PINETOWN — The score was a lot closer than Panthers head coach Jared Adams and Company were comfortable with, but Northside came away with a 51-49 victory over Jones Senior on Monday night in Pinetown.

In what was supposed to be a mid-December matchup, was postponed to Monday evening to prevent interfering with final exams last semester.

The Panthers made enough plays to seal the deal down the stretch to secure its second consecutive conference victory, after defeating South Creek 54-37 last Friday night.

Sophomore guard Keifer Boyd stepped onto the floor in his first varsity basketball action of his young career on Monday evening, and made the difference in the contest.

Boyd entered late in the first half, and immediately broke the Trojans’ press with a good outlet pass that led to a quick bucket. That set the tone for Boyd’s night. He went on to dish out six assists in limited minutes, and buried a corner 3-pointer to halt a Trojans run in the fourth quarter.
As the Panthers watched an 18-point lead diminish and turn into a narrow two-point game, Boyd drove the ball in traffic and finished at the rim twice to maintain the Northside lead.

With 10 seconds remaining and Northside holding a three-point lead, the Trojans got the basketball and Adams instructed his team to foul to prevent a 3-point shot from being attempted to tie the game. The Trojans made the front end, and were forced to miss the second free throw on purpose to have a chance to tie it.

The Trojans free throw clanked off the back iron, and all 5-foot-8 of Boyd leaped in the air and came down with the basketball in traffic to seal the victory.

“It was pretty cool (to make his varsity debut). It’s a different atmosphere on the court, it’s a lot faster,” Keifer Boyd said. “It was pretty exciting to be able to come up from the jayvee team and play a role in the varsity team’s win.”

Tyler Turner led the Panthers with 14 points, Brandon Eborn, Hunter Braddy and Carter Boyd had eight, Mike Jones scored four and Jon’Malik Freeman also got a bucket.

While the win moves the Panthers up in the conference standings, Adams explained there were plenty of things to work on.

“We just had several turnovers, we were out of position, we were lunging, we weren’t setting our feet, and they were beating us in transition up the floor. Everything you can’t do in basketball, we were doing in that first half,” Adams said.

There was a bright spot on the floor according to Adams, and that was Keifer Boyd, who he says gave his team the pep they needed.

“We are low in numbers right now. Had a couple of guys out, then two fouled out, I needed somebody to call on. When we were looking sluggish and I put him out there, he seemed to give us that pep that put us in another gear,” Boyd said. “He spreads the floor really well, he can shoot, but he’s got a great head on his shoulders and he’s very coachable. He may not be the quickest off the dribble, but he sees the floor extremely well. Even when they pressed us, it didn’t rattle him. He just goes with the game play-by-play.”

The Panthers escaped with a win, but have a quick bounce back. They travel to Riverside and Cape Hatteras this week before returning home on Jan. 16 when they host Hatteras.