Seniors lift Panthers to win over King & Queen in home finale

Charles City's Deshaun Greene launches a three-pointer at the beginning of the second quarter.

Robb Johnson photo

Charles City’s Panthers entered the Feb. 8 Senior Night contest against the visiting King & Queen Tigers looking for momentum to carry into the postseason. And it was the Class of 2024 who put out the offensive firepower that continued to carry the Panthers in the right direction.

Behind a combined 54 points from seniors Jonlei Coles, Taylor Bey, and Deshaun Greene, Charles City emerged with a 67-58 victory over the King & Queen Tigers in a game where the score was closer than the actual contest.

From the get-go, Charles City used three trifectas from Coles and one from Greene to jump out to a 16-10 first quarter lead. Coles’ hot hand continued to power the Panthers in the second, with his basket-and-one conversion leading to a 23-14 lead. However, the visitors wouldn’t fade away so quickly as Gerald Hill used seven second quarter points to keep the visitors within striking distance, as the Tigers trailed by four (32-28) heading into the halftime intermission.

But from there, Charles City’s pressure ramped up as Bey stepped up in the third quarter. The hosts outscored King & Queen 22-6 in the third, with Bey accounting for 11 of those points. From there, Charles City withstood the last push from the visitors as they went on to win the game.

Coles’ 35 points were the game high for Charles City (9-12) in the scoring column. Bey also finished in double figures with 13, Greene and Shane Jones added six apiece, Ya’zon Jones tossed in five, and Sherod Barnes chipped in with two.