Eagles hold of PHS; NHS girls surge in second half

mbrown@sunmulti.com

Even though it was a non-region game, Kevin Price had to be

concerned that another double-digit lead on the Northside High home floor was

about to fully evaporate. Perry High’s Panthers, however, could not duplicate

the weekend feat of Rutland High as Rodney Levine’s clutch free throws held off

the county rivals Tuesday for a 79-76 win by the Eagles.

Northside, up by as much as 17 on Rutland on Dec. 15 only to

fall by six, had a 15-point lead, 62-47, against Perry Tuesday when fourth

period began. The Eagles were doing everything possible to excite the full gym

of home fans and discourage any Panther comeback as 6-10 Christian Kennedy

blocked a shot, Jarius Smith recorded a steal and Robert Davis dunked.

The slam, however, represented Northside’s point total in

what was a 7-2 run for Perry. Coach Brett Hardy had his crew playing steady and

patient, and Jamal Bagley made a key steal against Kennedy leading to a

put-back score for Jamarkus Davis. With 5:54 to play, the Panthers trailed by

10 64-54.

J. Davis and Bagley were the active sparks in this comeback,

Davis putting two up on a second stick-back. As the outside game was faltering,

Perry as a whole fed on second-chance shots. Jalen Walker added two more from

the offensive boards, though this time Northside had an answer from Smith and

steals by Smith and Levine.

To keep the margin at 10, Levine’s assist to Kyle Johnson

matched the connection between J. Davis and K.J. Smith of Perry. Northside

again looked to be well in control with two field goals made by Kennedy, but

perimeter points for the Panthers finally arrived from K.J. Smith’s 3-pointer.

At the 1:04 mark, the Eagle lead was down to five, 76-71, on

driving lay-ups by K.J. Smith and Deonte Soloman. Point guard Kevin Ford also

took the basketball to the rim to draw the fifth foul against Kennedy. There

were 43 seconds on the clock, and Perry only needed a 3 to tie the game.

Thanks to a defensive play from K.J. Smith, the Panthers had

the basketball and 29.5 seconds. Ford grabbed a missed trey and scooped in a

rebound basket for 77-76. K.J. Smith then stole the inbound pass, but a

violation against Perry gave it back to the home team. Levine went to the foul

line for four shots, making two but also getting a clutch defensive boards in

the last four seconds.

Top scorer in the game was Robert Davis with 22 points. He

also had 11 rebounds. Kahlil Williams, a forward in the second unit of Price’s

5-for-5 rotation, scored 12 points. Kyle Johnson had 10 points and at least one

eye-popping assist.

For Perry, K.J. Smith registered 21 points. He started the

game connecting on a 3-ball. Soloman and J. Davis each had 13.

Levine’s assist on the run to R. Davis countered the opening

spurt by Perry. Both Kennedy and Derrick Toliver of Perry blocked shots as both

teams tried to play the full-court game. It was the Eagles slowing the pace

down, getting to the foul line and going ahead 8-5.

Larry Felder jumped off Hardy’s bench and stuck in a short

jumper. Soloman also played a reserve role and sank a corner 3 for 10-8.

Felder’s contributions grew with offensive board work leading to J. Davis’

basket.

Price put his second 5 in and got steals from Willie Jordan

and Darrin Clark. With his theft, Clark had a three-point play to tie the game.

Perry, however, would go on to lead 20-18 after one quarter

on a three-point play by Soloman (off a Felder steal) and Felder’s five points.

The Eagles stayed close on a tip-in from Williams.

If Northside wanted to show patience in the opening period,

that strategy changed in the second. The home team had the first eight points,

but more memorable were blocks by Kennedy and R. Davis. Jarius Smith also had a

steal to get back a block made by Toliver.

The Panthers didn’t get back on the board until 3:17, but

only trailed by four. Williams and Clark doubled that lead before J. Davis

stuck in an offensive board at 1:32. Johnson ran down the clock, then found

Williams for a half-closing field goal and 33-26 Eagle edge.

No matter what Perry could do in the third quarter,

Northside always had an answer in mere seconds. Marquez Thomas beat the

full-court press to score only to see Kennedy get the two back following in his

own miss.

As Greg Smith, another Northside reserve forward, snuck

underneath the goal, Clark found him open to put the Eagles up 11 44-33. Perry

registered the next five with Bagley stealing the ball in the press and Soloman

nailing a 3. Another takeaway followed, but no points.

J. Davis and Williams traded press-break baskets, but Justin

Burnam’s strong move inside gave him a three-point play (51-40). For Burnam, it

was the first of two such combination as he was down the floor seconds after

third-chance make from K.J. Smith. Levine later caused a press turnover and

Johnson score for 54-44.

The hectic pace resulted in eight more in a row by

Northside, six by R. Davis in full showtime mode.

PERRY-NORTHSIDE GIRLS

The offense completely abandoned Perry High’s girls

basketball team in Tuesday’s non-region affair at Northside. The Lady Eagles

and coach Casaundra Wilson won 42-26 with four players scoring eight or more

points.

Aaliya Cheatham of Perry led all scorers with 12. As K.J.

Smith would do for Perry in the boys game, Cheatham was the first to score on a

3 with the assist to Maya Wade from a high screen by Courtney Winston.

The Lady Panthers were in fact handling the trademark

full-court Northside press four of the first four times. Points didn’t follow,

however, and Lady Eagle Tia Williams tied the game from an inbound trey.

Freshman Yoshi Stennett got early time off Perry’s bench and

hit the boards immediately for a three-point play. But two steals from Williams

led to Northside taking the 7-6 lead into the second period.

Perry’s 7-2 opening run had six from Cheatham with a steal and

offensive board. She had help from senior Curshala Riley inside, and the

visitors led 17-9. As the half neared an end, Alexis Ervin had a great steal

from Williams in transition.

The Lady Panthers couldn’t add to the lead from that or

second chances provided by Riley. Williams took advantage of one more chance to

drive, and the Lady Eagles trailed 17-14 at the break.

The home team then took over with a 9-0 run, forward

Sunshine Walton being a major catalyst. McKhaela Witherspoon’s put-back had

Northside ahead for good. Shambria Smith also scored on a long outlet for

26-17. Cheatham ended Perry’s slide on a 3 at 3:47.

Walton slipped in underneath for a stick-back at the

quarter’s end, 29-20 the score.

As the Lady Panthers couldn’t cash in Wade’s steal to begin

the fourth, Smith canned a 3. Witherspoon and Deja Turner scored inside. Aside

from a stick-back by Riley halfway through, Perry had no production.

Smith tallied 10 for the winners and Williams had nine.

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