Consecutive dunks by Dexter Hatcher and Michael Griffin in the second quarter Saturday gave Selma the lead for good and all the momentum they needed to beat rival Southside.

The Saints controlled the second half to beat the Panthers 47-40 in what was technically a Southside home game, although it was played at Selma High School.

“We needed that momentum push,” Selma head coach Woodie Jackson said of the dunks. “We played very methodical tonight and real sloppy… We just weren’t focused. I don’t know if they called themselves thinking we could defeat them, but every time you play a county rival it doesn’t matter what the situation is.”

Selma won the first meeting between the two schools 64-39, but found it wasn’t as easy this time around.  The upset-minded Panthers came out on fire. Behind an early barrage of threes, Southside led 17-8 in the first quarter.

Selma responded with a full court press defense, which slowed the Panthers and forced a couple of turnovers that allowed the Saints to chip away at the lead.

Hatcher’s dunk with just under two minutes left in the first half gave Selma its first lead since the opening minutes at 24-23. Griffin’s dunk seconds later ignited the crowd and Aderick Moore’s layup forced Southside coach Cedric Brown to burn a timeout to end the run.

“That one run really hurt us because of the simple fact that we were one shot and done,” Brown said.

“Before that, we were making shots. Like I told the guys, if you are one pass, one shot and done, that leads to transition buckets.”

Selma took its largest lead of the game at 42-29 on a Griffin dunk with a 4:05 left to play in the fourth quarter. The Panthers responded with an 8-0 run keyed by Jhalandius Sullivan, who sliced through the Saints’ defense for two layups. The Panthers got as close as 43-40 with 13.9 seconds left, but Moore’s free throws with 11.9 seconds left shut the door on Southside’s comeback attempt.

The game was rescheduled and moved from Southside High to Selma High last week as a precautionary measure following comments on social media and other events in the community.

“This was only done because of the need, and we didn’t mind doing it because of the situation,” Jackson said. “It was just like in any athletic game, time and situation. This time it was the situation to do this.”

Griffin led the Saints with 15 points.

Selma will host Demopolis Monday in the Saints final regular season game of the year. Southside will play Monroe County at Thomasville Thursday at 7 p.m.

 

Selma 45, 

Southside 13 (Girls)

Coming off of a hard fought, one-point loss to Wilcox Central Friday night, it was important for the Selma Lady Saints to get back on track Saturday against rival Southside. Mission accomplished.

The Lady Saints jumped out to a 30-2 halftime lead and held pace for a 45-13 victory. Seven Selma players scored, with Jamya Smith leading the way with 15 points.

“You are fixing to go into the playoffs, so you have to redeem yourself for [Friday],” Selma head coach Anthony Harris said. “We didn’t score as much in the third quarter, but we put the game away real early. We had a chance to play everybody.”

The Lady Saints had to bounce back quickly following Friday night’s loss to the Jaguars, where a late double-digit lead turned into a gut-wrenching loss. Harris said it probably served as a wake-up call to his team with the playoffs about to tip off.

The Lady Saints will play Demopolis Monday before hosting the class 6A, area 6 tournament Wednesday.

Selma will take on Chilton County in the first round of the area tournament.