Poor shooting, rebounding ousts Charles City from conference tournament

A battle under the boards for a rebound goes for naught as the ball eludes (l to r) Charles City's Michael Callahan, K&Q's Kalyle Holmes, Charles City's Tyler Allen, and K&Q's Paul Lewis.

Alan Chamberlain photo

Inability to sink shots and grab rebounds proved to be Charles City’s undoing in the host Panthers’ quest to advance in the Conference 42 basketball tournament. King & Queen’s visiting Tigers used an advantage on the boards coupled with Charles City’s inaccuracy from the floor to post a 57-33 victory and end the Panthers’ season in Tuesday night’s opening round.

On paper, the contest stacked up as an even match between number four and five seeds. Charles City, seeded fourth, entered with a 2-19 record. Number five King & Queen, meanwhile, came in slightly better at 4-18. The teams split two meetings during the regular season.

Home court advantage, however, did not play into the Panthers’ hands. The hosts shot a miserable 19 percent (11-for-58) from the floor and hauled down just 22 rebounds to the Tigers’ 61.

“We couldn’t make shots,” said Panther coach Cullen Jenkins. “If we don’t make our jump shots, it’s going to be a struggle. We’ve got to make perimeter shots to be successful since that opens the middle for us, but tonight nothing dropped.”

Charles City’s Conner Robbins buried a three to answer the Tigers’ game-opening trey. Seconds later, Tyler Allen had his shot in the lane blocked, but he recovered for a stick-back to put the Panthers up 5-3. Unfortunately for the hosts, it would be their only lead of the night.

King & Queen finished the first quarter on an 8-0 run. Over the same span, the Panthers missed 12 straight shots from the floor. Ten were of the one-and-done variety, meaning no offensive rebounds for second chance opportunities.

“We had great looks, and those are the shots we want against their 2-3 zone,” Jenkins said. “We have to make those 15-footers, and if it doesn’t go down, it doesn’t go down.”

But capitalizing on the Tigers’ penchant for turning the ball over (31 times for the game), Charles City battled back with driving lay-ups from Kyle Jones (twice) and Jaquane Wyatt. Trae Kelly’s three from beyond the key just over five minutes from halftime pulled the hosts within one at 16-15.

By the time the hosts cut the deficit to one, Jones already had incurred two early fouls. And when the Panthers’ leading scorer made contact as the Tigers’ Paul Lewis tried to score in the lane with 4:40 left, he drew his third. A subsequent comment uttered within earshot of an official led to a technical foul that translated into personal number four.

Jones spent the remainder of the first half on the bench. Although he avoided disqualification after the break, foul trouble curbed his effectiveness at both the offensive and defensive ends.

King & Queen, meanwhile, surged again, ending the half on an 11-3 run for a 27-18 lead at the break.

“We went small, trying to get some decent shooters in there,” Jenkins said concerning Jones’ departure.

But the Tigers opened the third quarter on another run, this time 10-2 to begin to put the contest out of reach. Early in the final period, the visitors’ advantage reached 20.

Noah Ragland’s nine points led the 2-20 Panthers while Jones was limited to four. Rayshawn Shine also finished with four followed by three each from Kelly and Robbins and two apiece from Allen, Wyatt, Jestin Harris, Brian Hicks, and Branden Vaden. King & Queen’s Alex Holmes tossed in a game-high 21.

“We played hard, and our effort is always great,” Jenkins said, heaping praise on his players. “I’ve been proud of them every single game, and I’m proud to coach them.”