seedings for the tournament were released Sunday, though, Grants Pass was ahead of eighth-seeded Roseburg and was put into the opposite bracket from No. 1 Jefferson of Portland. If Roseburg wins its opener with ninth-seeded McNary today, its likely second-round opponent would be Jefferson. Westview led 18-17 at the end of the first quarter Tuesday, but Grants Pass closed the first half leading 43-33. Elseth, who is 6-foot-7, was guarded by Marshall Hartman, a 6-7 junior, but still made 6 of 8 field goals and grabbed four rebounds, two on the offensive end. The Cavers held a 7-2 edge in offensive rebounds and attempted eight more field goals, 31-23. "We were playing a lot smarter than we normally do," said Elseth, who finished with five rebounds and two blocks. "We were really focused." Grants Pass coach Bill Cowell said he was somewhat shocked by the turnover total in the first half. "One turnover is pretty good," he said. "We were moving well and everybody was getting open at the right time." The Cavers continued their strong play in the second half, although they ended the game with 11 turnovers. Dobner, held to just two points in the first half, made four shots in the second half, including two in the final 90 seconds of the third quarter for a 58-42 lead. Grants Pass made 10 of 13 free throws in the second half. The Cavemen made 28 of 49 shots from the field (57 percent) and 5 of 8 3-point shots (62 percent) in the game. Hartman finished with 22 points and five rebounds. "Marshall is a very good player, and I think I played him pretty evenly," said Elseth, who was a teammate of Hartman's in summer ball. "It's a great feeling to get a win. It's a lot better feeling than last year." Cowell said the victory satisfied a goal for the Cavemen: win a tournament game. Grants Pass hasn't been looking too far ahead of itself in the tournament, not with perennial favorite Jesuit next in line. "Winning the state title is on our list," Cowell said. "It's just right at the end of the list." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.