ROSEBURG – Roseburg’s Stephen Patoine scored nine points in the first half to help the Indians keep pace with league-leading South Medford, but the Panthers edged out the Indians in the second half to win 55-44 on Tuesday and clinch the Southwest Conference title.

Roseburg (8-14; 3-9 SWC) and South Medford (21-2; 11-1 SWC) traded the lead back-and-forth in the first quarter with neither team leading by more than two-points. The Indians led 13-11 heading to the second quarter and used a 4-0 run to pull ahead by six points. Patoine drilled the first of two 3-pointers to cap off the run and put Roseburg ahead 17-11.

The Panthers used a run of their own to close the gap. South Medford got a big quarter from senior Hunter Bradford, who scored five of the team’s 10 points in the period and gave the Panthers a 21-20 lead going into the break.

South Medford led the rest of the contest, but Roseburg kept the game interesting in the fourth quarter. Trailing by 10 points to open the final period, the Indians went on a 5-0 run to cut the score down to 37-32. That was as close as Roseburg would get the rest of the way. South Medford responded with a 5-0 run of their own and kept the score at an eight point margin or larger until the final horn.

Patoine led Roseburg with 14 points and Hayden Luttrell added 13. South Medford’s Kaleb Franklin made 9-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter to keep the Panthers in front and finished with a game-high 15 points. Conor Carroll netted 14 points and Josh Washington chipped in 10.

Roseburg will next host Willamette on Friday for the final home game of the regular season. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and fans can follow the contest on 1490 The Score or watch online at 541radio.com.

SMHS  11; 10; 16; 18 – 55

RHS  13; 7; 7; 17 – 44

SM: Kaleb Franklin 15; Carroll 14; Washington 10; Bradford 7; Benford 5; Martin 2; Cota 2; Carter; Bock

R: Stephen Patoine 14; Luttrell 13; Fairbairn 9; Paschke 3; Lucido 3; Cuilty 2; C. Stone; Eagan

– Joey Keeran | joey@bciradio.com | @joeykeeran