Southside knew it was going to take a collective effort to top the Panthers and their 6-8 freshman phenom Edrice Adebayo and that’s exactly what the Seahawks gave as they picked up a 61-52 victory over their arch rivals on Wednesday.
Adebayo was his usual incredible self as he scored a game-high 21 points on post moves as well as drives to the basket, but it was not enough to outweigh the four Seahawks who put forth double-digit scoring efforts and a tremendous team performance on the glass.
Southside was led by forward Rokeem Miller who tallied a team-high 18 points, while little brother Donshae Miller racked up 15, Isaiah Moore added 11 and Manuel Collins scored 10.
Both teams were playing their second game in as many days but Southside coach Sean White said his players were focused on the task at hand.
“Our guys were keyed up for this one,” White said. “I could tell all day at school they were on fire and none of them were tired. They were hyped up and ready for the game. For the some of the seniors it’s been a while since we beat Northside.”
The Panthers looked ready to play as well as Adebayo tallied seven first-quarter points as Northside trailed 11-10 after the first.
However, Northside was severely hampered as star G/F Antonio Woods (10 points) was whistled for three quick fouls. Despite that, the Panthers were able to keep pace with the Seahawks and entered halftime trailing by only five, 25-20.
In the third quarter Southside began to pull away from the Panthers as Donshae Miller erupted for nine points and the Seahawks outscored the Panthers 19-13.
“We just couldn’t make any shots,” Northside coach Mike Procter said. “We had some opportunities to keep it close but we had too many turnovers and we just couldn’t make any shots.”
In the fourth quarter Northside threatened and cut the deficit to 50-42 when Adebayo took a pass in the post, spun toward the baseline and finished with an emphatic two-handed dunk.
However, Southside was able to sap the Panthers of their momentum by milking the clock on offense and grabbing key rebounds on both ends of the court.
“We’ve really been trying to (play a slower tempo) the last few games,” White said. “If teams aren’t pressing us we want to pass the ball around and really work on offense and try to get a high percentage shot.”
Both teams will be back on the hardwood tonight as Southside will head to Plymouth and Northside will host Camden.

Northside    10    10    13    19    —    52
Southside    11    14    14    17    —    61
Panthers (52)
Edrice Adebayo 21, Ryan Arthur 12, Slade 3, Jones 4, Antonio Woods 10, Howson 2.
Seahawks (61)
Isaiah Moore 11, Manuel Collins 10, Rokeem Miller 18, Donshae Miller 15, White 3, Jones 4.