Jeffery Anderson spent much of the second half of Friday night’s game against St. James on the bench.

It wasn’t, however, anything Anderson did wrong, but everything he did right. On the evening that also marked his 17th birthday, the Southside High School junior center dropped in 24 of his 26 points in the first half as the Panthers stormed past St. James, 113-48, in the Class 4A, Area 4 Tournament at Southside High.

The Panthers will host Trinity for the tournament championship Monday night at 7:30.

“Coach told me if I played hard in the first half, I could rest the second half,” said Anderson, who had suffered this week from a headache and sore throat. “(Sitting) was fine as long as we were winning.”

The Panthers did more than win. They sent a message to every Class 4A team that awaited them in the playoffs. The Panthers showed exactly what they could accomplish when they remain focused. Southside coach Velton Robinson called the victory one of the Panthers’ best efforts of the season.

“We just came out and played a pretty good ball game,” Robinson said. “We’ve still got to be a little harder on defense and a little harder on the glass.”

And what did Robinson think of his center’s performance.

“I sure wish his birthday was every day,” Robinson said.

Anderson and his Southside teammates unwrapped the St. James defense to the tune of 31 first-quarter points, the first four coming from Anderson on a pair of baseline lay-ups.

Southside’s lead built to 14-4 before the Panthers went on a 12-0 run to stretch the margin to 26-4. The Panthers ran the best way they know how – with a pressing defense that strained the St. James offense into turnovers. Anderson started one Southside break when he stepped into the lane to tip a St. James pass to Willie Cooper, who eventually sent it back to Anderson on the baseline for a slam-dunk. Cooper followed with a half-court steal and lay-up to make it 26-4.

The aggressive Southside defense and guard play was too much for St. James. The slower visitors were no match for the Panthers’ quick hands and feet. Southside easily swiped the ball away and quickly went on the run. After St. James cut the margin to 39-20, the Panthers responded with a 15-footer from Travis Shine off a Southside steal, followed by Deonta Williams’ frontcourt theft and lay-up to make it a 23-point advantage.

The Panthers took their largest lead of the first half when Robert Tyus knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Southside a commanding 63-31 halftime lead.

With their dominating first-half performance, there was little doubt that the Panthers would break the 100-point mark in the game. The feat came in the fourth period and with all five starters on the bench. Junior guard Henry Powell stole the ball and drove the left wing for a lay-up and a 101-39 lead.

To go with Anderson’s 26 points and 13 rebounds, Williams added 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Kendrick Fails dropped in 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Travis Shine had nine points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals. All 13 Southside players scored at least one point.