Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1916-03-06
Ashland Wins
First Two Games

The Ashland high school basket
ball team showed themselves to be
able to play real big league basket
ball on any kind of floor, big or lit
tie, in the first two games of the
series with Medford.
Friday.
Friday evening, before a crowd
which must have approached fifteen
hundred OF the most rabid kind of
rooters, equipped with every noise
making device from carefully trained
vocal chords to weird and wonderful
noise-making affairs, the Ashland
boys demonstrated the superiority of
their defense and offense over the
Medford team and won by the score
of to in the most heart-breaking,
blood-thrilling and generally exciting
game of basketball which has been
seen in this neck of the woods for
years. The game was wonderfully
fast, was clean and in fact the best
basketball which has ever been put
up in southern Oregon.
The Medford fans were confident
Of victory and, it is said, backed their
faith with real hard cash, something
heretofore unknown when Ashland
and Medford met. The big floor was
supposed to be the link" which
would defeat Ashland, but the wear
ers of the red and white proved
themselves at home on the big floor
and displayed a defense system mod
elled along the same lines as Med
ford's but which went them one beU
ter for effectiveness. Both teams
and Ashland especially missed sew
eral easy baskets. The Medfordites
played fast, brilliant ball, passing
with dazzling speed, until they got
down toward their own goal, when
the Ashland defense smeared their
fancy work. Grisez secured Ash
lands two field baskets, Fraley threw
three fouls out of nine. Thomas
threw Medford's only field goal and
made four out of eight foul shots.
Thomas converted a foul for the
first point soon after play COM
menced, Fraley soon tieing the score
by converting a free throw. After
several minutes of sensational work
which had the crowd on its feet every
second, Grisez broke away with
long dribble and scored. Medford
made another point on a foul and
Fraley converted two more fouls,
making the score to 2 at the end
of the first half.
The Medford bunch came back
hard in the second half. but the
smashing defense of Delsman and
Plymate broke up every play. Final
ly Thomas scored a shot from the
middle of the floor and soon after a
shift was made in the Medford line
up, Fish going in for Tourney. Fish
must have had instructions to score
at any cost and played a running
guard game. with the inevitable re-
suit that Grisez got loose and tossed /
an easy basket unguarded. Thomas
converted two fouls The last five /.
minutes were scoreless. Just as the
gun announced the end of the game
Delsman was fouled, giving Medford /
a free throw and chance to tie. /
While the fifteen hundred rooters
maintained breathless silence
Thomas squared off for the foul shot,
but the tension was too great and the |
shot fell short by two feet, giving |
Ashland the hardest-fought game of /
the season.
Foxy Coach Klum sought to sur
prise the Ashlanders by playing Will
Hanson at center against Harris, but /
Harris, who has been receiving some {
mighty good training trying to hold
Huh Poor down in practice for the
past two weeks, played rings around
Medford's phenom and did not allow
him a respectable shot.
Cooper, former o. A. c. star, is
refereeing the contests and gave ex-
cellent satisfaction,
Girls Game Friday.
The little Ashland girls team
looked like pigmies beside the Med
ford girls, but played a fast passing
and dribbling game which had their
heavier opponents guessing at every
stage of the game. Superior foul
throwing ability won for Medford a
score of to 4. Ashland led at the
end of the first half 30. Medford
came back with field goal and three
fouls in the second period, while
Ashland scored one point. The game
was faster than the majority of girls
games. The dribbing of Chappell of
was the stellar feature. The
Ashland passing was far ahead Of
that of the Medfordites, but the heav-