Buzzkill: Yellow Jackets late runs spoil Charles City Senior Night

Charles City's DeAndre' Gardner (right) unleashes a hook shot over Northampton's Trequan Spady.

Andre' Jones photo

There’s something about facing a team from the Eastern Shore and the fourth quarter that just doesn’t sit well with Charles City’s Panthers.

That sentiment was echoed by Panthers’ head coach VaShaun Otey as he watched a competitive contest that consisted of 21 lead changes and six ties get out of hand in the final quarter as Northampton’s Yellow Jackets emerged with an 83-72 victory to spoil Jan. 26 Senior Night festivities.

Action rallied back and forth in the first quarter as neither team could create any space from the other. It was a lay-up by Charles City’s Justis Crawley that bestowed a 21-20 lead to the hosts at the end of the first quarter.

The ping-pong like exchange continued in the second quarter. A jumper by Northampton’s Vonte Coston provided a temporary four-point cushion (28-24) for the visitors. But Charles City answered quickly, with baskets by frontcourt teammates Leo Charity and Davon Johnson to tie the game. The Yellow Jackets built the lead back to three once again, but another basket by Davon Johnson with three seconds remaining in the half cut the visitors’ advantage to a single point (36-35) headlining into the halftime intermission.

Panther guard Justis Crawley’s scoop shot to open the third provided the Panthers its first lead since the end of the first quarter. But from there, the teams continued to exchange scores. After Crawley’s lay-up knotted the score at 45 apiece, Northampton made its first move to distance themselves from the hosts.

A lay-up plus two free throws from Sheldon Payne along with a tip-in from Jerron Jenkins created a quick 6-0 spurt for Northampton. After Charles City’s Davon Johnson and Devonte Johnson converted back-to-back lay-ins, Jenkins’ capitalized with a traditional three-point play. Payne’s lay-in appeared to be a driving stake to finish the third quarter up by seven, but Panther senior Davon Johnson bounced back with his own three-point play to keep the hosts within striking distance heading into the final quarter (56-52).

But the light bulb on the scoreboard to indicate the fourth quarter could have signaled dismay for Charles City. Northampton opened with a 9-0 run to earn its first double-digit lead in the contest (63-52). Another 7-0 run provided the visitors with its largest lead of the night (72-56). The deficit would never return to single digits as the Yellow Jackets sealed the victory.

Otey said that his team’s energy level coming out of halftime was not what he desired.

“We have been having letdowns in the third quarter,” the disappointed said. “We had no energy and that’s when teams get up on you.

“We got too far behind,” Otey added, emphasizing Northampton’s runs that ended the third and began the fourth quarter. “This is learning, and we need to learn how to be consistent.”

Charles City (1-12) saw the quartet of Davon Johnson, Devonte Johnson, Charity, and Crawley all finish with a dozen points. Steven Trull scored six, while brother Kobie Trull and Jawuan Bowman added five apiece, and the group of DeAndre’ Gardner, Saquan Bradby, Tanner Grubbs, and Christian Stewart all finished with two each.

Coston’s game-high of 21 points led four Northampton players who finished in double-figures.