Varsity 541

PREP BASKETBALL

Tornado stifles Cougars

No. 8 North turns up pressure to pull away from No. 10 Canby

After allowing 143 points in its first two games, North Medford's boys basketball team spent a lot of time in recent days shoring up its defense.

All that hard work paid off Saturday night.

North Medford, ranked No. 8 in the Class 6A coaches poll, provided a flurry of activity on the defensive end against 10th-ranked Canby and carried that energy over to pounding the offensive glass en route to a 57-43 triumph at the Black Tornado gym.

Josh Pecktol had 19 points and seven rebounds, and fellow senior Jordan Ellis added 18 points, 11 rebounds and three assists to lead North Medford (3-0).

Canby senior Cody Hickey led his team with 15 points and eight rebounds, but the visiting Cougars (1-2) managed to shoot only 31 percent from the field (16-for-52). They also struggled to keep the Black Tornado from getting second-chance attempts in the nonconference contest.

"They wore us out, to be honest," said Canby coach Dane Walker. "You've got to give North credit. They are a physical, strong team. They wore us out on the backboard, but they wore us out with their half-court pressure, too. They put us in a position where we had to make adjustments, and we made no adjustments."

The Black Tornado limited Canby to 11 points or less in the opening three quarters, which was a far cry from earlier exploits against Ashland in a 76-56 win and, most recently, against McKay in a 97-87 triumph.

"I think we played a really solid game on the defensive end," said North Medford coach Scott Plankenhorn. "That's kinda where we always talk about hanging our hat. We just haven't done it lately, but tonight it was there."

"I think it really showed tonight," he added of the recent extra emphasis on defense. "We were very active, very aggressive and got after the basketball and challenged everything."

The Black Tornado also managed a 42-31 edge in rebounding, including 19 offensive boards, thanks in part to that energetic pace. That helped offset a poor shooting night that saw North convert only 37 percent of its attempts (22-for-59).

"We've got some athletic guys that read the offensive rebounds well and get after it and continue to pound the glass," said Plankenhorn. "It makes it hard on teams when you have multiple guys hitting the boards like that."

North Medford managed a 27-21 halftime lead as both teams struggled from the field offensively. The Black Tornado was able to pick up the pieces a little better in the second half, however, converting 12 of 26 shot attempts while holding Canby to a 7-for-28 effort.

Rebound baskets by Matt Maurer, Pecktol and David Formolo allowed North to bump its lead to 33-21 about three minutes into the second half. The Tornado lead never dipped below eight points for the remainder of the game.

Maurer finished with seven points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Kirii Ross had seven points and six rebounds for North.

Ryan Howard added nine points and four rebounds, and Derek Hamill had six rebounds for Canby, which has a history of early season trips to Medford.

"We like coming here," said Walker. "It's good for our kids and gives us a good snapshot of the whole state. Besides some of the teams maybe we'll play in the (Les Schwab Invitational) this year, I think that (North Medford's) going to be as good of a team as we'll play this year."

CANBY (43) — Hickey 15, Kuznetsov 6, Martishev 5, Hamill 4, Howard 9, Sprague 4, Wall 0, Yoder 0. Totals: 16-52 7-8 43.

NORTH MEDFORD (57) — Pecktol 19, Ellis 18, Maurer 7, Ross 7, Formolo 3, Borg 3, Faust 0, Shipley 0, Clark 0. Totals: 22-59 11-16 57.

Canby 11 10 8 14 — 43

North Medford 15 12 13 17 — 57

3-point goals — Canby 4-22 (Hickey 2, Howard 1, Martishev 1), North Medford 2-18 (Pecktol 1, Borg 1).

JV score — North Medford 51, Canby 49.

Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail khenry@mailtribune.com