North Medford and Sheldon are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2018, but not for long. The North Medford Black Tornado will head out on the road to square off against the Sheldon Irish at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but North Medford ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged Grants Pass out 63-60. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win North Medford has posted since December 15, 2023.
North Medford's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Houston Klug, who scored 19 points along with seven rebounds and five assists. Klug has been hot recently, having posted 16 or more points the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Rohan Aulakh, who scored 17 points.
Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Sheldon at home against Willamette on Tuesday as the team secured a 82-44 win. Given Sheldon's advantage in MaxPreps' Oregon basketball rankings (they are ranked 64th, while Willamette is ranked 224th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
The victory was the third in a row for North Medford, bringing their record for this year to 8-13. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.0 points per game. As for Sheldon, their victory bumped their record up to 11-9.
North Medford came up short against Sheldon in their previous matchup back in January, falling 59-51. Can North Medford avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
