MILTON - And the award for the team looking least like a No. 10 seed in the District 4 playoffs goes to - Southern Columbia.
While the movie stars will be atwitter with their awards show tonight, Southern Columbia will most likely be watching a different type of moving picture - one starring Hughesville.
After the Tigers' latest upset victory, a 59-43 win over No. 2 Bloomsburg in Milton on Saturday, they'll play the Spartans at a site and time to be announced in the District 4 Class AA semifinals.
It's the second upset in a week for the Tigers, who beat South Williamsport 69-41 on Wednesday. But then, upsets have become relatively commonplace for Southern Colulmbia.
While Southern had its star power shine through in the likes of Kristian Klebon and Zach Malett, who scored 17 and 22 points, respectively, it was the Tigers' bench that was important in keeping the Panthers' offense at bay.
"They've been our shooters here," Southern Columbia head coach Dave Yost said. "They've created themselves a situtaion where they're key guys for us, and they've
shot the ball extremely well of late. You have to give credit to the other guys on the floor as well because they get the ball to them at the right time and the right moment. It's a team effort."
While Klebon and Malett were popping 3-pointers, Bloomsburg made just two field goals the entire first half. The Panthers were able to make 12 free throws, thanks to 14 called fouls on the Tigers in the game's first 16 minutes.
"The first time we played them they shot 30 foul shots," Yost said. "For a little bit there, I thought, here we go again. There were a boat load of fouls on both teams by halftime."
And while Southern starters like Jake Morton sat on the pine in foul trouble, the bench players played hard on defense and found their spots on offense.
"We'll talk about the fact that we have eight or nine starters on this team," Yost said. "Our bench has been important to us from day one, and especially since we've made this run in midseason. Casey Savitski, Chris Medon and Dante Anskis are guys that have just played big for us."
With Southern holding just a 9-6 lead after the first quarter, Klebon found his rhythm from outside and scored 10 straight points for the Tigers as they expanded their lead to 21-8.
Only once, and for just 10 seconds, was Bloomsburg able to cut into the Tigers' double digit lead.
Southern went 10-for-11 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to keep things from getting hairy, while Bloomsburg fought its own foul-related demons and lack of depth.
Game Summary
SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (59) - Klebon 5 4-5 17, Malett 4 11-12 22, Fidler 5 0-1 10, Anskis 1 0-0 2, Fegley 1 4-6 6, Savitski 0 0-2 0, Morton 1 0-0 2, Medon 0 0-0 0, Parry 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 19-26 59.
BLOOMSBURG (43) - Mrozek 3 2-4 11, Karpinski 1 0-0 3, Sainclair 2 0-0 4, Rankin 2 6-9 11, Klingerman 0 0-0 0, Erwin 0 0-0 0, Noll 2 5-10 9, Gross 0 0-0 0, Klingler 2 1-2 5. Totals 12 14-25 43.
Southern 9 21 12 17 - 59
Bloomsburg 6 11 15 11 - 43
3-point FGs: Klebon 3, Malett 2, Mrozek 3, Karpinski, Rankin.