Panthers overwhelm Hounds
J. C. Tilton
South came into this game with a winning streak and having just won a big game the night before against CCC powerhouse National Trail. Dixie has had a single victory in the new year and had been struggling to get back in the win column. The only hope for Dixie was to catch the Panthers flat - having spent all their emotion on Friday night.
The game opened at a slow pace and the scoring was sparse as the two teams got a feel for each other. At the 4:26 mark it was 4-2 in favor of the Panthers. The team did seem a little flat out of the gate, so Dixie had a chance as long as the score stayed low. But the Hounds did not get any traction on offense against the Panther zone. And at the other end of the court South started to hit their shots and get the ball inside to Smith. TVS did mix in a half court trap and the aggressive defense may have helped them to shake off the cobwebs. South proceeded to reel off 12 unanswered points and grow their lead. Johnny Adams managed to score a basket before the end of the quarter, but Dixie was down 16-4.
Dixie got a little bounce at the beginning of the second quarter. They made some headway against the South lead. Eldred, Adams and Cummins all scored to pull Dixie within 9. But from there the South offense took control. Limiting Dixie to just 2 free throws, they poured in 16 points. At halftime the lead was 35-14.
TVS did mix in some full court pressure in the third quarter and managed to maintain their lead. In the remainder of the game, it was time for the bench to get some playing time. South's Calvin Bryan took advantage of the extra minutes by completing a hat trick - connecting on 3 shots from downtown. Andy Dawson was on his heels with a couple of treys of his own. Dixie would fall to South 70-46.
Scoring for TVS: D. Bassler 8, C. Bassler 5, Bryant 9, Loxley 5, W. Bassler 8, Nuse 2, Stearman 7, Smith 20, Dawson 6. Scoring for Dixie: Poynter 4, Eldred 12, Adams 11, Barnes 2, Spahr 9, Cummins 8.
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