Southside came out of the gate strong Saturday evening hosting Francis Marion.

Midway through the second quarter, though they went suddenly cold.

After a a 9-2 Panther run increased the lead to 29-15, the Rams found their game.

Woodie Jackson’s team scored 11-straight to before going into the half.

Then jumped out to lead early in the third.

The Rams took control over the end of the second and start of the third with a 26-6 run.

Francis Marion extended the lead to double digits, then held off a furious Southside rally to take the win, 61-58

Jeremy Arrington led the Rams’ charge with 20 points.

Do-it-all wing man Julius Allgood finished with 15 points.

Dwayne Woods also finished in double digits with 11 points.

Blaine Tindull added 4 points, Brently Wright had 3 points and Courtney Sewell and Clarence Allgood had 2 points each.

For Southside and coach Velton Robinson, there were a lot of positives to take out of the game.

Because of the school’s football season running so long, Robinson only had his players for a handful of days.

They struggled from the line, missing 12 of 19 tries, but they hustled and hit the boards.

Despite all the problems, they still were firing at the basket for a potential game-tying score at the buzzer.

Jeffrey Anderson excelled in the post for Southside.

He muscled, spun and worked his way to 28 points.

Despite Anderson strong numbers, it could have even been better.

The football player has only had three days of practice with the basketball team and it showed at times.

In addition to Anderson’s 28, Jermarcus Hardy had 11 points. Travis Shine and Antwuan McGhee had 6 each. D. Williams had 5 points and DeAndre Miller and Darryl Watts finished with 2 points each.

Southside came out on fire.

McGhee got loose inside for a qucik bucket, then after two J. Allgood free throws, Williams got a put back.

Hardy drilled his

first three of the night and Southside was off and rolling.

They controleed the tempo throughout the first quarter and took a 20-13 lead in the break.

A Watts steal and lay-up started another run.

Another Hardy three put Southside up 29-15.

But Marion responded.

After a free throw, Tindull knifed to the basket for a hoop and the foul.

He missed the free throw, but J. Allgood was johnny-on-the-spot with the rebound.

His fade-away jumper counted and the lead was down to 29-20.

Woods’ steal and buzzer-beating lay-up cut the lead to 29-26 at the half.

Francis Marion pushed the lead to double-digits before Anderson led a furious comeback for the Panthers.

They cut the lead to just two points, but couldn’t get any closer.

A long 3-pointer with under 10 seconds from Hardy was just short and Marion held on for the win.

Girls:

Francis Marion – 65

Southside – 46

A close game late in the second half, Francis Marion blew the game open with a 9-point run into the break.

The Lady Rams never looked back as they picked up the Saturday night win on the road at Southside, 65-46.

Qwenisha Arrington led the Lady Rams with 24 points.

Kristen Lipscomb added 10 points for Francis Marion.

Cheryl Wagner and Trevica Nevels had 9 points each.

Angelica Trimble scored 6 points while Gwen Edwards had 4 points.

Jaleesa Jackson scored 2 points in the winning effort.

For the Lady Panthers, who regain their composure in the second half and fought back, Antrika Williams led with 17 points.

Markesh Towns added 13 points.

Kendra Marzette had 8.

Demetrus Shelton had 4 points and Katricia Brown scored 2 points for the Lady Panthers.

With a 22-21 lead and four minutes left in the half, the Rams found their spark and it was the play of Arrington.

Francis Marion rattled off 9-straight and took a 31-21 lead into the break.

The run seemed to suck all the wind out of the Lady Panthers sails, at least for awhile.

The lead grew to 53-34 before the Lady Panthers began to climb back.

Towns scored inside, but Lipscomb got her own miss and scored to answer for the Lady Rams.

Towns got a point back at the charity stripe, but Arrington stole the ball and hit Trimble for an easy two and a 57-37 lead.

Towns scored inside again, then muscled inside for a basket and a foul.

The free throw cut the lead to 57-42.

Lipscomb got a lay-up for Francis Marion, but Williams got a couple of quick buckets for the Panthers to cut the lead to 59-46.

Francis Marion closed the night out with 5 straight points to provide the final margin of victory.

Francis Marion – 54

Sunshine – 39

The Lady Rams picked up the win Friday night as Sunshine came to town.

Qwenisha Arrington led all scorers with 30 points. Kristen Lipscomb had 19 rebounds for the Lady Rams.

Sunshine was led by

Francessca Bates, who had 11 points. Camilla Underwood

had 11 points as well.