For the second time this season, Southside met up with Selma in one of the most heavily attended sporting events in Selma all year. The Panthers picked up right where they left off in the first meeting by winning in convincing fashion. 

The Southside Panthers (10-11) defeated the Selma Saints (9-14) 62-50 at the Selma High School gym Friday night. Kentavius Page led the Panthers with 18 points, but it was Southside freshman Keshawn Williams who stepped up to play a big role with 17 points.

“I can guarantee you that he wasn’t on their scouting report,” said Southside head coach Cedric Brown of Williams.

The Panthers dominated the first half. Their pressure defense gave the Selma offense fits. Southside dominated the boards and got to the free throw line often.

The first points scored by the Panthers came when a Page 3-point attempt bounced off the front end of the rim and Charles Price flushed it down with a dunk that brought Southside fans to their feet.

Lee Underwood made a two-point shot to give Southside a 5-2 lead, and then added another to give Southside a 7-4 advantage.

Page tipped a missed shot in with two minutes remaining in the first quarter to double Selma’s score 12-6. The Panthers’ aggressive pressure defense led to quick buckets, and Underwood took advantage when he stole the ball and scored on a layup to extend the Panthers lead to 14-6.

Selma came back before the end of the first quarter, as a Quentavious Davis’ 3-pointer at the buzzer cut the Southside lead to 14-11.

While the Saints managed to keep it close through the first eight minutes, they couldn’t hold on in the second quarter. Page and Williams each scored seven points in the second quarter, as Southside outscored Selma 20-8. At halftime, Selma trailed 34-19.

“We got beat on the boards because in the first half, we were just standing up watching. We didn’t box out,” said Selma head coach Woodie Jackson.

The second half belonged entirely to the Panthers. Williams poured in another 10 points in the third quarter, including two 3-pointers that put the game out of reach. With under a minute left in the quarter, Williams drained his second 3-point shot of the quarter to give Southside a 52-31 advantage.

Selma tried to play catch-up in the fourth quarter, as Kentravious White knocked down a 3-pointer for to narrow the Southside lead to 51-39 early in the fourth quarter. Page answered right back with a 3-pointer.

“We had a gameplan,” Brown said. “They stuck exactly to it.”

The Panthers have now won three straight games. Brown said his team is peaking at the right time.

“We controlled the game, but that right there lets us know that we’re right around the corner from turning it all the way right here in January,” Brown said.

 

Selma 51, Southside 18 (girls)

The Selma Saints (21-3) held the Southside Panthers to two points in the second and third quarter. For the Saints, who beat Southside 51-18 at Selma Friday night, the outcome was never in doubt.

Selma head coach Anthony Harris said he thought his team responded well after suffering just its third loss of the season Tuesday in overtime to Hillcrest.

“We took a big blow the other night in overtime, and I always say you’ve just got to redeem yourself,” Harris said.

Selma’s Areyanna Williams led all scorers with 17 points and Jamya Smith added 12 points.

The Panthers struggled offensively all night, but Sha’Rita Benjamin started the night strong for Southside by hitting two field goals in the first quarter.

Charmekia Moore scored six points for the Saints in the first quarter, as Selma took a 15-5 lead into the second quarter.

Selma ran away with the game in the second quarter, outscoring Southside 17-0 to take a 32-5 halftime lead.

Selma was already down a few players going into the game, but had an extra opportunity to play multiple bench players in the second half with a large lead.

Southside head coach Kayla Mason said she saw improvement in her team despite the loss. She gave her players a message before the game that she believes they took to heart.

“It’s a win if I know and you know that you have gotten better by playing them,” Mason said. “If you’ve gotten better by playing them and fixing the things that we’ve been working on, then I’m fine with the score.”

Southside’s teams host Thomasville Tuesday at 5 p.m. Selma’s teams are at Wilcox Central Thursday at 5:30 p.m.