Panthers fatigue, free throws halt comeback bid

Charles City's Kyle Jones attempts to drive by King William's Todd Braxton.

Andre' Jones photo

Trailing by 12 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Charles City’s Panthers whittled the margin of the invading King William Cavaliers down to a mere point with 3:38 left remaining in the game.

But missed free throws and fatigue during the remaining time plagued the hosts as the visiting Cavaliers escaped with a 62-56 win over the Panthers during the Jan. 14 contest.

Playing their fourth game in five days, the hosts got off to a sluggish start, remaining scoreless until the 2:50 mark of the first quarter when Antonio Harris’ putback changed the zero on the scoreboard. King William didn’t fare much better, scoring only five points during the Panthers’ scoring drought, but doing just enough to maintain an 11-8 lead after one frame. The lead would eventually grow to nine points (28-19) by halftime.

With players noticeably tired and the hosts trailing by 15 midway in the third, Panther head coach Aaron Dodge reached deep into his bench. The move reaped benefits, as Michael Callahan’s three sparked a 7-0 run for the hosts to cut King William’s lead to single digits (38-30). However, the Cavaliers were able to withstand the rally and return the lead to 10 (44-34) heading into the final frame.

After the lead reached its greatest for the visitors on Jordan Bing’s lay-up (46-34), the Panthers clawed slowly back into the game. With 5:08 showing on the game clock and trailing 53-42, Harris converted a floater in the lane that was followed by a Thomas Kelly lay-up from Jestin Harris’ assist to slice the Cavalier lead to seven. Gavin Cotman powered in a close range shot that was joined by a solo free throw from Craig McElroy and a pair from Antonio Harris and the Panthers were within two (53-51), thanks to a 9-0 run within a minute and a half time span.

Charles City’s ramped up defense forced King William to turn the ball over and immediately foul Panthers as Cavalier players attempted to recover the ball for possession. However, the Panthers’ woes at the free throw line amplified, as Jestin Harris missed the front end of a one-and-one and McElroy sank the second of two to squeeze the lead to 53-52 for the guests.

But that would be as close as it would get, as on the next trip down, Bing would have an easy stickback from a teammate’s miss and Derrick Spurlock’s three-pointer in front of his team’s bench returned the lead to six (58-52). Dylan Leach converted a wide open lay-up to increase the margin to eight. The Panthers missed four additional free throws down the stretch and failed to get any closer than four as the Cavaliers escaped with the victory.

After the game, Dodge spoke about the fatigue his team was suffering, coming off a loss to an up-tempo Franklin Bronco team the night before.

“This was our fourth game in five days and our legs got us,” he said. “We knew we would need legs tonight and I thought substituting early on would give us those legs in the final quarter.

“Unfortunately, what I hope wouldn’t happened did happen in the fourth quarter,” Dodge continued, speaking of the collapse in the final quarter, specifically the free throw line. “We were a step slow and a step behind tonight.”

Charles City finished 15 of 29 at the free throw line, just over the 50 percent barrier. King William only took seven attempts, sinking four.

Antonio Harris once again garnered game high honors for Charles City (2-12) with 22 points. Kelly and Gavin Cotman pumped in seven, Jestin Harris added six, Callahan and McElroy tossed in four apiece, and James Adkins, Noah Ragland, and Jordan Bradby each contributed two.

Leach led King William with 17 points.