Tournaments emblazoned the basketball landscape this past
weekend.
The Derby City Classic in
the court in both the 17 and 15 age bracket with solid results.
Pool play began with a sweet 74-45 victory over the SC
Elite. The "Summer of Holt", Terry Holt (
rising senior again took scoring honors with 25 in the opening game victory. Kin Webster (
added 12 and Jacob McCullough (
with 10.
Holt was too much to handle as the Panthers needed everyone
of his 46 markers to slide past the Illinois Warriors 76-73. Webster chipped in
with 10 points and 7 boards as the Panthers finished 2-0 in pool play and
advanced to the gold bracket. McCullough and Ty Chilcutt (Station Camp) played solid in the big victory.
Bracket play brought stiffer competition as the Panthers
couldn't find their way and fell to the Illinois Jets 68-55. Holt again was the
scoring leader with 23.
A slow start spelled doom against one of the myriad of
Spiece Basketball incarnations as the Panthers trailed 47-21 at the half and
despite rallying in the second stanza closed the gap considerably falling
66-62. Holt and Webster scored 16 and 15 respectively, all in the second half.
McCullough added 11 while Josh Brewer
(Beech) and Patrick Smith (
in with 8 apiece.
Coaches lauded the play of point man Devin Pitts (Antoich); as well as, Malik Harris (
Clary (
Despite a slow start the 15 and Under Tennessee Panthers
rallied the troops and finished the Classic 3-1 with several signature wins for
their burgeoning resume.
Turnovers put the Panthers behind the eight ball but a
second half surge left the final outcome respectable against Mokan Elite. Lyndell Wilson (
Next on the docket were the well known Mac Irvin Fire from
the break, the Panthers cut the deficit to 2 before a timely steal from Roderic Scott (
led to a deep three from Austin
Douglas (
Panthers never looked back taking the game to the tune of 66-64. Douglas wore
the scoring crown with 13, Scott added 11 while Preston Brown (
nailed a double/double with 10 points and 11 caroms.
Momentum propelled the Panthers past the Illinois Bears
78-67. Leading the charge were Tavares
Hailey (MLK) with 15 and Scott with 14. Austin Kirby (Station Camp) finished with 11 in the win.
Winning seemed to be contagious as another close call netted
a victory to the tune of 85-83 over the Illinois Elite.
was a monster with a tournament high 24 points and still found time to snatch
10 boards. Hailey added 11 and the Panthers finished the tourney 3-1 with
confidence and beaming for their next event.
Coaches lauded the efforts of John Pettway (
(Homeschool), Jake West (
and Trent Griffin (PJPII).
