Hills Academy edges Perry at the buzzer in first game of Screamin’ Demon Invitational

WARNER ROBINS — The Screamin’ Demon Invitational at Warner Robins High School opened with a close one as the Hills Academy Knights (8-0) edged the Perry Panthers (1-6) in a 69-67 final decided at the buzzer.

Knights junior Tynor Parker found himself with the ball and an open lane to the basket with under five seconds to play in Friday’s contest. His first shot was no good off of front rim, but he grabbed his own miss and put the next one on the glass, which fell through the net as the buzzer sounded.

That put the Panthers on the wrong end of another close game, which is at the very least an improvement from last season.

“The biggest thing we’ve been talking about is just being unselfish, sharing the ball,” Perry head coach Mark Gainous said. “The chemistry’s not there yet for us to be a good team. [Hills Academy] had good guards, but we just hadn’t gelled yet.”

That lack of chemistry showed in the inconsistency that plagued the Panthers’ night.

They put on a 19-5 run from the 3:19 mark in the third quarter to 4:50 in the fourth to take a 61-56 lead.

“[We] actually shared the ball. When we share it we’re pretty good. When we don’t, we’re bad,” Gainous said. “We got to share the ball. Two guys are happy when we get an assist and a score versus one guy just trying to pull up and do it by themselves playing hero ball.”

But from there the inconsistency returned.

Perry’s main issue was turnovers, giving Hills Academy plenty of opportunities to get behind the defense in transition. Overall the Panthers did a good job getting back off of rebounds or missed shots. But the takeaways cut the number of Perry transition defenders in half and made a path to the rim much clearer.

The defensive glass in particular was also a problem area for stretches. The Knights got two, sometimes three extra opportunities to score which greatly reduced the Panthers’ chance to build a sizable lead.

One positive on the night was Earl Harrison, who anchored the interior defense and rebounding effort. Perry has a solid group of bigs who have their own strengths and weaknesses, but Harrison was consistently a net positive for Perry.

“He’s been probably our most valuable player because he can play multiple positions,” Gainous said. “Defensively and just awareness and all that stuff, he’s probably the best player we got.”

Hills Academy wasn’t without their fair share of troubles, though.

The Knights’ problem was three-point volume. They settled early and often in the shot clock, abandoning any real offense after a circuit of passes or failed drive to the hoop. Despite getting some open looks they were never able to hit many.

Hills Academy was most successful going to the basket, which is what kicked off their run at the end of the second quarter.

The Panthers led 24-23 with 4:05 to play in the first half, but from there the Knights took a three-point halftime advantage with a 12-8 run.

They scored on back-to-back possessions in transition and then hit a rare triple before Perry stopped the bleeding and answered with some scores of their own.

The Panthers trailed by three at the end of the second and third quarter, and despite sophomore Kam Thomas giving them hope by tying the game with under five seconds to go, Hills Academy broke their hearts at the buzzer.

“Until we start playing as a team and the players take accountability for how they play, we’re not going to be very successful,” Gainous said.

UP NEXT

Perry and Hills Academy will both return to the Screamin’ Demon Invitational on Saturday. The Panthers will face Central-Macon at 1:30 p.m. and the Knights will play Harris County at 12 p.m.