Shaky win over North sends South into title game

By Rex Kirts

The bottom line in the tournament is to win, to win and keep playing. And that's what South did Friday night against North, 54-46, in the sectional semifinal at South's gym.
The victory sends South (21-2) into Saturday's sectional championship final against Columbus East (9-1), an upset winner over Columbus North, 68-53, in the second game Friday.
In the regular season, South beat East, 91-61, at South. But regular season wins don't count for much in the tournament. The Panthers beat North by 31 points, 86-55, in the regular season and were fortunate to win by eight in the sectional. Neither team shot well.
For the second straight game, and third time in four games, the Panthers' play was not as strong as it has been throughout most of the year. They also struggled in the regular season finale at Decatur Central, winning by just two points, and four games ago at Perry Meridian, winning by three.
CLEARLY,SOMETHING is amiss, and coach J.R. Holmes isn't sure what all is involved.
The offense, for sure, is out of synch. It is rare for a Holmes' team to operate without good precision, but this club has hit a snag.
"Mentally we didn't play very smart," Holmes said of the North game. "I was worried the whole ball game (even though South led most of the way). If we got beat, we beat ourselves.
"I don't know why (the Panthers were sluggish on offense). We've been playing that way the last couple of weeks."
Dee Davis took a while to get going, but he ended up doing some typically marvelous things and led all scorers with 21 points, some key offensive rebounds and some assists.
"We didn't move the ball as much as we could, but we worked it out," Davis said. "We didn't have enough movement on offense."
Joey Forney knocked down several free throws and had 14 points. Spencer Turner didn't get as many good looks as usual but wound up with 10 points and a game high 10 rebounds.
"IT'S TOUGH," Turner said. "Most rivalry games are never easy."
The difference between the regular season blowout and Friday, Turner said, was "we didn't play together at all. We didn't run our offense, had some individualism."
The Panthers had a couple of chances of pulling away to a more comfortable win, but North rallied and stayed until about three minutes remained, when South went to the stall with the score 50-43.
One statistic heavily in South's favor was offensive rebounds. The Panthers pulled down several, often in bunches, but had difficulty in capitalizing. It was not a good night for hitting shots, by either team.
SOUTH WAS HELPED down the stretch by North turnovers and missed free throws (8 for 23 at the
line for the game.
It was an emotionally draining game. Asked if they had anything left for Saturday's game, Davis and Turner answered in the affirmative.
"Definitely," Davis said.
"We'll have a lot left. We're ready for a sectional championship," Turner said.
What the Panthers need to remind themselves of is that East, like North, is not the same team it beat badly in the regular season.
PANTHER NOTES: Going into the sectional title game, South has won seven straight games. It has beaten North 11 in a row, and it's home court winning streak now stands at 47. The seniors have never lost a home varsity game . . . South had an overwhelming fan advantage Friday. It looked as if 80 per cent of the big crowd wore purple.