And for Kyle, it was even more: His first chance to play in his home state since leaving for Durham, N.C.
“Every moment I was out there I was trying to soak it all in,” Kyle Singler said. “Trying to look at the signs, trying to find the people I knew in the stands. I was focused in and trying to win, but the environment was great.”
He made the most of it, with 30 points and five rebounds to lead Duke (6-0) to a 98-71 victory Saturday.
The brothers grew up in Medford, Ore., about 275 miles to the south of where the game was played at Portland’s Rose Garden.
The eventual outcome didn’t much matter when the brothers hugged tightly after the game.
“It was definitely fun,” E.J. Singler said. “One of the funnest games I’ve ever played in.”
The younger Singler scored 14 points, all in the second half, for Oregon (4-2).
It was the first time the Singlers played against each other, and the first time they were on the same court in a real game since they led South Medford High School to the state championship in 2007.
Kyle Singler, the taller and heavier of the two at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, opened the scoring with a fallaway jumper and Duke never trailed. His 3-pointer midway through the first half put the Blue Devils up 20-7 on the way to a 40-25 halftime lead.
The 6-6, 210-pound E.J. said it was a little “weird” when he glanced over during warm-ups and saw his brother knocking down shots. He has always looked up to Kyle, both in basketball and as a brother.
“I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,” he said of the game.
Oregon State 84, at Howard 74: The Beavers (3-2) used a 17-2 second-half run to pull away from the pesky Bison with President Barack Obama in attendance to watch his brother-in-law, OSU’s Craig Robinson, coach. Omari Johnson led Oregon State with 17 points and eight rebounds.
At Nebraska 60, USC 58: The Cornhuskers, led by Jorge Brian Diaz’s 14 points, came from 20 points down to defeat the Trojans, who went scoreless for more than 71/2 minutes late in the second half.
TOP 25 MEN
At No. 5 Pittsburgh 82, Penn 58: Nasir Robinson, still healing from knee surgery, led a 15-0 run to close the first half as the Panthers became the first Division I team to get to 7-0 by beating the Quakers (2-3).
At No. 16 Georgetown 87, UNC Asheville 72: Austin Freeman tied a school record by making seven 3-pointers and finished with 32 points for the Hoyas (6-0), who went on a 23-0 run in the first half on the way to beating the Bulldogs (2-3).
ELSEWHERE
Eddie Miller scored 20 points, and UC Davis (3-4) beat Seattle University (2-6), 80-58, in Davis, Calif. … Deremy Geiger scored 24 points, and Jeff Ledbetter added 15 to help Idaho (2-3) hold off Eastern Washington (1-4), 70-60, in Cheney.
PAC-10 WOMEN
Washington State 87, Long Beach State 63: Freshman Sage Romberg led four players in double figures with 13 points, and the Cougars (1-5) beat the 49ers in the Rainbow Wahine Showdown at Honolulu.
The Cougars snapped a tie at 16 at 11:28 of the first half with four straight points and never trailed again.
TOP 25 WOMEN
No. 12 Georgetown 69, No. 4 Tennessee 58: Sugar Rodgers scored 28 points to lift the Hoyas (5-1) over the Vols (6-1) at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
At No. 1 UConn 81, Lehigh 38: Maya Moore scored 24 of her 29 points in the first half, and the Huskies (5-0) routed the Mountain Hawks (1-5) for their 83rd consecutive win.
No. 10 West Virginia 64, No. 19 Iowa State 53: Liz Repella scored 15 points as the Mountaineers (6-0) beat the Cyclones (4-1) at the Paradise Jam.
Virginia 59, No. 21 TCU 55: Chelsea Shine scored 20 points to rally the Cavaliers (4-3) to the upset of the Horned Frogs (3-3) at the Paradise Jam.
