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52 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, March 19, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 13, 2005 Panthers frustrated with end result By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune EUGENE — Finding out how much the South Medford boys basketball team truly valued the sixth-place trophy gleaned Saturday wasn’t difficult to do. All you had to do was look on the floor outside their locker room, because that’s where it rested, alongside the empty water bottles and the team’s packet of tickets for the championship final later that night. Finishing fourth was something the Panthers would have settled for. Finishing sixth and on a losing note was not in the plans. "I thought we were probably one of the four best teams up here but I guess we’re not," said South coach Dennis Murphy, clearly frustrated by a 59-57 loss to Benson in which his team led up until the final few minutes. "That’s the bottom line, we’re not." Advertisement As frustrated as the Panthers felt after the game, however, they brought it all on themselves. In the simplest of terms, South’s players are too nice. While that trait is commendable in every other area of life, it just doesn’t translate to the basketball court. The sports world is the one area where you need to have a genuine dislike for the other team and unquenchable desire to make sure they’re the ones hanging their heads once the final buzzer is blown and not you. You can still play fair and have respect for your foes, but there comes a point where you’ve got to bow your back, toughen up and put a team away. South led Benson by 13 at one point Saturday but, as the Panthers have done all season, let the Techmen get up off the floor and, eventually, walk away with their prize. "We’ve just gotta have that killer instinct," said South sophomore Kyle Singler. "It’s no excuse but we’re still young, but that’s something we’ve got to learn. When we’re up, we’ve just got to stomp ‘em." It’s a level of toughness and tenacity the Panthers haven’t had all season, and will most certainly need to attain if they have any hope of placing higher in the future. "If you don’t learn from it, you’re doomed to repeat it," said Murphy. "You’ve just got to put it on a personal level. If something happens and you don’t like it but you don’t do anything to change it, then chances are it’s going to happen again." It’ll be incumbent on returning players Singler, Michael Harthun, Brent Johnson, Kendall Gielow and Myles Daley to take this state tournament experience to heart. Remember those rebounds which were pried away because you were outmuscled. Remember those shots that hit the front rim because your stamina wasn’t there at critical points. Remember that the best players in the state are primarily returning and the road to a title isn’t going to get easier anytime soon. Among this year’s tourney qualifiers, Lake Oswego’s Kevin Love, Taylor Marr and Ernie Spada are all sophomores, Benson boasts only two seniors, Jesuit returns Seth Tarver and McNary will have the benefit of 6-9 standout Phil Nelson once again. "I think these two losses up here taught us something and will help us for next year," Singler said of losses to Lake Oswego (61-45 in Thursday’s quarterfinal) and Benson. "You’ve just got to be able to outwork your opponent and get on the floor and get loose balls. If you work hard the whole game, the game will go your way." One thing that might help South next year is the fact that the Panthers will finally test their wares in the highly regarded Les Schwab Invitational in Hillsboro. Another is the fact that Singler and Johnson have now been at the state tournament twice, and Harthun and Gielow stand to have benefited from the Panthers playing 31 games this season — believed to be the most for a 4A team since Marshfield won the state title in 1953 with a 29-2 record. In the end, though, tuning everything up for another run next year will be entirely up to the players. That’s how Benson was able to overcome the Panthers on Saturday, according to Techmen coach Troy Berry. "You can have all the talent in the world," said Berry, who also guides the Portland Elite Legends AAU program that has included Singler and Gielow and will add Harthun this summer, "but if you’ve got a bunch of kids who aren’t willing to work hard and be on same page, it doesn’t work. As a coach, all you can do is get them prepared to play the game. The rest is up to them." And whether they want to leave Eugene in the future with a trophy or a doorstop. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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