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Phoenix High wrestlers shine at Coast Classic RED BLUFF, Calif. � The good news for South Medford was that standout post player Eric Fiegi made a quick and impressive return from what appeared to be a severe ankle injury. The bad news was that his presence alone couldn�t ensure a victory in the championship game of the Red Bluff Daily News Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament Saturday. South, plagued by turnovers in the second half, lost 60-54 to Pleasant Valley High of Chico, Calif. Fiegi, a 6-foot-8 junior, played nearly three quarters and scored 24 points despite injuring his ankle Monday in practice. "That was part of the problem," said Panthers coach Dennis Murphy. "We needed someone else to step and help out." Fiegi spent a good portion of two days at a physical therapy clinic, and "they gave him excellent treatment, obviously," said Murphy. "He felt he could play, and he played pretty well." South Medford (5-2) established a 28-26 halftime lead but was outscored 17-10 in the third quarter. In the fourth, the Panthers had a couple of chances to whittle Pleasant Valley�s lead to two but failed to do so. Down 58-54, South fouled, but Pleasant Valley missed from the line at the other end. The Panthers got the ball back but turned it over. They stole it back, then couldn�t convert the theft into points. "We didn�t play as well as I�d like in the second half," said Murphy, "but we still played well enough to have a chance to win it. We needed to play well down the stretch, and we did a poor job of that. We made some poor decisions." Pleasant Valley got six fourth-quarter points from point guard Tim Haley and a big 3-point basket from Zack Whiting. Whiting scored 16 and Haley and Scott Marquardt tallied 15 each. "They�re a very good team," Murphy said of 8-1 Pleasant Valley. "They�re picked to finish first or second in their conference. They�re a lot like we are. They play eight to 10 kids, they play hard, they play smart, and they shot a whole lot better than we did." Ryan Heil added 10 points for South, which suffered a couple of other injures. John McKay sprained his ankle in the third quarter and didn�t return, and Craig Tomlins� play was limited in the second half because of lingering soreness from an elbow he took the night before. The Panthers are off until the Medford Holiday Classic Dec. 28-30. PLEASANT VALLEY (60) � Briggs 0, Haley 15, Krajanowski 8, Harvey 4, Fleming 0, Whiting 16, Marquardt 15, Allison 0, Nielsen 2. Totals: 22 14-22 60. SOUTH MEDFORD (54) � Tomlins 3, Lower 3, Smith 0, Heil 10, McKay 2, Olson 0, Mulhollen 3, Johnson 5, Burnett 0, Marshall 4, Fiegi 24. Totals: 20 13-21 54. Pleasant Valley.....................................14 12 17 17 � 60 South Medford.......................................12 16 10 16 � 54 3-point goals � Pleasant Valley 2 (Haley 1, Whiting 1), South Medford 1 (Mulhollen 1). Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.