YEATESVILLE — Northside center Tony Peele did just about everything he could to help his team top Perquimans but in the end his 34-point effort was not enough as the Panthers fell 72-67 to the Pirates on Friday in a Four Rivers Conference battle.

Peele’s 34 points tied a career high and guard Xavier Stanley was Northside’s second-leading scorer with 11, but they were the only two Northside (4-3, 0-2) players to reach double digits on Friday.

“Tony did a good job tonight, he never quit and he played hard,” Northside coach Mike Procter said. “We just have to get some guys to step up and give him some scoring help. I know they’re trying, but we have to get some guys to score a little bit better.”

Perquimans’ guard Mikel Harvey had no problems scoring has he racked up a team-high 29 points. Harvey sliced and diced through the Northside defense all night and completed several old fashioned three-point plays.

“He’s a good player, he made his foul shots and he played hard,” Procter said of Harvey.

After ending the first quarter tied at 16, it was Harvey that enabled the Pirates to take the lead as he scored 10 points in the second quarter which included two three-point plays and a three-pointer to help his team go up 35-33 at the break.

It was in the third quarter that Perquimans was able to put some distance between itself and Northside as Harvey erupted for 11 points as the Pirates outscored the Panthers 19-14 to go into the final stanza up 54-47.

Peele put the Panthers on his back late in the game as he tallied 11-fourth quarter points, but the rest of the team could only produce nine.

“It all boils down to the fact that Perquimans made shots when it needed to and we couldn’t seem to make some shots at times,” Procter said.

 

Pirates slip past Panthers

It was a rollercoaster ride type of game for Northside as its peak brought it a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but its valley resulted in a 49-46 loss to Four Rivers Conference foe Perquimans on Friday.

The Panthers post duo of Rachel Hollowell and Jordan Woolard were fantastic for most of the night as they tallied a team-high 12 points each, but that effort would not be enough to slow down the Pirates.

“It was just a night where things didn’t go our way,” Northside coach Michelle Leathers said.

One thing that didn’t seem to go Northside’s way were some of the foul calls. The Panthers’ combination of inconsistent defense combined with some unlucky whistles allowed Perquimans to overcome a 37-27 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter thanks to a 22-9 rally in the final eight minutes.

“We didn’t have all of the players that we needed to have in; they all fouled out,” Leathers said. “Caroline Slade, Brittney Alligood and Mallory Paul each fouled out and we had two other starters with four fouls; that’s tough.”

While fouls limited Leathers’ lineup late in the game, the Northside coach said the bottom line is that her team didn’t make shots when it needed to.

“We still have to knock down our shots,” Leathers said. “We can’t worry about whether or not we’re getting fouled, we have to just knock our shots down and play our game.”

While Northside (5-2, was collapsing, Perquimans was gaining momentum as guard Brean Fields tallied nine-fourth quarter points and he key free throws down the stretch to seal a Pirates’ victory.

Fields would finish the game with 11 points, while Sarah Mariner scored a game-high 14.

 

Girls game

Perquimans 6       9       10     22     —     49

Northside   8       14     15     9       —     46

 

Pirates (49)

Brean Fields 11, Sarah Mariner 14, Lyon, 6, Coston 9, Stallings 4, Elliot 3, Ballus 2.

Panthers (46)

Rachel Hollowell 12, Jordan Woolard 12, Alligood 4, Paul 4, Adams 8, Cutler 2, Slade 3, Franks 1.

 

Boys game

Perquimans 16     19     19     18     —     72

Northside   16     17     14     20     —     67

 

Pirates (72)

Beasley 4, Williams 9, Daniel Heath 13, Mikel Harvey 29, Jawon Bond 10, Davis 6.

Panthers (67)

Radcliffe 4, Toney Peele 34, Waters 4, Xavier Stanley 11, Woods 8, Sessoms 4.