By Rex Kirts
Carmel isn't that bad, and South isn't too shabby, either.
A decent-sized South crowd, but almost nobody from Carmel, saw Carmel disintegrate completely in the Panther gym Tuesday night. It was weird to see a team as solid as Carmel fail to make a single field goal in the second and third quarters.
And it wasn't as if the Greyhounds were putting up a lot of stupid shots. On the contrary, they were getting good looks. But all of a sudden they couldn't hit a barn with a shotgun.
Carmel made 7 of 10 shots the first quarter but only three field goals the rest of the game. South overcame slow shooting start itself to run off with a 63-39 win.
THAT MEANS the state's No. 2 ranked Panthers have earned an 8-0 record for a Christmas present. They have now won 52 straight regular season games.
The Panthers were a little too lethargic the first quarter, and their shooting was off. They fell behind 17-12, with Carmel going the length of the floor in the last five seconds of the period to score on a layup.
That was Carmel's last field goal until just over six minutes left in the game. Wow!
South went on a 25-3 run in the second and third quarters for a 37-20 lead, and the game was over.
In addition to playing itself out of the game with poor shooting (10 of 36 for the game) Carmel turned the ball over 19 times. Panther hands were everywhere, slapping the ball away from the Greyhounds.
"WE STARTED SLOW," Dee Davis said. "Our shots weren't going in. But we played really good defense the entiere game."
Davis scored 16 points, three behind Joey Forney, who had 13 of his 19 in the fourth quarter. Spencer Turner added 14 points.
"At halftime I thought if we just started hitting our shots we'd be OK," South coach J.R. Holmes said.
The shots started falling. The Panthers shot Carmel out of its zone in the third quarter and continued to hit against a very physical man-to-man.
"We started getting inside the zone for 19-foot shots. In the first half we were at the 25-foot mark," Holmes said.
THE SOUTH COACH liked a lot of things, including his defense.
"Our defense was good. We helped out in the post. Des (Marks) really battled," he said. "Dee was very consistent. Joey is starting to shoot better. I thought Alex (Forney) and (Michael) Bower were great off the bench."
Following the break to pay homage to Santa Claus and the credit cards, the Panthers will compete in the Hall of Fame tournament at New Castle on Dec. 30.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Panthers beat LC despite shooting woes
By Rex Kirts
Offensively, South hit only two of 19 3-point shots. And that's why the Panthers celebrate the defensive work of Joey Forney.
Forney took on Lawrence Central junior wingman Jeremy Hollowell, a major college prospect, and shut him down to five points Friday. That helped the Panthers stay perfect on the season at 6-0 and perfect in Conference Indiana at 2-0 with a 65-51 victory.
There were other plusses for coach J.R. Holmes' team. With the outside shooting game colder than a December night, the Panthers dropped in 33 of 41 free throws, got another sparkling all-around production from Dee Davis and enjoyed the continued improvement of Desmond Marks.
Twenty-one of the free throws came in the fourth quarter. At the start of the period, with a six-point lead, the Panthers took the air out of the ball and forced LC to foul. What had been a tight ball game slowly turned into South-in-command.
THE PANTHERS with contributions from all its starters, who scored 64 of the their 65 points. Davis had 22 points, Spencer Turner 18 despite 1-9 shooting on 3s, Marks 13, Forney 6 and Ben Stowell 5.
Davis was everywhere. In the fourth quarter, getting steals and rebounds, it looked like there was five of him on the court. Besides his points, for the game he had five rebounds, five assists and four steals. And he gets high marks for a couple of incredible moves to the basket, especially in the first quarter.
Turner was cold from ouotside, but he hit 11 of 12 free throws and led the team in rebounds with six.
Marks had 13 points and five rebounds. Eight of the points came in the third quarter as he got the Panthers off to a quick start.
Forney does not have the quickest feet on a basketball court, but his heart if pretty stout. His contributions come from battling. Besides sticking close to Hollowell and slowing him down Forney had five rebounds.
"I FELT I COULD contribute on defense," Forney said. "He is such a skilled athlete." Hollowell got a bit frustrated, though, and picked up a technical foul in the second quarter. He spent most of the period on the bench.
Holmes was happy to rack up a conference win on the road.
"We didn't play great, but decent," Holmes said. "Joey really battled, and Michael Bower did when he came in (to guard Hollowell). I thought Dee was ready to play."
Another factor in South's making up for cold shooting (.366) was ball handling. The Panthers made only six turnovers to 19 for LC.
CARLINO IN CROWD: Former Panther Matt Carlino attended the game with former teammate Erik Fromm, a freshman at Butler. Carlino is thinking of transferring to Butler after leaving UCLA.
Offensively, South hit only two of 19 3-point shots. And that's why the Panthers celebrate the defensive work of Joey Forney.
Forney took on Lawrence Central junior wingman Jeremy Hollowell, a major college prospect, and shut him down to five points Friday. That helped the Panthers stay perfect on the season at 6-0 and perfect in Conference Indiana at 2-0 with a 65-51 victory.
There were other plusses for coach J.R. Holmes' team. With the outside shooting game colder than a December night, the Panthers dropped in 33 of 41 free throws, got another sparkling all-around production from Dee Davis and enjoyed the continued improvement of Desmond Marks.
Twenty-one of the free throws came in the fourth quarter. At the start of the period, with a six-point lead, the Panthers took the air out of the ball and forced LC to foul. What had been a tight ball game slowly turned into South-in-command.
THE PANTHERS with contributions from all its starters, who scored 64 of the their 65 points. Davis had 22 points, Spencer Turner 18 despite 1-9 shooting on 3s, Marks 13, Forney 6 and Ben Stowell 5.
Davis was everywhere. In the fourth quarter, getting steals and rebounds, it looked like there was five of him on the court. Besides his points, for the game he had five rebounds, five assists and four steals. And he gets high marks for a couple of incredible moves to the basket, especially in the first quarter.
Turner was cold from ouotside, but he hit 11 of 12 free throws and led the team in rebounds with six.
Marks had 13 points and five rebounds. Eight of the points came in the third quarter as he got the Panthers off to a quick start.
Forney does not have the quickest feet on a basketball court, but his heart if pretty stout. His contributions come from battling. Besides sticking close to Hollowell and slowing him down Forney had five rebounds.
"I FELT I COULD contribute on defense," Forney said. "He is such a skilled athlete." Hollowell got a bit frustrated, though, and picked up a technical foul in the second quarter. He spent most of the period on the bench.
Holmes was happy to rack up a conference win on the road.
"We didn't play great, but decent," Holmes said. "Joey really battled, and Michael Bower did when he came in (to guard Hollowell). I thought Dee was ready to play."
Another factor in South's making up for cold shooting (.366) was ball handling. The Panthers made only six turnovers to 19 for LC.
CARLINO IN CROWD: Former Panther Matt Carlino attended the game with former teammate Erik Fromm, a freshman at Butler. Carlino is thinking of transferring to Butler after leaving UCLA.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
It's Marks' time, and he's producing
By Rex Kirts
While playing behind Erik Fromm the past two seasons, Desmond Marks took the opportunity to work on his game.
And it wasn't just a little work here and a little work there. He put in a lot of time, sometimes drilling two or three times a day, often with his father, Deryck.
The effort added up and paid off. When it was his time as a senior to step up and become an important part of South's basketball program he was ready. He's producing, right on schedule.
While playing behind Erik Fromm the past two seasons, Desmond Marks took the opportunity to work on his game.
And it wasn't just a little work here and a little work there. He put in a lot of time, sometimes drilling two or three times a day, often with his father, Deryck.
The effort added up and paid off. When it was his time as a senior to step up and become an important part of South's basketball program he was ready. He's producing, right on schedule.
Desmond Marks
Through the Panthers' first five games, all wins against pretty good competition, Marks is averaging 9.2 points and 7.8 rebounds. At 6-5 1/2 and 250 pounds he has the bulk to take care of business inside and the shooting touch to be a threat from the perimeter.
"He can shoot the ball," coach J.R. Holmes said. "He'll be a '4' man (power forward) in college, but he plays a '5' (center) for us - he has to get some rebounds."
THE ABILITY of a big man to hit from outside creates a team bonus in more ways than one.
"Des takes guys like Pritchett (Alex, from Bedford North Lawrence) and Gant (Justin, from Terre Haute North) away from the basket, which opens it up for drives by Dee (Davis)," Holmes pointed out.
Marks' shooting benefitted last summer from two sources, J.C. Hulls and Brian Keaton. Hulls is the father of Mr. Basketball Jordy Hulls and current Panther standout Kaila Hulls, and Keaton was Marks' AAU coach.
"I did a lot of work with J.C.," Marks said, "all ball stuff. That's how my shot got better. I did a lot of shooting, and he would work on my body position, going straight up and keeping my balance. Then I would go do the same thing with my dad."
Keaton, then an assistant at Triton and now an assistant at Indianapolis Cathedral, coached an Indy-based AAU team. His part in helping Marks' shooting was simply to encourage him to keep putting the ball up. Marks followed the advice, and from that he gained confidence in his ability to get the ball in the hole.
MARKS' ALL-AROUND development was necessary for South to continue to be one of the state's powers. The Panthers' don't have the 6-7 or 6-8 asset that Fromm provided, so Marks has to be a force in the middle.
"My big thing is rebounding," he said. "I thought I could take up the slack left from Fromm and (Matt) Carlino."
An excellent way for Marks to get ready for this year was to endure the practices of the past two seasons. South's practices are physical, and Marks had to battle Fromm and Carlino and others. The court was no place for the meek.
"There was a lot of competition," Marks said of the practices. We had to play hard every day or get beat bad." The second five won its share of the battles. "It was about 50-50. We sometimes played them pretty tough."
Practices are still physical, Marks said. "The jayvees like to hit hard," Marks said. "We need to execute. It's still real competitive."
THE SHOOTING AND REBOUNDING improvements are products of all the work Marks put in not only since the end of last season but in the years before, too.
"I'd work two or three times a day," he said. "After practice I'd go to the Y with my dad or work out at my house."
His biggest needs now are to improve his ball handling and guarding people on the perimeter. "I worked on my ball handling all summer. I'm working now on my foot speed. I'm definitely quicker than last year," he said.
A 3.8 student, Marks isn't sure where he'll attend college. He's considering DePauw, Hanover, Lake Forest in Illinois, Maryland-Baltimore County and Lincoln Memorial in Tennessee. He's thinking of studying chemistry or meteorology.
His hobbies include working with his youth group at Sherwood Oaks Christian Church. Helping homeless people is part of that program.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Panthers shoot well, play tough at unbeaten Terre Haute North
By Rex Kirts
In the category of some wins are bigger than others, count South's 70-60 win Saturday at Terre Haute North.
Shooting well and playing tough all around, the Panthers (5-0) defeated a previously unbeaten team on the road. It was a weekend back-to-back win, too, following Friday's draining victory against Southport.
It was a well-played game by both teams in a good atmosphere, with a big crowd.
"It was a big team win," said senior forward Joey Forney. "Everyone contributed. They tried to deny Spencer (Turner) and Dee (Davis), and everyone else stepped up. That's why we won."
"We played together as a team," said senior guard Ben Stowell, "and people stepped up at the right times and completed the assignments the coaches gave them."
THE FINAL SCORE shows this game was won in the first few minutes. South jumped out to a 10-2 lead right away, and the action stayed right around that margin the rest of the way. Terre Haute would get hot, primarily from 3-point range, and South would counter with a variety of successful moves.
It was exciting to see the Panthers' adjustments. North played good defense early, but once the Panthers found out how to attack it they cut the Patriots up pretty good with a lot of penetration, both with passes and the dribble.
"We played our best game for all four quarters, our most consistent for four quarters," South coach J.R. Holmes said. "We had both teams for nine errors (turnovers), and that's a great high school game. That's very rare, with as much intensity as there was.
I was pleased, for this early in the seasson, on the road. And we were out-sized. I thought our kids fought them right down the line.
"WE HAD FOUR in double figures and one with nine. That's a good, solid effort.
"It was a good game for us."
Shooting was a big plus. The Panthers hit 56 per cent, their best of the season. They were .500 on 3-pointers, 8 of 16, and needed it because North drained 11 of 23.
South's balance was its best of the year. Davis continued his eye-candy mastery of the sport with 22 points, Desmond Marks had 13 and nine rebounds, Turner 12,Stowell 10 and Forney 9.
Shots at the buzzer gave South a big lift twice, by Davis at the half after he stripped 6-8 Justin Gant and hit a five-footer and by Stowell with a 3 at the end of the third quarter.
Marks is becoming a key to this team's success. The senior center, who can step out and hit 3s, has had double doubles or near them in points and rebounds the last three games.
THE PANTHERS have another outstanding doubleheader scheduled next weekend, traveling to Lawrence Central on Friday for a Conference Indiana conteste and hosting Jeffersonville on Saturday.
It was Jeffersonville that ruined South's 23-1 season last year in the regional championship. The loss ended the Panthers' 49-game winning streak, which is second best in Indiana history, and their hope of back-to-back unbeaten state championship seasons.
In the category of some wins are bigger than others, count South's 70-60 win Saturday at Terre Haute North.
Shooting well and playing tough all around, the Panthers (5-0) defeated a previously unbeaten team on the road. It was a weekend back-to-back win, too, following Friday's draining victory against Southport.
It was a well-played game by both teams in a good atmosphere, with a big crowd.
"It was a big team win," said senior forward Joey Forney. "Everyone contributed. They tried to deny Spencer (Turner) and Dee (Davis), and everyone else stepped up. That's why we won."
"We played together as a team," said senior guard Ben Stowell, "and people stepped up at the right times and completed the assignments the coaches gave them."
THE FINAL SCORE shows this game was won in the first few minutes. South jumped out to a 10-2 lead right away, and the action stayed right around that margin the rest of the way. Terre Haute would get hot, primarily from 3-point range, and South would counter with a variety of successful moves.
It was exciting to see the Panthers' adjustments. North played good defense early, but once the Panthers found out how to attack it they cut the Patriots up pretty good with a lot of penetration, both with passes and the dribble.
"We played our best game for all four quarters, our most consistent for four quarters," South coach J.R. Holmes said. "We had both teams for nine errors (turnovers), and that's a great high school game. That's very rare, with as much intensity as there was.
I was pleased, for this early in the seasson, on the road. And we were out-sized. I thought our kids fought them right down the line.
"WE HAD FOUR in double figures and one with nine. That's a good, solid effort.
"It was a good game for us."
Shooting was a big plus. The Panthers hit 56 per cent, their best of the season. They were .500 on 3-pointers, 8 of 16, and needed it because North drained 11 of 23.
South's balance was its best of the year. Davis continued his eye-candy mastery of the sport with 22 points, Desmond Marks had 13 and nine rebounds, Turner 12,Stowell 10 and Forney 9.
Shots at the buzzer gave South a big lift twice, by Davis at the half after he stripped 6-8 Justin Gant and hit a five-footer and by Stowell with a 3 at the end of the third quarter.
Marks is becoming a key to this team's success. The senior center, who can step out and hit 3s, has had double doubles or near them in points and rebounds the last three games.
THE PANTHERS have another outstanding doubleheader scheduled next weekend, traveling to Lawrence Central on Friday for a Conference Indiana conteste and hosting Jeffersonville on Saturday.
It was Jeffersonville that ruined South's 23-1 season last year in the regional championship. The loss ended the Panthers' 49-game winning streak, which is second best in Indiana history, and their hope of back-to-back unbeaten state championship seasons.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Big plays and rebounding big in win over Southport
By Rex Kirts
Dee Davis was masterful with 28 points, and Spencer Turner had 20 and Desmond Marks 12 points and 11 rebounds as South opened Conference Indiana play Friday with a 76-59 win over Southport.
A six-point sequence, a fiver and a four helped put down the visitors to J.R. Holmes' court. So did a 32-19 edge in rebounding, with Marks and sub Michael Bower leading the way. Bower had seven rebounds.
Once again, though, the Panthers had to weather a dry spell. A 17-point halftime lead shrunk to 10 when Southport scored the first seven points of the third quarter, and the lead was reduced to eight at 49-41 with 2:00 left in the period.
But Davis, who scored five straight points when the lead got down to 10 earlier, stuck a dagger in Southport with six points in a few seconds to boost the lead up to 55-41 and put South back in firm comand.
TO START THE six-point sequence, Davis hit a layup and free throw. He stole the inbounds pass and launched a 3 from the corner. Southport never recovered from that double whammy.
"I knew we needed a boost, making a run like they did," Davis said of the six-point burst.
Southport came at the Panthers pretty hard.
"Every game is going to be like that," Davis said.
The win was the 48th straight straight in regular season play, 25th straight in the conference and 36th straight at home.
Marks played one of his better games in posting his second straight double-double. It came after he missed practices during the week with a stomach problem.
"I need to pick up my rebounding," Marks said. "A double-double is my goal every game."
Bower, a junior, continues to excel as the team's sixth man. In addition to his seven rebounds he had four points and helped guard Michael Ramey, Southport's superb long-range shooter.
Speaking of Southport's rally in the third quarter, Bower said, "Basketball is a game of runs. You've got to take their best shot and finish them off."
TURNER HAD A HAND in the four-point and five-point play in the game. He made a free throw after being fouled on a 3-point basket, and he made two free throws after being fouled when Ben Stowell hit a 3-point shot.
Holmes said he wished the Panthers had played smarter at times.
"In spells we were good, but I was not impressed some times," Holmes said.
"We did a good job on Ramey (Stoll started out on him but got two quick fouls). Desmond is better, and Bower gives us energy.
"They (Southport) beat us down the floor in the second half. We got a little lazy."
The Panthers traveled to Terre Haute North Saturday night. Holmes said the Patriots (4-0) are the best team they will face up to this point.
Dee Davis was masterful with 28 points, and Spencer Turner had 20 and Desmond Marks 12 points and 11 rebounds as South opened Conference Indiana play Friday with a 76-59 win over Southport.
A six-point sequence, a fiver and a four helped put down the visitors to J.R. Holmes' court. So did a 32-19 edge in rebounding, with Marks and sub Michael Bower leading the way. Bower had seven rebounds.
Once again, though, the Panthers had to weather a dry spell. A 17-point halftime lead shrunk to 10 when Southport scored the first seven points of the third quarter, and the lead was reduced to eight at 49-41 with 2:00 left in the period.
But Davis, who scored five straight points when the lead got down to 10 earlier, stuck a dagger in Southport with six points in a few seconds to boost the lead up to 55-41 and put South back in firm comand.
TO START THE six-point sequence, Davis hit a layup and free throw. He stole the inbounds pass and launched a 3 from the corner. Southport never recovered from that double whammy.
"I knew we needed a boost, making a run like they did," Davis said of the six-point burst.
Southport came at the Panthers pretty hard.
"Every game is going to be like that," Davis said.
The win was the 48th straight straight in regular season play, 25th straight in the conference and 36th straight at home.
Marks played one of his better games in posting his second straight double-double. It came after he missed practices during the week with a stomach problem.
"I need to pick up my rebounding," Marks said. "A double-double is my goal every game."
Bower, a junior, continues to excel as the team's sixth man. In addition to his seven rebounds he had four points and helped guard Michael Ramey, Southport's superb long-range shooter.
Speaking of Southport's rally in the third quarter, Bower said, "Basketball is a game of runs. You've got to take their best shot and finish them off."
TURNER HAD A HAND in the four-point and five-point play in the game. He made a free throw after being fouled on a 3-point basket, and he made two free throws after being fouled when Ben Stowell hit a 3-point shot.
Holmes said he wished the Panthers had played smarter at times.
"In spells we were good, but I was not impressed some times," Holmes said.
"We did a good job on Ramey (Stoll started out on him but got two quick fouls). Desmond is better, and Bower gives us energy.
"They (Southport) beat us down the floor in the second half. We got a little lazy."
The Panthers traveled to Terre Haute North Saturday night. Holmes said the Patriots (4-0) are the best team they will face up to this point.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
What J.R. learned: Panthers can be pretty good
By Rex Kirts
The weekend was good for the Panthers.
They tacked on two more wins at home to go to 3-0 and extend their regular season winning streak to 47. Bedford North Lawrence went down with a fight, 71-65, on Friday and Evansville Harrison, 66-51, on Saturday.
Streaks were a big part of both games. The Panthers blazed out to a 25-11 first-quarter lead on Bedford and started the third quarter against Harrison with a 14-0 run.
It was a good weekend because both opponents were quality teams. So what did coach J.R. Holmes learn from the action?
"We can put some spurts together when we're playing pretty good," he said. "When we're working as a team and getting our passing game going we're pretty good."
AND DOES the coach of the state's No. 2 ranked team have any concerns at this early date?
"Our subs have got to score a little bit," he said. Though not big scorers, he admits his primary bench players - Michael Bower, Alex Forney and Trae Washington - are good battlers.
Lack of height could become a problem against some teams, and sometimes the Panthers' shooting gets a little cool. But the team scraps hard, fights on the boards and can play some pretty good defense, such as against Harrison when it had 13 steals and against Bedford when it did a solid job ionside against big Alex Pritchett.
And sometimes South's shooting gets quite hot, such as hitting 8 of 10 to start the third quarter to put Harrison too far down to rally from. All five starters scored in that quarter.
A consistent asset in the three games has been the tremendous play of Dee Davis on both ends of the court. As always, he's worth the price of admission, and any basketball fan shouldn't pass up the opportunity to see him before he heads off to college.
Davis got things rolling against Bedford with two steals that led to baskets and a nice feed to Joey Forney on a fast break. Davis was definitely "on" that game, and the 25 points he scored put him over a 1,000 for his career.
"I DON'T KNOW what 1,000 means," Davis said Saturday. "It doesn't mean as much as winning the state championship. It's just points. Still, I'm pleased."
South started the Harrison game flat, which is sort of understandable after Friday night's big crowd atmosphere with Bedford. The Panthers started the game in the hole 7-0 before loosening up and scoring 11 straight points. But Harrison came back late in the second quarter with a couple of 3s, and South led only 30-26 at the half.
"We had to come out with a lot of energy in the third quarter," Davis said. They had so much energy that they overwhelmed Harrison.
"We saw they were wore out, so we kept running the ball. That's our game," Davis said.
In the three games Davis is averaging 20.6 points and several assists and steals.
Against Bedford, the Panthers struggled after their quick start, primarily because their shooting fell off. They were 8 of 20 in the second half. It took a strong effort to hold on for the win.
"We got off to a great start," Spencer Turner said. "In the second quarter they pressured us more.
"BUT DEE DID a great job of running the game. Bower had some nice steals, and Dee. I think our defense is what really won it."
Turner, the owner of nice, high, long 3-pointers, has scored consistently, getting 18, 18 and 20 for an 18.6 average. He runs the floor nice, too, and gets his share of rebounds.
"Bedford was a really good teaching tool for us," Holmes said, "to understand momentum. You could see momentum changing, and we needed to play better defense and take the spring out of their legs."
The Panthers have another doubleheader next weekend. They host Southport in the Conference Indiana opener Friday and travel to Terre Haute North on Saturday. They're the unbeaten conference champions the last three years.
The weekend was good for the Panthers.
They tacked on two more wins at home to go to 3-0 and extend their regular season winning streak to 47. Bedford North Lawrence went down with a fight, 71-65, on Friday and Evansville Harrison, 66-51, on Saturday.
Streaks were a big part of both games. The Panthers blazed out to a 25-11 first-quarter lead on Bedford and started the third quarter against Harrison with a 14-0 run.
It was a good weekend because both opponents were quality teams. So what did coach J.R. Holmes learn from the action?
"We can put some spurts together when we're playing pretty good," he said. "When we're working as a team and getting our passing game going we're pretty good."
AND DOES the coach of the state's No. 2 ranked team have any concerns at this early date?
"Our subs have got to score a little bit," he said. Though not big scorers, he admits his primary bench players - Michael Bower, Alex Forney and Trae Washington - are good battlers.
Lack of height could become a problem against some teams, and sometimes the Panthers' shooting gets a little cool. But the team scraps hard, fights on the boards and can play some pretty good defense, such as against Harrison when it had 13 steals and against Bedford when it did a solid job ionside against big Alex Pritchett.
And sometimes South's shooting gets quite hot, such as hitting 8 of 10 to start the third quarter to put Harrison too far down to rally from. All five starters scored in that quarter.
A consistent asset in the three games has been the tremendous play of Dee Davis on both ends of the court. As always, he's worth the price of admission, and any basketball fan shouldn't pass up the opportunity to see him before he heads off to college.
Davis got things rolling against Bedford with two steals that led to baskets and a nice feed to Joey Forney on a fast break. Davis was definitely "on" that game, and the 25 points he scored put him over a 1,000 for his career.
"I DON'T KNOW what 1,000 means," Davis said Saturday. "It doesn't mean as much as winning the state championship. It's just points. Still, I'm pleased."
South started the Harrison game flat, which is sort of understandable after Friday night's big crowd atmosphere with Bedford. The Panthers started the game in the hole 7-0 before loosening up and scoring 11 straight points. But Harrison came back late in the second quarter with a couple of 3s, and South led only 30-26 at the half.
"We had to come out with a lot of energy in the third quarter," Davis said. They had so much energy that they overwhelmed Harrison.
"We saw they were wore out, so we kept running the ball. That's our game," Davis said.
In the three games Davis is averaging 20.6 points and several assists and steals.
Against Bedford, the Panthers struggled after their quick start, primarily because their shooting fell off. They were 8 of 20 in the second half. It took a strong effort to hold on for the win.
"We got off to a great start," Spencer Turner said. "In the second quarter they pressured us more.
"BUT DEE DID a great job of running the game. Bower had some nice steals, and Dee. I think our defense is what really won it."
Turner, the owner of nice, high, long 3-pointers, has scored consistently, getting 18, 18 and 20 for an 18.6 average. He runs the floor nice, too, and gets his share of rebounds.
"Bedford was a really good teaching tool for us," Holmes said, "to understand momentum. You could see momentum changing, and we needed to play better defense and take the spring out of their legs."
The Panthers have another doubleheader next weekend. They host Southport in the Conference Indiana opener Friday and travel to Terre Haute North on Saturday. They're the unbeaten conference champions the last three years.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Davis reaches 1,000 points for his career
By Rex Kirts
The stunning moves, soft shooting touch, ball-stealing deftness and sharp passing make South senior point guard Dee Davis one of the best basketball players the city has ever had.
As a sophomore he was voted the Most Valuable Player in the state championship win over Fort Wayne Snider.
Now he's got over 1,000 points for his career, with most of his senior season left to play.
Davis went over the significant point total Friday with 25 points in the Panthers' 71-65 victory against Bedford North Lawrence. He had 19 in the season opener last week at New Albany.
Davis entered the season with 976 points, so heading into Saturday's game against Evansville Harrison his career total climbed to 1,020.
He scored 276 points as a freshman at North, 340 his sophomore year at South and 360 with the Panthers last year. His average increased from 12.5 as a freshman to 13.1 as a sophomore and 15.7 last year.
The stunning moves, soft shooting touch, ball-stealing deftness and sharp passing make South senior point guard Dee Davis one of the best basketball players the city has ever had.
As a sophomore he was voted the Most Valuable Player in the state championship win over Fort Wayne Snider.
Now he's got over 1,000 points for his career, with most of his senior season left to play.
Davis went over the significant point total Friday with 25 points in the Panthers' 71-65 victory against Bedford North Lawrence. He had 19 in the season opener last week at New Albany.
Davis entered the season with 976 points, so heading into Saturday's game against Evansville Harrison his career total climbed to 1,020.
He scored 276 points as a freshman at North, 340 his sophomore year at South and 360 with the Panthers last year. His average increased from 12.5 as a freshman to 13.1 as a sophomore and 15.7 last year.
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