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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 1, 2006 South Medford freshman E.J. Singler goes to the basket over North Medford�s Spencer Stefanson. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Late surge lifts Panthers Gielow’s big second half helps propel No. 1 South past pesky Black Tornado By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Kyle Singler gets most of the headlines, but Kendall Gielow has been a spark plug for the top-ranked South Medford boys basketball team all season. Gielow gave the Panthers a much-needed energy boost in the second half of their game against cross-town rival North Medford Tuesday night. With South Medford clinging to a 27-21 halftime lead, Gielow muscled inside for back-to-back three-point plays to start the third quarter and the Panthers went on to a 63-40 victory before a packed gym at South High. Singler, the Panthers’ 6-foot-8 Division I recruit, finished with 20 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots while Gielow had 19 points and 12 boards. Senior post Steven Theel gunned in 16 points to lead the Black Tornado and freshman forward Josh Pecktol had 10. Advertisement "(Head coach Dennis) Murphy got on me at halftime and I took that as a challenge," said Gielow, who made just 2 of 7 shots from the field in the first half. "I went out with more intensity in the second half." Gielow’s back-to-back three-point plays widened South Medford’s lead to 33-21 just 72 seconds into the third quarter. Before the period ended, Gielow made a layup off a back-door cut and drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing as the Panthers’ advantage swelled to 42-23. To top his night off, Gielow made an acrobatic reverse layup and drained two free throws in the fourth quarter as South Medford eased to its eighth win without a loss in the Southern Oregon Conference. The Panthers are 18-1 overall. "There’s no question that Kendall responded to what was said at halftime," Murphy said. "He had a very nice second half." Murphy was displeased with South Medford’s overall effort, however. He was especially unhappy with his team’s shot selection in the first half that led to an 8-for-23 showing from the field. "We just weren’t as patient as we normally are," Murphy said. "We rushed some shots and forced some shots and didn’t get the looks we normally get." Had the Panthers not dominated the boards by a 52-32 margin, North Medford might have made a serious run at a huge upset. "In some ways, they outplayed us," Murphy admitted. "They played hard, they were patient on offense, they handled our press fairly well and they just did a lot of good things. "In the end, our talent won out." North Medford trailed 19-10 after one period, but crawled back as South Medford managed just one basket — a 6-foot flip hook from Gielow — over the first 6:19 of the second period. Theel banked in a trey, Eric Stroh hit a free throw that resulted from a technical foul on Singler and Pecktol drained a 10-foot jumper as the Tornado cut its deficit to 21-16 with 3:07 left before intermission. Brent Johnson ended South’s scoring drought with a turnaround jumper, but at the other end Theel muscled in a rebound basket, drew a foul and completed the three-point play on North Medford’s next possession. Suddenly, it was 23-19. Singler connected on two free throws and a lean-in, 10-foot jumper that gave the Panthers a little breathing room, but Tornado freshman guard Jordan Ellis made a layup six seconds before the half, leaving the Panthers’ intermission edge at 27-21. "I thought we outplayed them in the first half, but we missed a ton of open shots," said North Medford coach Tim Sam, whose team dropped to 5-13 overall and 2-6 in the SOC. "And I thought we played good defense. We just couldn’t keep them off the boards. It seemed like Singler was rebounding everything they missed. We had him screened out, but he jumped over the top of us." Theel, who had his best game of the season, believes the Tornado can build on its effort Tuesday. "If we play like this the rest of the way we’re going to start winning games," Theel said. By outscoring South Medford 11-8 in the second quarter, North Medford became the first SOC team to win a quarter against the Panthers this season. "That shows how consistent we’ve been prior to tonight," Murphy said. "To be fair to our kids, they’ve gotten the job done pretty well night in and night out." NORTH MEDFORD (40) — Theel 16, Pecktol 10, Slowey 6, Ellis 2, Neel 2, Williams 2, E. Stroh 1, Ross 1, A. Stroh 0, Eubank 0, Blaschka 0, Stefanson 0. Totals: 16 5-8 40. SOUTH MEDFORD (63) — K. Singler 20, Gielow 19, Harthun 10, Johnson 6, Stanek 2, Grimes 2, Daley 2, DeSimone 1, E.J. Singler 1, Anderson 0. Totals: 23 15-22 63. North Medford............................10 11 2 17 — 40 South Medford............................19 8 15 21 — 63 3-point goals — North Medford 3 (Theel 3), South Medford 2 (Gielow 1, Harthun 1). Technical foul — K. Singler. JV result — South Medford won. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail Late surge lifts Panthers ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s