The Selma Times-Journal

Heading into its rivalry game against Selma the next day, Southside was looking for a tuneup and possibly a confidence boost Friday night.

The Panthers got that and then some. Big man Marcus Cleveland scored 16 points to lead a foursome of Panthers in double figures, and Southside won 79-26.

Southside started running right from the beginning of the game and only slowed down for time outs. The Panthers scored 22 fast-break points and limited Holtville to just two.

The Panthers’ legs also came in handy on the defensive end where they held Holtville to just 10 field goals. Five of them came in the first half, and just one was made in the fourth quarter.

Willie Cooper added to the scoring with 14, Jerel Peoples had 12 and Fontano Watters had 10.

Holtville’s first and only lead came when Blake Calloway hit a jumper just inside the 3-point line to put them up 2-0 more than two minutes in.

Caleb Veazey dropped in a layup to make it an 8-7 game with 2:23 left in the first, and that was the last time the game was truly close.

Cleveland began and ended a quarter-ending 10-0 run with layups, and Southside was ahead 18-7.

That stretch continued into the first 1:23 of the second when a Cooper fast break put Southside up 26-7. The Pathers outscored Holtville 15-2 over the final 5:49 of the half to take a comfortable 41-11 lead.

Cleveland scored three consecutive baskets, including his second slam dunk of the game, to help put Southside ahead 57-17 late in the third.

The biggest lead of the night came when Peoples hit back-to-back layups to put Southside on top 71-19.

Wes Jones led Holtville with nine points.

Kelsey Brown’s dominance Friday night was akin to the way the Southside girls handled Holtville.

Brown exploded for 30 points, and the Panthers went on to an 80-27 win. Fourteen of her points came in the first half, which Southside ended with a 44-16 lead.

Scoring streaks of 7-0 and 13-2 helped the Panthers build a 23-11 lead by the end of the first period.

The 11 points Holtville scored in the first made that its most productive quarter of the ball game. Kasey Treat scored four points during that frame and six in the game.

Southside’s Shenequa Williams, who scored 14 points, ignited an 8-0 run to begin the second half. The Panthers scored 12 unanswered points to end the third ahead by 64-19.

Brown struck her final blow when she scored all the points in a 6-0 run to put Southside on top 78-23 with 2:29 left in the game.