Panthers whip Indians, remain unbeaten

Northumberland’s Indians entered Charles City’s gym with a particular strategy in mind — control tempo with a 1-3-1 zone defense and prevent the host Panthers from turning the affair into a track meet. And it worked, almost.

The visitors led for most of last Friday’s contest until the final two minutes when the Panthers’ Dominic Jones and Trevor Jones took over at the offensive end. The pair combined to score Charles City final eight points as the Panthers kept their record unblemished at 4-0 with a 59-56 victory.

“This was the first game that we really had to take outside shots,” said Panther coach Sharone Bailey, pointing to the effectiveness of the Indian zone and his team’s less than consistent accuracy from the perimeter.

“With all the guards we have and [Northumberland’s] size, we still couldn’t run,” he said. “Trevor had to step up and play big and we had to play him at center for most of the game.

“And Dominic’s shooting was vital,” the coach added. “He got three threes and that was big for us in helping to break up that zone.”

Neither team shot well from the floor in the first half as the Indians held a 23-21 lead at the break. Action picked up afterward with the visitors mounting as much as a seven-point lead in the third quarter.

But the hosts battled back, regaining the lead at 45-44 early in the final period on Trevor Jones’ conventional three-point play. From there, ties and lead changes occurred until the Panthers surged with under two minutes to go.

Dominic Jones buried the third of his trey trio to overcome Northumberland’s last lead and put his team up 54-52. Trevor Jones followed with a lay-in off a steal and Dominic Jones sank one shot in a double bonus free throw situation to extend the hosts’ advantage to five.

The Indians’ Jalen Conaway cut into the Panther lead with a basket off a drive down the lane, but with one minute to go, Dominic Jones sank both in another double bonus to bump the advantage back to five.

Seconds later, Stone Robinson’s steal and lay-in pulled the visitors back within three and also proved to be the game’s final points. Both teams — Charles City on two more double bonus situations and Northumberland on a pair of trey attempts — missed down the stretch.

“We were focused and we knew what we had to do,” Bailey said. “We’re senior-loaded. It’s the last go-around for some of these guys and they’ve got to do it.”

Trevor Jones finished with a game-high 24 points while Dominic Jones tossed in 12. Avery Jones ended with nine followed by Dominique Williams’ seven, Terrance Banks’ four, and Jared Woodley’s three. Conaway’s 14 points topped Northumberland.

In the preliminary, Charles City elected to play for the final shot after Northumberland created a 40-40 deadlock with one minute to go. The Panthers’ Jaelen Cotman then drove the lane to score with 10 seconds left to hand Charles City a 42-40 win.

Jovan Howard’s 17 points and 14 from Jaelan Williams led Charles City. Cotman scored eight while Daron Jones contributed three and Khiri Wyatt chipped in two.