By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
YEATESVILLE — Storming back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, the Southside Seahawks rallied for a 58-57 win over the Northside Panthers in Tuesday’s fifth-place game of the 30th annual WDN/PotashCorp Aurora Holiday Tournament.
Curtis Myers, who was named to the all-tournament team, hit two free throws with 25 seconds to play to give the Seahawks (5-5) a 58-57 lead. The Panthers (5-6) had a chance at the end of the game to pull out a win, but Damount Harvey’s halfcourt heave just missed its mark.
“We went straight man-to-man (defense) and tried to put more pressure on the ball,” Southside coach Dwayne White said about his team’s fourth-quarter strategy.
“I thought that if we could put some more pressure on the ball, then maybe we could come up with something. Little by little, we started to inch back in it.”
Myers, who finished with nine points, made some key steals down the stretch for the Seahawks. His relentless play seemed to frustrate the Panthers at times.
Northside coach Mike Proctor said his team simply wasn’t able to finish the game.
“We just lost focus and didn’t get the ball where we wanted to get it,” Proctor said. “We just seemed to lose focus on what we needed to do. We started to tense up, and I feel like we were a little timid there at the end.”
The game was close throughout the first half. Taylor Woolard’s layup at the end of the first quarter gave the Panthers a 15-13 lead. Northside held a 28-25 lead late in the second quarter, but the Seahawks rattled off six points in a hurry to close it out, taking a 31-30 halftime advantage. Kendrick Reddick scored four points and Brandon Jordan’s steal and layup capped the late run.
Nathan Cahoon gave the lead back to Northside, burying a couple 3-pointers for a 40-37 edge. Calvin Cox, who finished with 23 points and was named to the all-tournament team, converted a three-point play for a 45-39 advantage.
Cox’s driving layup to start the fourth made it 49-39, before the Seahawks rallied.
Willie Ruffin scored seven of his team-high 13 points in a short span, pulling Southside within 49-46. Tony Grice’s steal and layup made it a one-point game, 49-48.
After a couple times, Cox’s rebound-bucket gave Northside a 57-55 lead. However, Myers capped the scoring by hitting three of his four free throws in the final minute.
White was pleased with the finish, and how his team played in the tournament.
“It was fun,” White said. “We won two games and lost one, so we came out of it ahead.”
Proctor, on the other hand, was not pleased.
“I don’t think we’re playing well,” Proctor said. “I thought we were playing a lot better heading into the tournament than we are right now.”
Southside 13 18 8 19 — 58Northside 15 15 17 10 — 57
Southside (58)
Willie Ruffin 13, Brandon Jordan 11, Myers 9, Reddick 8, Benston 6, Grice 5, Murray 4, Green 2.
Northside (57)
Calvin Cox 23, Damount Harvey 11, Cahoon 9, Woolard 5, McCullor 4, Martin 2, Weston 2, Williams 1.