PINETOWN — Playing in its home debut, the Northside boys basketball team treated its fans to an electrifying show Friday night, overwhelming Cape Hatteras with its frenetic pace and full-court press in what was a 93-34 win.

Panthers head coach Jared Adams was pleased with the effort his team put forth in Northside’s (2-0 1A Coastal Plains Conference) first home game of the young season.

“Definitely the first home game, you always have first-home-game jitters. My guys, they came out with enthusiasm, they were intense,” Adams said. “We stuck with the game plan; they executed pressing the ball, closing out on shots, passing, cutting, finding the open man. They really played team basketball.”

From the opening tip-off, the Panthers were too much for Cape Hatteras (0-5 1A Atlantic 5 Conference), swarming whichever Hurricane had the ball and hounding ball handlers into turnovers. As soon as Northside came up with a steal, the Panthers broke upcourt in a flash, resulting in many easy baskets in transition for Northside.

The Panthers’ diminutive guard, Rashod Smith, was the star of the night, leading Northside both on the offensive end, and as a defender. Smith, along with fellow guard Johnathan Clark, set the tone on defense, as the duo pressed Cape Hatteras’ ball handlers deep in the Hurricanes’ end of the court, resulting in a game-high six steals for Smith and three for Clark.

Northside’s starting backcourt was also effective offensively, turning those turnovers into points. Smith scored 25 points to lead all players, while Clark chipped in with 21. The 5-foot-8 Smith scored in a variety of ways, hitting a 3-pointer, while also pulling up from midrange, scoring a variety of acrobatic layups and causing the crowd to roar with a dunk early on in the game, while also setting up teammates with eight assists.

Feeding off the energy in the crowd, the Panthers stormed to a 37-11 lead over the Hurricanes after a quarter of play.

“When you take a commanding lead like that it really sets the tone for the game,” Adams said. “It gets the players more involved, it gets them wanting to play because obviously when you get a big lead, the bench knows substitutions will be made, fresh legs and it gets the crowd involved. And if you can combine that, it makes the game of basketball fun, as well as makes winning a little easier.”

Naturally, with the intensity Northside’s starters were playing with, they needed a rest. But, unfortunately for Cape Hatteras, that didn’t mean the Hurricanes had a chance to catch their breath. With Omari Crandell and Kenneth Winfield taking Smith and Clark’s roles, the Panthers’ second unit maintained the same pressure on Cape Hatteras, extending Northside’s lead even further, with the Panthers leading 63-20 at halftime.

Northside was relentless all night, continuing the onslaught until the final whistle. But already having a comfortable lead, the Panther starters sat the entire fourth quarter.

While Smith and Clark were the definitive go-to players offensively, the whole team contributed. Brandon Eborn scored 10 points off the bench, Zach Greene had eight, Winfield chipped in with seven, Crandell scored five points, P.J. Paniagua and Tyler Turner both had four, Carter Boyd scored three points, and Zakkai Wilson, Clark O’Neal and Jon’malik Freeman each had two points.

Northside returns to action tomorrow with a game at Washington. Tip-off for the varsity boys game is set for 7:30 p.m.