PINETOWN — In battle between the reigning Washington Daily News co-Coaches-of-the-Year, Northside overcame an early deficit Thursday night to knock off a scrappy Terra Ceia team, 79-51, in a clash between two county neighbors.

“We didn’t play very well, but they’re good and they played hard. We could have played better and should have played better, but hey we got a ‘W’ out of it,” said Panthers’ head coach Mike Proctor.

The matchup featured two of Beaufort County’s top big men — Terra Ceia’s Tyler Hendrix and Northside’s Edrice Adebayo — but it was the Northside defense that had the upper hand, holding Hendrix, who averages close to 20 points per game, to just 11, forcing the Knights’ guards to step up in key situations.

Early on, they did just that, as Quentin Van Essendelft and Austin Roscoe took advantage of open looks from the perimeter.

“I think one of their best players is (Van Essendelft),” Proctor said. “They have three or four guys who can really shoot, so we were just trying to double team sometimes out of that and keep them confused.”

In the first quarter, Terra Ceia collapsed its defense in the paint and frustrated Adebayo. Chase Furlough and Hendrix fouled when necessary and required Adebayo to convert from the charity stripe. Initially, the Northside senior went 1-for-5 from the line, opening the door for the Knights offense to secure a lead.

All five starters found the bottom of the net in the first eight minutes, as Terra Ceia shocked the crowd and led 14-13 at the end of the first.

But as expected, the Panthers powered back in the second quarter. Adebayo challenged the double team and dropped a quick 10 points, two in the form of dunks, while Terra Ceia struggled to keep pace in the paint. Van Essendelft hit two clutch threes in transition to keep his team in the game, but Northside took a 40-25 lead into the half, scoring 27 points in the second quarter.

“We were trying to go inside any they were trying to take it away from (Adebayo). They were bodying up a lot,” Proctor said.

A lack of depth sunk the Knights in the second half. The started five, clearly exhausted, were mentally and physically drained, but managed to keep it interesting in the third quarter.

Despite another nine points from Adebayo, Terra Ceia hit three contested three-pointers and kept the lead under 20 points, but exhaustion was eminent and the Panthers would eventually pull away.

Adebayo finished with 33 points and 15 rebounds for Northside, while senior Reggie Slade also notched 12 points. Van Essendelft led the Knights with 14 points and five assists.