AMERICUS —
For the Americus-Sumter Panthers it was a tale of two points in their weekend match-ups on Friday and Saturday night. After losing to Crisp County by two points at home on Friday night, the Panthers went on the road to defeat the Terrell County Greenwaves by two points on Saturday night and split their weekend set 1-1.
In the Friday night contest against Crisp County, what seemed like a very close and competitive first period would make all the difference in the Panthers loss. In a back-and-fourth quarter Americus-Sumter ended the period trailing 13-10. The Panthers would win the second period battle with a 14-13 run, but they would still enter the halftime break trailing 26-24.
The Panthers would cut down the lead again in the third period by scoring 20 points while holding the Cougars to 19 to enter the final period of play trailing by just one point. Unfortunately for Americus-Sumter, Crisp County would outscore the Panthers 10-9 in the final frame to claim the 55-53 lead.
Senior guard Xavier Willis and junior Michael Volley could accounted for 40 of the team’s 53 points by scoring 30 points and 10 points, respectively.
Facing the possibility of going zero for two in their weekend set, the Panthers stormed back on Saturday night in Terrell County and used a huge fourth quarter comeback to claim their own two point victory and split the games 1-1.
Americus-Sumter got a strong start in the first period by jumping out to a 19-14 lead, but a disastrous 21-13 second period folly would put the Panthers in a 35-32 hole going into the halftime break.
The Panthers would trade baskets with Terrell in the third period to enter the fourth and final period trailing 53-49. By keeping the game close throughout the first three periods, the Panthers put themselves in a position to comeback and win the game, and they did just that. Americus-Sumter stormed back to outscore the Greenwaves 23-17 in the final period and claim a thrilling 72-70 victory.
The Panthers had an impressive four scorers finish with double-digit points, led by junior Mike Russell with 17 points. Sophomore Juwan High was second on the team with 15 points followed by Willis with 13 and Volley with 10.
The victory brought the Panthers record up to 6-8 on the year with the team heading into two tough Region 1-AAAA games against powerful opponents. Americus-Sumter will face off against Dougherty High tonight in Americus before traveling to Albany to battle Monroe on Friday night. Both games are scheduled to start at approximately 7:30 p.m., or following the conclusion of the girl’s games.
Local Sports
Americus-Sumter basketball splits weekend series
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Bolivian president takes on Americus-Sumter in local soccer match
It’s not every day that a local high school gets to take on the president of a country in a pick-up soccer game. For the Americus-Sumter High School Panthers that rare opportunity presented itself on Monday evening at Alton Shell Stadium on the pitch of Americus-Sumter High School’s South Campus as Bolivian President Evo Morales challenged the Panthers to a soccer game.
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Cheek, Barnes receive top honors as 11 Wildcats land on All-Region team
The 2013 baseball season was a very successful one for the Schley County Wildcats. The ‘Cats earned the Region 4-A Championship after winning their first nine region contests, and finished the regular season with amazing 18-5 record before falling to Jenkins County in the first round of the GHSA Class A Public state playoffs. The Wildcats Region 4-A opponents took notice, and at the All-Region coaches meeting Schley County head coach Chuck Cheek was named Coach of the Year, and ace pitcher Justin Barnes Pitcher of the Year, as the ‘Cats landed 11 members of their squad on the 2013 All-Region 4-A team.
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Americus-Sumter star athlete Kayla Bowens signs with Albany State
Every signing is a special signing for Americus-Sumter Lady Panther head coach Evelyn Wright. While Wright’s main job is to make her team well-rounded and competitive in GHSA Class AAAA competition, the long-time Lady Panther coach takes great pride when one of her players realizes a dream of playing college basketball. Friday morning’s signing ceremony tugged at the heart strings a little more, however, as Wright watched her granddaughter Kayla Bowens sign her name on the dotted line to continue her basketball career at her grandmother’s alma mater, Albany State University.
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Raiders drop two to Mount de Sales to end postseason run
The 2013 Southland Academy Raider baseball team advanced to the second round for the first time in many years after taking down Loganville Christian Academy in the first round of the GISA Class AAA playoffs last week. The Raiders were hoping to keep that run going against Mount de Sales in the quarterfinals this week, but after a big inning cost Southland in game one on Thursday, the Cavaliers of Mount de Sales used a late inning comeback in game two on Saturday to advance to the semifinals and end the Raiders season.
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Four Hurricanes earn All-PBC academic baseball honors
Georgia Southwestern State University seniors Randall Sheffield, Frank Ambrosino, junior Jarrod Taylor and sophomore Les Cromer have earned 2013 Peach Belt Conference All-Academic baseball honors as recently announced by the conference office. Sheffield was named to the All-Academic Team while Ambrosino, Taylor and Cromer received honorable mentions.
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Local businesses help fund new basketball jerseys for Boys and Girls club
Several local businesses partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Americus/Sumter County and the Americus Police Department to buy new uniforms for every member of the organization’s young men’s basketball team recently. The Boys and Girls Club is located at 551 Hosanna Circle.
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Talented SCPRD track and field team performs well at state finals
The Sumter County Parks and Recreation Department (SCPRD) track and field team dominated their area meet to qualify 40 participants for the state meet at Carrollton High School’s Grisham Stadium last weekend. The SCPRD team followed their stout area showing by performing exceptionally well in the state meet to close out their 2013 season.
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Lady Panther basketball standout Kahler Fletcher signs with Emmanuel College
On Tuesday afternoon in the Americus-Sumter High School South Campus media center, senior basketball standout Kahler Fletcher ended a long recruiting process by signing a national letter of intent to continue her basketball career at Emmanuel College in Franklin, Ga.
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Collins’ state title leads Schley Co. to 12th place finish at state meet
As Haley Collins crossed the finish line in the GHSA Class A 800 meter run, she became a state champion. Collins’ dominating performance in the event gave her team 10 points to help lead the Schley County Lady Wildcats to a tie for 12th place in the 30 team meet.
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Raiders advance to quarterfinals with convincing win in deciding game 3
The Southland Academy Raiders quickly found themseleves with their backs against the wall in the first round of the GISA Class AAA baseball playoffs last weekend. After surrendering nine runs to the Loganville Chirstian Academy Lions in the first inning in the first of a three-game series, it looked as if Southland might be traveleing back to Americus early. The resilient Raiders were not looking for an early return trip, however, and after a tremendous comeback in a 11-10 opening game loss Southland rebounded with two dominating victories to move on to the quarterfinals on Thursday.
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