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South, Roseburg meet Wednesday in SOC-opener The Panthers will be looking to knock off the defending SOC champs after being swept last season By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune If someone's willing to cough up a kitchen sink then Wednesday night's boys basketball matchup between South Medford and Roseburg will officially have it all. You want revenge factored into your spectating enjoyment? Consider the fact that Roseburg swept South last year by an average of 19 points per game. Is the game important? Wednesday's matchup will be the Southern Oregon Conference-opener for both teams, and both are expected to contend with Grants Pass for this year's SOC title. How about one-on-one confrontations? Roseburg boasts last year's SOC player of the year in 6-foot-9 center Joe Newton. South counters with first-team all-SOC pick Eric Fiegi, who also stands 6-9. To put it mildly, each team will be looking to send a league-wide message Wednesday night when the Indians and Panthers square off at 7 p.m. at South Medford High. In Wednesday's other SOC boys openers, North Medford plays at Ashland, Crater is at Eagle Point and Klamath Union is at Grants Pass. "There's no question that the game in and of itself is huge," says South Medford coach Dennis Murphy. "Obviously if you expect to compete for the league championship - which we do - you've got to beat them at home. If you don't do that then you don't give yourself nearly as much of a chance." Roseburg and South share the role as preseason favorites for the crown, although each enters Wednesday's opener on different levels of preparedness. Thanks to a dismal week in Portland at the Les Schwab Invitational, a premier tournament featuring a handful of top-flight teams from Oregon and beyond, Roseburg carries a 5-5 record into league play. The Indians have received their usual outings from Newton, who is averaging 18.9 points per game, but outstanding competition and injuries has limited the rest of the cast. Sophomore point guard Kerry Hall has been under more intense scrutiny with backcourt mate Kellen Walker sidelined after breaking his wrist late in the football season. Senior 6-9 post Brennan Garrelts has been hit-or-miss for Roseburg, while the rest of the cast has been forced to step up earlier than expected. In contrast, South has ridden the senior talents of Fiegi and point guard Ryan Heil to a 9-1 record, including last week's dominant display in winning the Abby's Holiday Classic. Fiegi is averaging 20.3 points through 10 games, with Heil at 16.2 and teammates Alan Johnson, Adam Walport and Boomer Marshall each on pace for seven points per night. "Our chemistry has been really good and our confidence level is growing and we're becoming a good basketball team," says Murphy. As confident as the Panthers are after their non-league start, Murphy says he was quick to caution them after clinching the Classic last week. "We were very pleased with the fact that we won the tournament, but all of that means nothing if you turn around and get beat Wednesday night," says the South coach. Key to the game will be whether South can score well enough to dictate the tempo. "What we've got to do is make sure the game doesn't end up in the 50s," says Murphy. "When we don't score, we can't press and then they're able to walk the ball down the floor and get in their set offense and create matchup problems with us." Another key will be whether Fiegi can finally have a breakout game against the likes of Newton and Garrelts of Roseburg. Last year, Fiegi was held scoreless in the second half and finished with 11 points in a 77-52 loss at Roseburg. In the rematch, Fiegi managed only six points. Newton countered with 28 and 17, respectively. Of Newton's 45 combined points, 36 have come in the second half with Fiegi sidelined due to foul problems. "The big thing with Roseburg is we know they're going to go to Joe," says Murphy. "A big key is Eric can't get in foul trouble early. We need him in there. We've also got to get our perimeter people to step up and play and pressure their perimeter people so it's hard to get the ball down low to Joe." Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.