Charles City defense keys win over Surry

Panther Daron Jones rejects a shot by Surry’s Dontrae Lyttle as teammate Antonio Harris looks on.

Andre' Jones photo

Overcoming missed scoring opportunities and a horrible shooting night from the floor, Charles City Panthers used defense to stifle the invading Surry Cougars 54-41 in Tri-Rivers District basketball.

Early in the Dec. 14 contest, the Panthers used their size advantage and crashed the boards for easy scores. Reserve Gavin Cotman’s lay-up at the end of the opening quarter would spark an 8-0 run that lasted into the next quarter for the hosts who jumped out to a seven point lead (16-9). With the hosts unable to score buckets, the Cougars gradually ate into the Panther lead, narrowing the margin to 23-20 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Surry’s Dontrae’ Lyttle buried a jumper to tie the game at 24 apiece with seven minutes remaining. But Charles City initiated its strongest offense attack of the night. Antonio Harris’ lay-up sparked a 10-0 run for the homestanding Panthers that saw Avery Jones score five straight points along with a pair of Cotman free throws to push the lead to 34-24.

Surry responded immediately, as Derrick Bailey would hit a trifecta from the wing and add a lay-up to cut the lead to 34-29. That lead would be temporary, as it dwindled to one after a Timothy Marsh three-pointer and a Trenel Johnson free throw. Marsh’s lay-up gave the Cougars a 37-36 lead with 44 seconds remaining to cap off a 13-2 run.

The hosts answered the Surry run. Free throws from Harris and Cotman returned the lead to the Panthers. Cotman followed that with a corner jumper just inside the three-point arc and Daron Jones scored on a lay-up for a 7-0 run.

The Panthers’ man-to-man defense took over the game, not allowing the Cougars to score from the floor in the fourth quarter, and allowing only four free throws as for the visitors’ remaining points in the game. The hosts garnered more scores in the final frame, out-scoring their counterparts 18-4 to earn a second consecutive victory.

After the game, Charles City head coach Sharone Bailey commented on the lackluster offensive performance displayed by his team.

“We shot horribly from the floor,” he said, mentioning a 17 percent field goal percentage. “In the first half we made one three-pointer out of 11 attempts and shot 21 percent from the floor.

“What saved us tonight is that we played good defense and we shot our best free throw percentage,” he added.

Charles City went 27 for 40 from the charity stripe, amassing a 68 percent clip. By contrast, Surry went 11 for 21, barely eclipsing the 50 percent mark.

“We lost sight of the shooter in the third quarter during the run,” Bailey continued. “We made the decision to run more man and that helped us pull away.”

Harris scored 16 points and Avery Jones added 13 to lead Charles City (4-3, 2-0 Tri-Rivers) in scoring. Gavin Cotman added nine while Jaelan Cotman contributed seven, Daron Jones five, Thomas Kelly three, and Jovan Howard one.

Surry (1-5, 0-2) placed three players in double figures as Lyttle scored 13, and Marsh and Bailey both scored 11.

In the JV contest, the visitors jumped out to a double digit lead and never relinquished it as Surry topped Charles City 54-32.

Brian Hicks paced the Panthers with seven points followed by six each from Michael Callahan, Noah Ragland, and Jaquane Wyatt, four from Jesse Bradby, Charles Vaden’s two, and Mason Jefferson’s one.