By Justin Fedich | The Selma Times-Journal

The Southside Panthers aren’t the Harlem Globetrotters, but they sure looked like it while Kenzavin Andrews was pitching three straight dunks to Charles Price in the second quarter.

Southside (3-0) had control from tip to buzzer in a 68-39 home blowout over Dallas County (1-1) Friday at Southside. The building was rocking, the players were going airborne and the backboard was shaking as the Panthers put on a dunking show in the first half to earn their first win over Dallas County since 2011.

“After a few dunks here and there, that gets your momentum going,” said Southside head coach Cedric Brown. “We got on a roll after those dunks and the guys just continued to play harder and harder throughout the game. They never let up.”

Southside jumped out to a 7-2 lead when Andrews threw his first of four alley-oops to Price. Kentavius Page sunk a 3-pointer and Lee Underwood hit two straight layups.

“Once we got down, we kind of stayed down because we’ve got guys with inexperience and have never been in that situation before,” said Dallas County head coach Willie Moore.

The Panthers put the game away in the first quarter. Khamari Gibbs spun around a defender for a two-point shot to take an 18-6 lead. De’Quan Johnson juked out multiple defenders to break to the basket and put Southside up 22-6.

To top it off, Page drained his second 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to put the Panthers up 25-7.

Johnson opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer. The next three scores got the crowd jumping and hollering. Price slammed down three consecutive Page feeds to push Southside ahead 34-7.

Johnson scored eight of Southside’s next nine points, nearly all in a different way. He had two layups, a tip-in and a dunk during the stretch to give the Panthers a 43-13 halftime lead. Johnson led all scorers with 21 points.

Price showed he’s not just good for dunking, as he drained a 3-pointer just 10 seconds into the second half. Dallas County still managed to outscore Southside 18-13 in the second half, with help from Andre Hall, who led the Hornets with 22 points.

The fourth quarter was just a formality as Southside took back control of the rivalry with an emphatic 29-point victory.

Brown isn’t satisfied just yet.

“I think they have more to give us,” Brown said.

“They have more than what they’re giving right now.”

 

Southside 44, 

Dallas County 30 (girls)

With less than a minute left in the third quarter, Dallas County was making a run for the lead after trailing Southside the entire game. Southside’s Christina Watts squared up, hit a 3-pointer, and created a gap too big for the Hornets to overcome.

The Panthers (1-2) defeated Dallas County (0-2) 44-30 off a strong first half and the ability to hold off a Hornets’ comeback in the third quarter.

“They were ready for a win,” said Southside head coach Kayla Mason. “They really wanted it, and I could see it when they came out and played tonight.”

The Hornets committed four turnovers within the first three minutes, allowing the Panthers to jump out to an early lead. Kionah Page hit on two straight layups to put the Panthers up 5-0.

Watts added a three-point play in the first quarter to put the Panthers up 9-2.

Page played multiple roles for the Panthers Friday.

She had a stretch during the second quarter where she pulled down three rebounds, scored a two-point shot and then assisted on an Antonyah Dudley layup to go up 15-7. Southside led 21-10 at halftime.

Southside went to the foul line often in the second half, and knocked down enough shots to keep a comfortable lead.

“I really think that being able to hit those free throws when we were in the double bonus is the reason why we got up like we did,” Mason said.

Dallas County narrowed the deficit to 30-23 in the third quarter, but Watts connected on a 3-pointer to go up 33-23 with under a minute remaining in the third quarter.

Leading by nine at the end of the third quarter, Southside held enough of a lead to hold off Dallas County in the fourth quarter to earn its first win of the season.

“I’m proud of the effort we gave,” said Dallas County head coach Charles Thompson. “I just hope that we can use it as a learning tool moving forward.”

Southside is at Selma Wednesday for the Selma tournament. Dallas County hosts Keith Dec. 7.