Leading up to Wednesday's first round of the Class 6A state playoffs, South Medford coach Dennis Murphy preached to his team that nothing ever comes easy at this time of the year.

And with his second-ranked Panthers leading visiting Aloha by a mere four points with 1:46 to play in the first half, Murphy had the look of a man caught between "I told you so" and "Why did I have to be right?" as he watched over his players.

But before Murphy could be sent too far over the edge, his players responded with a 6-0 run to close out the first half with a 36-26 lead.

And when the second half rolled around, the Panthers showed how truly potent of a boys basketball team they can be.

South Medford outscored Aloha 39-6 over the ensuing 11 minutes to win going away, 85-46, in front of a capacity crowd in the Panthers' gym.

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"We definitely came out in the second half with a little more tenacity and kinda jumped on them early," said South Medford senior Kyle Singler, who was three assists shy of a triple-double. "I guess we went on something like a 45-6 run, and when you do that you don't lose too many games."

The 6-foot-9 Singler finished with a game-high 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists despite constant pressure from Aloha twin towers Michael Boswell (6-9) and Ian Logan (6-8).

South Medford junior point guard Michael Harthun shouldered his share of the load as well, scoring 13 of his 21 points in the first half to offset a sluggish start by the Panthers (24-2).

"It's playoff time now and I'm just happy to be out there having fun," said Harthun, who has been hindered by illness the past few weeks but feels fine now. "These are the games you live for."

Sophomore E.J. Singler also had a solid game for the Panthers with eight points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Van Dellenback-Ouellette added nine points and eight rebounds and Jon Grimes tallied eight points.

Clay Martin led Aloha (12-13) with 23 points, with Boswell limited to six points and Logan only four.

Wednesday's win sets up an intriguing second-round matchup for South Medford with Oregon City at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The No. 7-ranked Pioneers, who are led by junior standout Brad Tinsley and Jared Cunningham, beat Tualatin 63-52 on Wednesday.

South Medford took a while to get going against Aloha, managing a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter before building their bulge to 10-1 one minute later.

The Southwest Conference champions maintained a double-digit lead for the better part of the first half until the senior Martin heated up at just the right time for the Warriors.

With Boswell and Logan each in foul trouble with three apiece, Martin took matters in his own hands to bring back the Warriors with three 3-pointers and an inside basket in a two-minute span. He had 16 of his team-high 23 points in the first half.

"He's a talented player and a great kid," said Aloha coach Dan Munson. "He works his butt off and has worked to become so much better skill-wise in the offseason. He's a special kid, and when he figures it all out he'll be pretty good."

Martin and crew had a definite step in their stride as they ventured downcourt after his fourth 3-pointer of the half drew Aloha within 30-26 with 1:46 until intermission.

Then the floodgates opened.

"We've had lapses like that unfortunately all year," said Munson, "but if you let up for a second against (the Panthers), they're going to get after you."

And in every way imaginable.

Somewhat frosty from the outside in the first half — South converted 10 of 12 layins but was 3-for-15 outside that range — the Panthers stepped up their play in the second half to knock down 18 of 29 shots and finish 31-for-56 overall (55 percent).

South Medford's defensive pressure also took hold, limiting Martin to 2-for-7 shooting in the second half. The Warriors, the No. 4 seed out of the Metro League, were 17-for-57 overall (30 percent).

"You play tough all the time and eventually that pays off for you because you wear people out," said Murphy.

And sometimes even your own coach.

ALOHA (46) — Martin 23, Boswell 6, Jones 5, Logan 4, Carlson 3, Bolin 2, Smith 2, Overton-Harris 1, Nevills 0, Sorensen 0, Prince 0, Whittley 0. Totals: 17-57 7-9 46.

SOUTH MEDFORD (85) — K. Singler 25, Harthun 21, Dellenback-Ouellette 9, E.J. Singler 8, Grimes 8, Boyd 5, M. Singler 4, Granger 3, Anderson 1, DeCoste 1, Duran-Chaparro 0. Totals: 31-56 19-27 85.

Aloha 11 15 6 14 -- 46

South Medford 20 16 27 22 -- 85

3-point goals — Aloha 5-19 (Martin 5), South Medford 4-16 (Harthun 1, Grimes 1, Dellenback-Ouellette 1, Granger 1). Technical fouls — Grimes.

Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail khenry@mailtribune.com