Panthers’ offense no-shows as Mathews coasts to win

Charles City's Charles Brown (11) braces to take the charge against Mathews' Stuart Anderson as teammate Ray Crump (2) assists on the stop.

Andre' Jones photo

With nearly a week between contests, Charles City head coach Wayne Keys hoped the extra practice time provided the spark and energy for the team to come out and perform well in Friday night’s matchup against Mathews. Instead, the Panthers’ effort on offense was simply offensive.

Knocking down only one field goal in the first half and seven for the entire contest, Charles City no-showed in the scoring column as the visiting Blue Devils posted a 59-27 victory.

Kyle Jones’ lay-in at the 6:56 mark of the opening quarter knotted the game at two apiece for the Panthers. But the next 12 minutes on offense for the hosts resulted in 16 consecutive misses from the floor, nine turnovers, and seven clanks from the charity stripe.

Meanwhile, Mathews pulled away behind the leadership of All-Conference 42 returnee Stuart Anderson in the first half. Anderson scored 12 points of the Blue Devils 19-0 run to give the guests a comfortable 21-2 advantage. RaShawn Shine’s free throw at the 3:27 mark of the second quarter snapped the scoring drought, but all six points by the Panthers came from the foul line for the remainder of the half as Mathews took a 24-9 lead into halftime.

Ray Crump’s jumper that bounced off the rim and top of the backboard before falling through the net at the 5:07 mark accounted for Charles City’s first bucket from the floor since the first quarter. But the hosts were outscored 17-4 in the third quarter and trailed by 28 heading into the final frame (41-13).

Justin Thomas’ lay-in coupled with a Justis Crawley sideline jumper and Crump’s three-pointer highlighted the positive attack on offense to start the fourth quarter. But the visitors were unimpressed, countering with a 12-2 run to seal the contest.

Keys had high hopes in believing the Panthers would put on a stronger effort in the Conference 42 matchup.

“We had good practices this week and I thought we would do well tonight,” said the disappointed coach. “I thought they were ready to play tonight.

“There was no energy tonight and we shot so poorly,” Keys continued. “When you have no energy and no effort, you’re not going to win. All we can do now is hope to bounce back.”

Crump’s 11 led the Panthers, who remain winless at 0-4 on the year. Jones scored six, Shine and Charles Brown each contributed three, while Thomas and Crawley chipped in with two.

Mathews received a game high 20 points from Anderson, who led all scorers.