With all the confidence in the world that his boys basketball team can compete for a Skyline Conference title — and maybe even beyond — Phoenix head coach Troy McNichols tried to put a tough preseason schedule together for his team this winter.

The goal was to put the Pirates in challenging situations, allowing them to get a taste of their capabilities in those tough times and what potentially needs to be fine-tuned prior to the slate turning exclusively to a Class 4A focus.

On Saturday, Ashland offered a good litmus test for Phoenix as a quality 5A foe, and gave Phoenix plenty to ponder following a 56-52 triumph in a game played at Southern Oregon University in Ashland.

Both teams are ranked ninth in their respective coaches polls.

Ashland junior Quillian Tourzan clicked off 18 points to complement 13 from senior Jojo Harrower, while Phoenix senior Tobias Akpan did nothing to dent his averages of 19.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game with a solid 22-point effort that included at least a dozen boards.

“I thought the game, just in and of itself, was a great game,” said Phoenix head coach Troy McNichols. “I think Ashland struggled with our zone for a little while, and then they figured it out and hit some shots. That was the name of the game. They hit some shots, got the lead and then we kind of clawed our way back into it but made some mistakes down the stretch that kind of cost us.”

Ashland (4-2) was able to take control over the middle two quarters, where the Grizzlies outscored Phoenix by 12 points, and led by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter before the Pirates (4-3) made a late surge.

“We kind of rode off of Tobias,” McNichols said of a comeback bid. “He kind of spearheaded the charge there, and I think our press got us going a little bit and we were able to convert and get some easy ones. But, ultimately, it comes down to just taking care of the basketball, and I don’t think that we did a great job down the stretch taking care of the ball.”

The loss was a third straight for Phoenix following setbacks to Marshfield (No. 3 in 4A) and Crater (No. 10 in 5A).

“We’re still trying to figure out who we are,” said McNichols. “Our chemistry is not awesome at this point, but I think that once we figure it out, we’ll be OK.”

Tourzan registered 14 of his 18 points during the pivotal second and third quarters for Ashland, which trailed 8-5 after one quarter of play.

“Tourzan is the one that really hurt us,” said McNichols, “he had a great game.”

Freeman Rountree connected on three of Ashland’s seven 3-pointers to finish with 11 points, and Harrower scored 10 of his points in the second half.

“They just hit timely shots,” said McNichols. “They space the floor so well, and Harrower is so good at distributing the basketball. They draw you in and then kick it out to those open shooters and, if they’re hitting, they’re tough. They’re going to be a tough go for anyone if they’re stroking the ball.”

Lucas Wihtol scored 14 points and Brayden Decker added seven to complement Akpan, whose relentless play has been a centerpiece to Phoenix’s success.

“Tobias has just been a machine,” said McNichols. “Tobias is relentless on the offensive glass, which is something that we need. Without his production, I don’t know where we’d be. He leads by example and just goes out and does the work.”

PHOENIX (52): Decker 7, Pyeatt 4, McQueen 0, Akpan 22, Ortega 5, Dobbins 0, Wihtol 14. Totals: 20 10-16 52.

ASHLAND (56): Rountree 11, Harrower 13, Harper 6, D. Hernandez 2, Matsdorf 4, Tourzan 18, Wieczorek 2, C. Hernandez 0. Totals: 21 7-14 56.

Phoenix 8 14 13 17 — 52

Ashland 5 19 20 12 — 56

3-point goals — Phoenix 2 (Decker 1, Ortega 1), Ashland 7 (Rountree 3, Harrower 1, Harper 2, Matsdorf 1). Technical fouls — Decker, Harrower.

SILVERTON 72, NORTH MEDFORD 63: At Silverton, Dillon Sawyer scored 14 points and North Medford got 12 apiece from Dylan Scott and Easton Curtis during a second straight loss in the Silverton Tournament.

Minus a pair of starters in Traeger Healy and Nate Anderson, the Black Tornado (3-4) were outscored by 18 points over the middle quarters to fall into an insurmountable deficit.

Liam Rea had seven rebounds and Keenan Stewart pulled in six boards for North Medford, and Tate Snyder added five assists and three steals.

NORTH MEDFORD (63): Scott 12, Rea 4, Sawyer 14, Curtis 12, Snyder 4, Stewart 4, Chin 2, Patterson 5, Zimmer 6. Totals: 23-63 10-14 63.

SILVERTON (72): Keopadapsy 11, Haugen 8, S. Teeney 5, Short 12, S. Kuenzi 2, Hockman 2, Horner 6, Nieto 0, L. Teeney 2, Baskett 11, B. Kuenzi 13. Totals: 24 20-23 72.

North Medford 14 11 16 22 — 63

Silverton 18 19 26 9 — 72

3-point goals — North Medford 7-23 (Curtis 2, Zimmer 2, Sawyer 1, Snyder 1, Patterson 1), Silverton 4 (Keopadapsy 3, S. Teeney 1). Technical fouls — Curtis.

LIBERTY 58, SOUTH MEDFORD 48: At Silverton, South Medford suffered a fourth-quarter letdown for the second straight day at the Silverton Tournament as Liberty outscored the Panthers 20-10 in the final frame to take the victory.

Jaqsen Spires scored a career-best 16 points and Jed Johnson added 12 points and five rebounds for South Medford (3-5), which led 30-23 at halftime but was unable to slow a 36-18 surge by Liberty (2-4) in the second half.

Tavian Womack scored nine of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for the Falcons.

SOUTH MEDFORD (48): Tannaci 3, Adee 4, Dufour 2, Spires 16, Ritchie 2, Clevenger 9, Johnson 12, Von Strahl 0. Totals: 19-51 8-11 48.

LIBERTY (58): Holguin 2, Thomas 12, Silvia 0, Jones 6, Perry 0, Womack 26, Johnson 10, Perez 2. Totals: 23-45 8-10 58.

South Medford 12 18 8 10 — 48

Liberty 13 10 15 20 — 58

3-point goals — South Medford 2-17 (Adee 1, Clevenger 1), Liberty 4-16 (Thomas 2, Jones 2).

TWELVE BRIDGES 59, CRATER 52: At Red Bluff, Calif., Kyle Bittle and Malachi Barlow each scored 13 points for Crater but a 19-11 closing quarter by Twelve Bridges of California proved to be the difference in the Red Bluff Holiday Classic championship game.

Elijah Bryant added nine points for the Comets (6-2), whose four-game winning streak came to a halt.

Bittle also had five rebounds and Barlow had three rebounds and three steals for Crater.

Jaden High scored 27 points and Jonah Gilchrist added 22 to lead Twelve Bridges (9-2).

CRATER (52): Bryant 9, Smith 6, Higginson 5, Bittle 13, Grant 6, Barlow 13. Totals: 20 5-6 52.

TWELVE BRIDGES (59): Tolle 0, Joint 0, Flaherty 0, Baxley 2, Gilchrist 22, Homan 4, Abdela 4, High 27. Totals: 24 6-11 59.

Crater 10 17 14 11 — 52

Twelve Bridges 14 15 11 19 — 59

3-point goals — Crater 7 (Smith 2, Bryant 1, Higginson 1, Bittle 1, Grant 1, Barlow 1), Twelve Bridges 5 (Gilchrist 4, Homan 1).

CASCADE CHRISTIAN 84, THE DALLES 71: At Seaside, Deryk Farmer erupted for 26 points to go with five assists and four rebounds to lead 3A fifth-ranked Cascade Christian in the Seaside Holiday Classic.

Jaren Fronckowiak contributed 15 points and seven assists and 6-foot-5 freshman Andy Alvarez had a breakout effort for the Challengers (2-2) with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Hudson Gotzman knocked down three of Cascade Christian’s 12 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.

CASCADE CHRISTIAN (84): Richardson 8, Fronckowiak 15, Kleker 7, Willard 0, Farmer 26, Goldade 0, Snowden 3, Gotzman 12, Alvarez 13. Totals: 26 18-19 84.

THE DALLES (71): Stevens 18, Goulart 15, Morrison 16, Kenslow 11, Ziegenhagen 0, Hodges 7, Pitt 4. Totals: 28 12-14 71.

Cascade Christian 22 15 24 23 — 84

The Dalles 15 14 22 20 — 71

3-point goals — Cascade Christian 12 (Farmer 3, Gotzman 3, Richardson 2, Fronckowiak 2, Kleker 1, Alvarez 1), The Dalles 5 (Stevens 2, Morrison 2, Hodges 1). Fouled out — Stevens. Technical fouls — The Dalles delay of game (2).