North Medford shores up playoff bid by edging South Medford

Published 3:55 am Friday, February 28, 2025

By KRIS HENRY / Rogue Valley Times

Black Tornado, GP get automatic SWC bids over Panthers despite three-way tie for second place

It had been 15 years since North Medford and South Medford met to play boys basketball at the Pawlowski Athletic Center, and the time passed did nothing to extinguish the energy Thursday in a gymnasium that holds a lot of history for the Black Tornado and Panthers alike.

Fitting the moment, not much was settled until the final quarter as North Medford was able to generate a two-possession lead in the early going, and then held firm to deny a comeback effort by South Medford for a 49-41 triumph.

Beyond bragging rights, Thursday’s matchup carried the state playoff hopes for both squads in what has been a compact Southwest Conference setup outside of undefeated league champion Sheldon (20-5, 12-0 SWC).

North Medford (14-10) was able to pull into a second-place tie with South Medford (11-13) and Grants Pass (11-13) after all three teams finished 7-5 in the SWC standings — one game ahead of South Eugene (14-10, 6-6) in a battle for only three automatic bids to the Class 6A state playoffs.

“It’s definitely huge, definitely a big win,” said North Medford senior Dillon Sawyer, who scored all six of his points in the final quarter. “We needed that one. I don’t think we would’ve made the playoffs if we don’t win that one.”

North Medford’s Dillon Sawyer, right, drives to the basket past South Medford’s Landon Dufour during the fourth quarter at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

On the flip side, South Medford went from a chance at sole possession of second place in the conference standings to out of the state playoff picture completely due to the SWC’s tiebreaker procedure. Head-to-head results are the first factor and, if a tie still cannot be broken, then the deciding factor comes from the state power rankings by the Oregon School Activities Association.

In that scenario, the Black Tornado improved to No. 26 overall with Thursday’s win and the Panthers dropped to No. 33. Grants Pass, which wrapped up its regular season Tuesday, improved to No. 29 after winning six of its final seven games.

“We had to take care of business, and we didn’t take care of business at all,” said South Medford head coach James Wightman, whose team had won three straight games and knew it was in make-or-break territory in the regular-season finale. “If you were going to tell me that we would’ve tied for second in the league before the season, I would’ve said, ‘OK, we’ll take it.’”

In an unusual twist, South Eugene finished fifth in the SWC but was already assured of a state playoff spot with a No. 20 power ranking. The Axe swept the SWC’s bottom two programs (Roseburg and Willamette) as well as North Medford for its six wins.

“That’s our whole thing, is we’re just one or two plays away from every loss,” said South Medford senior Isaac Tannaci. “It’s just frustrating.”

South Medford built its biggest lead in starting Thursday’s game on a 10-4 run, but North Medford saw Dylan Scott score eight of his nine points in the second quarter — and Keenan Stewart tally all four of his points in the frame — to level the scoreboard.

A rebound and coast-to-coast layup before the buzzer by Tannaci sent the teams into halftime tied 20-all.

South Medford’s Isaac Tannaci drives to the basket against North Medford’s Keenan Stewart at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

North Medford flirted with some separation early in the third quarter but a nice scoring setup from Quinton Ritchie to Levi Pacheco and ensuing steal and layin by Landon Dufour brought South Medford back in contention in short order.

The Black Tornado saw things turn fully in their favor when Sawyer scored six points in a two-minute span following a pair of driving efforts and a backdoor cut for a basket off a feed by Stewart for a 37-32 edge.

Jake VonStrahl hit an ensuing jumper for South and Joey Clevenger drew a charge by Stewart to create an opening for the Panthers, but a missed shot and a scramble for the ball saw it fall into Sawyer’s hands, who quickly directed it forward for a layup by Easton Curtis to regain a five-point cushion.

Curtis later added a 3-pointer with about 2 ½ minutes to play before seven finishing points by Clevenger were offset by an inbounds basket by Curtis and a 5-for-6 closing effort from the foul line.

Curtis finished with 11 points to lead North Medford, while fellow senior Tate Snyder had seven rebounds and eight points and Nate Anderson added eight points and five rebounds.

North Medford’s Easton Curtis shoots for a score against South Medford at Oakdale Middle School in Medford Thursday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)

“We made huge plays down the stretch by guys off the bench and from our starters,” said North Medford head coach Scott Plankenhorn. “We had some big buckets. Sawyer played an amazing fourth-quarter stretch that got us where we got a little bit comfortable, and then Easton makes a huge shot. Then our defense really got sound there and locked up and got some rebounds.”

After entering the season with a seven-game losing streak to South Medford, North Medford was able to win all three meetings this season (58-52, 62-60 and 49-41) — including their first in the Oakdale Middle School gym since a 2009 victory in the Abby’s Holiday Classic.

Tannaci paced South Medford with 11 points and five rebounds, while Clevenger pulled in 10 rebounds to go with his seven points and Ritchie had 10 points, three assists and three rebounds.

“Our guys competed, it just came down to all of a sudden we’re not going to execute and we couldn’t score,” said Wightman. “There were just too many highs and lows. Tonight we had way more lows than we did any of the highs, and that’s what happens.”

SOUTH MEDFORD (41): Tannaci 11, Adee 2, Dufour 2, Spires 0, Ritchie 10, Clevenger 7, VonStrahl 2, Pacheco 7, Mitchell 0. Totals: 18-50 4-8 41.

NORTH MEDFORD (49): D. Scott 9, Sawyer 6, Curtis 11, Snyder 8, Healy 3, Anderson 8, Stewart 4. Totals: 20-45 8-14 49.

South Medford 10 10 10 11 — 41

North Medford 8 12 11 18 — 49

3-point goals — South Medford 1-10 (Pacheco 1), North Medford 1 (Curtis 1). Fouled out — Dufour.

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at khenry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035

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