Palmetto State : Panther Classic Part 2
The Panther Classic consisted of 9 games on Friday. Prep Hoops took in several of those with Palmetto State ties.
Freedom Christian (Fayetteville, NC) beat Lakewood HS in the afternoon in 2 overtimes 58-49. The Gators tied up the game at the buzzer at the end of regulation when Juwan Perdue (2019) made a tip back at the rim. The teams were tied in overtime at 1:29 left to play when Terrell Houston (2018) was busted in the nose by a Freedom Christian player. Played stopped for 8 minutes to clean up the floor.
Quentin Hodge (2020) gave the Gators the lead with 16.1 seconds left at 47-45. Freedom Christian raced down on the floor and scored with 1.2 seconds on a basket by Jamael Carter. Freedom Christian would pull away in the 2nd overtime for the victory.
Jamarhi Harvey led the way for Freedom Christian with 24 points while Manrique Alvarado added 10 points.
Grant Singleton (2018) scored 18 points and on the first night of the tourney against South Miami HS he scored his 1,000 career point. Perdue and Hodge both added 11 points for the Gators.
The host Panthers played a scrappy Class 2-A bunch from Andrews HS. The Panthers jumped out early in a a game that turned out to be more like a physical football game. Carolina Forest prevailed 74-66 in the consolation bracket. Panthers senior guard Matt Beale scored 15 points for the Panthers while, Derek Alston (2018) added 13 points and sophomore Mason Garcia chipped in 12 points.
Shamar Matthews (2018) led the Andrews Yellow Jackets with 22 points. Matthews scored 32 points vs Cathedral Academy earlier in the tourney.
The Carvers Bay Bears defeated the Bluffton Bobcats easily 67-43. Stephon Greene (2019) led the Bears with 16 points, Tyrek Reed (2018) 11 points and Dijon Goss (2018) added 10 points.
The Bobcats lost there best player Jermaine Patterson (2018) with 19.6 seconds left in the first half with the score Carvers Bay 35 Bluffton 24. Patterson went down with a sprained ankle and wouldn’t return to action. Patterson finished the game with 10 points.
Patterson scored 34 points vs Myrtle Beach HS the night before.
The Championship Game featured the Conway HS Tigers vs South Miami HS (FL). The Tigers would prevail 42-40 and move to 11-0 on the season. The Tigers have now won the Panther Classic back to back years. Jimmy Nichols led the way with 20 points while Juwan Moody added 12 points in the win.
The Tigers had to play 2 games yesterday to win the 16 Team Panther Classic.