On Senior Night last Friday, the Panthers ended the regular season by defeating the Northside Patriots, 89-56. This victory is hot off the heels of head coach Josh’s Reeves’ first career win against cross-town rival McIntosh, 54-40.
Throughout the game, the team showed a refinement on their basic game plan and their execution on both offense and defense.
Senior Jory Williams led both sides of the ball, scoring 31 points and boxing out several shooters to secure defensive rebounds.
“As a senior, seeing everyone come in day in and day out and improve is incredible,” Williams said.
While the Patriots might have gotten the first point of the game, the Panthers got in gear and made moves to control the flow of the game. With efforts for rebounds, quick steals, and open shots, Starr’s Mill had the lead after the first quarter, 23-17.
The second quarter was more of the same. Noticeably there were significantly less fouls in this game in comparison to previous ones, showing a refinement in execution. With that in mind, the Patriots began a more physical fight, so it was not an effortless win for the Panthers. Both teams revved up their gameplay until the Panthers won out on the scoring side with a 43-31 lead to end the half.
“I think we all played great,” sophomore Jason Hill said. “We had a lot of energy throughout the game.”
Coming into the second half, Hill came into his own on defense. While not a leading scorer, he blocked numerous shots in the third quarter and allowed for players like Williams and senior Scott Stevens to get points on the board. Combining his defense and the seniors repeated scoring, the quarter ended with the Panthers up by 23.
With only 8 minutes left in the game and a comfortable lead, it would have been easy to simply hold the ball and run down the clock. But the Panthers kept pace and continued scoring. Starr’s Mill ended the regular season with a win, 89-56.
“It’s great to end the season on a good note, “ Reeves said. “Our boys have been playing well and that led to a 4-game winning streak.”
With this victory, the Panthers end their regular season 13-12 overall and 7-5 in the region. Starr’s Mill enters the region tournament as the no. 4 seed. They will play Mundy’s Mill in the opening round.