Perry runs out of juice in failed comeback against Northside

PERRY — Perry (3-7) couldn’t withstand Northside’s (8-3) six first-half threes that put the Eagles ahead by as many as 16 points in a 59-45 final in The Pit.

Mekei Spencer, Vontrez Quainton and Jaydin Howell each scored at least five points in the first quarter to take a 20-10 lead that soon grew to 15 with 6:41 left. Quainton and Howell each hit another three-pointer and Bryson Springle added one to the mix to give the Eagles a 37-23 halftime lead.

At that point it looked like Northside might run away with the final county rivalry game of 2025, but the heat cooled down a little and Perry managed to get back into it.

Sophomore guard Kam Thomas finished a tough layup in traffic in the middle of a 7-0 Panthers run at the beginning of the third quarter — the closest they got for the remainder of the game.

They went back and forth cutting the lead to single digits only for Northside to push it back to double digits. One of the things that kept Perry out of the game was their performance at the free throw line.

“We were pathetic from the free throw line. Just a lack of concentration, or confidence, or a combination of the two,” Panthers head coach Mark Gainous said. “If we make our free throws it would probably be a one possession game down the stretch…8-for-22 with probably 25 turnovers, it’s not gonna win a game against a good team.”

The Eagles grew their lead to 48-38 with 5:03 to play, and from there they outscored the Panthers 11-7.

“They’re well coached. Got one of the better coaches in [Georgia], Buck Harris, and we dug ourselves a hole,” Gainous said. “I think they hit three or four threes off [of] turnovers. We were down 20, I think we were down 14 then it got to seven, and we just didn’t have enough juice to finish the game…Once we get everybody back and healthy, we got a chance to have a good team.”

Thomas highlighted the night with a team-high 16 points and was consistently Perry’s driving threat. He handled the ball better than he did during the Screamin’ Demon Invitational, too, such are the ebbs and flows of a young guard according to Gainous.

“As a sophomore starting on the team, being probably our best overall ball handler, he’s doing a good job,” Gainous said. “But it’s just ebbs and flows of a young player. But we’re gonna stick with him and he’ll end up being a really good player for us.”

UP NEXT

Perry will take a few days off before hitting the hardwood against against Dooly County on Friday, Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in The Pit.

Northside will be back in action in less than 24 hours as they host Northside-Columbus on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 4:30 p.m.