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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News AP Entertainment Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Holiday Guide Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend January 13, 2007 Singler powers South Medford in Bass Pro opener Senior scores 36 and grabs 14 boards in tournament debut By JUSTIN McMILLIN for the Mail Tribune SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — If the hometown Glendale Falcons were intimidated by Duke signee Kyle Singler and the nationally-ranked South Medford Panthers, they did an awfully good job of hiding it. The Springfield, Mo., school kept reasonable pace with the Panthers for the better part of three quarters until South Medford built a 16-point, fourth-quarter lead in the opening round of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions. Even then, the Falcons made things interesting with a late surge that trimmed South Medford's final margin of victory to 82-77. With the victory, South Medford (11-1) moved into the semifinal round, where it will meet Raleigh-Egypt of Memphis, Tenn., today at 7:30 p.m. (PST). Raleigh-Egypt rolled to a 64-43 victory over Rufus King of Milwaukee, Wis., on Friday. South Medford is 24th and Raleigh-Egypt 22nd in the USA Today Super 25 rankings. Hometown heroics aside, Singler put on quite a show for the 6,000 fans who showed up at the Hammons Student Center on the Missouri State University campus Friday night. Singler had 36 points, 14 rebounds and four steals to lead the Panthers. The 6-foot-9 standout made 13 of 15 shots from the field and was 10-for-13 from the foul line. Advertisement But while Singler lived up to his national hype, Glendale guard Spud Harbour had the fans buzzing by gunning in a game-high 40 points. Harbour threw a scare into the Panthers when he scored five points and added two steals and two assists in the final two minutes of the game as Glendale nearly overcame its fourth-quarter deficit. The 5-11 Harbour sank 14 of 24 shots from the field, including a 7-for-14 showing from the 3-point line. "There's no question about it, he can really shoot it," South Medford coach Dennis Murphy said of Harbour. "We tried guarding him with everybody, and nobody could. Finally, Kyle (Singler) asked for his chance. He kept him quiet for a while, but with Harbour's quickness I knew he would force Kyle into some pushing fouls and he did." Despite's Harbour's heroics, South Medford seemed to have the game in hand, leading 77-61 with 21/2 minutes to play. Murphy cleared his bench a short time later, only to watch Harbour and the Falcons go on a quick 9-0 run. Murphy was forced to put his starters back in. "If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't do it that way," Murphy admitted. "There was 1:44 to go and I figured if I subbed the other coach would, too. But they kept pressing us with their starters, we turned it over twice and all of a sudden they had momentum. "Based on the outcome, I can't say it was a good decision." Glendale stayed within dangerous proximity of the Panthers in the first half with a barrage of 3-pointers. The Falcons made five treys, four from Harbour in the first quarter, and were within striking distance at halftime (down 40-33) despite Singler's 18 points and seven rebounds in the first half. E.J. Singler had his best game of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Panthers, while junior point guard Michael Harthun added 14 points and seven assists, but was just 6 of 20 from the field. Senior forward Van Dellenback-Ouellette chipped in eight points. "We knew (Kyle) Singler and Harthun were great players and they took a lot of our attention," Glendale coach Sean Williamson said. "Whenever we helped off of E.J., he made us pay. He stepped up for his team tonight and was very aggressive." Kyle Singler had good things to say about Glendale, which won the tournament in 1994 and was the runner-up in '99. "There was no quit in that dog," he said. "Give them credit for digging in and fighting back. Our defense was not as good as we wanted it to be, but winning was the ultimate goal and we were able to do that." Murphy warned his players they'll need to bring a lot more energy on the defensive end of the court tonight against Raleigh-Egypt if they expect to win. The Memphis-based squad features 6-3 guard Maurice Miller, who has signed with Georgia Tech, and 6-1 sophomore Gentry Hines, who's being recruited by Memphis, Mississippi and Tennessee. "If we don't play better defense, they'll score 100 points, and I don't know if we can score 100 against them," Murphy said. A nasty ice storm hit the Springfield area Friday, knocking out power to hundreds of homes. But the gymnasium never lost power and South Medford had power at its motel, Murphy said. SOUTH MEDFORD (82) — K. Singler 36, Harthun 14, E.J. Singler 13, Grimes 6, Dellenback-Ouellette 8, Duran-Chaparro 0, M. Singler 2, Anderson 3, DeCoste 0. Totals: 31-57 17-23 82. GLENDALE (77) — Harbour 40, M. Kickham 3, Mason 0, Burrows 15, R. Jackson 13, Allphin 2, C. Jackson 3, D. Kickham 1. Totals: 28-56 11-16 77. South Medford 25 15 21 21 --82 Glendale 17 16 18 26 --77 3-point goals — South Medford 3-12 (Harthun 1, Dellenback-Ouellette 1, Anderson 1), Glendale 10-25 (Harbour 7, R. Jackson 2, C. Jackson 1). Fouled out — E. Singler, Mason. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Men's Clothing Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Discount Hotel Reservations Send Flowers Casinos Canada Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Trunks, Footlocker Online poker at AbsolutePoker.com