Charles City’s season ends in Region A quarterfinals

Chesterfield’s Javi Clanton is fouled from behind by Charles City’s Jaelen Williams as Ryan Jones (left) and Avery Jones (right) look on.

Andre' Jones photo

It’s hard to defeat an opponent three times in a season, albeit a district foe. But Charles City’s Panthers not only had to face Chesterfield Community’s Eagles for a fourth time (twice within a week), but Murphy’s Law on if something can go wrong, it probably will was in full effect.

The host Panthers shot a dismal 24 percent from the floor while the visiting Eagles did just enough at the charity stripe. The fifth-seeded Eagles defeated fourth-seeded Panthers 66-61 in the first round of the Region A, Division 1 playoffs on Feb. 20.

After defeating the Eagles in the first round of the Tri-Rivers District tournament a week earlier, the Panthers took control early on, thanks to the presence of senior Avery Jones. Jones scored the first eight points for his team as the Panthers jumped out to an early 8-2 lead.

The visitors survived the rally, and countered with a duo of Davises– Trae and Antonio. Trae would score five points while Antonio would add two within a three-minute span to knot the score at 11 apiece heading into quarter two.

Both teams played evenly up until the 2:40 mark when the turning point and momentum shifted in favor of the visitors. With the scoreboard knotted at 22 apiece, Charles City committed four consecutive turnovers, leading to an 8-0 Eagle run. Charles City ended the run when leading scorer Antonio Harris converted two shots from the stripe along with a lay-up off a Jovan Howard assist just before the halftime buzzer to cut the lead in half (30-26) at the break.

The Panthers gradually ate into the lead and narrowed the margin to one on a Gavin Cotman jumper from inside the corner (35-34). But Antonio Davis dropped in the next seven points to close out the quarter for the guests and give them a 42-34 lead.

The Eagles took their first double digit lead of the night (50-38) with 5:23 left in the game. Every attempt that the host Panthers made was thwarted thanks to free throws by Antonio Davis, or teammate Jordan Wilkins.

Harris’ lay-up and free throw conversion narrowed the gap to 63-58 with 40.8 seconds remaining in the game. Jones nailed a three-pointer with 10.8 left, but the host never got closer.

The victory for Chesterfield Community [14-12] not only avenged the previous week’s loss, but evened the season series at two apiece. Unfortunately for the hosts, it was also an elimination game that ended their season at a disappointing 15-11 and thwarted a second consecutive appearance in the state tournament.

“We couldn’t get out and run,” said Charles City coach Sharone Bailey. “We missed a lot of lay-ups and they did a good job getting back on defense.

“We had bad passes and they did a job anticipating where our passes were going,” he continued. “Tonight, we played down to their level and they made us do something we’re not accustomed to doing, and that’s playing from the inside and out.”

With the season over, Bailey knows that the upcoming offseason and future of the program will be receiving a significant makeover.

“I am losing nine great seniors who have given me four great years,” the coach said. “They are good and respectful young men who have contributed to this program. Now, we have to get our JV players to step up and come back hungry next year.”

The Panthers return Harris, their leading scorer and first team All-Tri-Rivers. Gavin Cotman will also be a significant returner as he started the majority of games during the second half of the season.

Harris led the Panthers with a game-high 25 points while Avery Jones finished in double figures with 17. Jaelan Cotman scored six, while Jovan Howard and JeQuan Carroll dropped in three apiece. Gavin Cotman and Daron Jones added two, and Jaelen Williams chipped in with one.