YEATESVILLE — When Southside and Northside take the court anything can happen and Friday’s contest was proof of that as the two area and Four Rivers Conference rivals needed an extra quarter to declare a winner.
In the end, Northside legged out a 69-64 overtime victory thanks to a 35-point, 16-rebound effort by center Tony Peele. The Panthers big man was a big reason why five Southside players fouled out of the contest as Seahawks’ coach Sean White elected to employ Pound-a-Peele defense. The scheme didn’t work as the 6-5 senior made 19 of his 28 attempts at the charity stripe to debunk the defensive and lead his team to victory.
“Tony can shoot and when he focuses at the foul line he can make them,” Northside coach Mike Procter said. “That’s a big plus for us because we do throw it in to him and if they do put him on the line we can make our foul shots … If he goes 50 percent from the line we don’t win.”
White said he did not want to allow the star center to get free looks at the basket.
“Anytime the ball gets inside to a guy like Tony we want to foul him and make him earn it at the line,” White said.
After the Panthers (10-5, 4-3) jumped out to a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter each team alternated holding leads after the end of each stanza until they were locked at 58 upon the conclusion of the fourth quarter.
Rokeem Miller led Southside with 16 points, while Byron Murray added 15, Kyle White tallied 13 and K.J. Rouse chipped in 10.
Southside forwards Murray, Bryan Dixon, Terrill Moore and center Jahquez Rodman all fouled out by the end of regulation while Miller, a combo guard, earned his final foul two minutes into OT.
Southside rallied from a 46-42 fourth-quarter deficit and after White scored back-to-back baskets held a 58-56 lead with 40 seconds left in the game.
That lead disappeared after Northside made stop with 8.8 seconds on the clock and called a timeout before point guard Kentrell Washington dashed the full length of the court and made a layup with two seconds remaining.
“The biggest play was right before overtime when Kentrell got in the lane,” White said. “I told the guys to trap up top and not allow the ball to get to him. We let him right by and we didn’t foul him. You have to foul in that situation.”
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday as Southside will host Manteo and Northside will entertain Perquimans.

Seahawks 53, Panthers 36
The Southside girls eliminated the need for drama and overtime as they raced out to a 13-2 first-quarter lead and turned it into a 53-36 victory over the rival Panthers.
The Seahawks (16-2, 8-1), the No. 2 ranked 1-A team in the state, were led by point guard Katisha Hyman’s 12 points and four assists, while forwards Deandrea Purdue tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds and Khaijia Mourning posted eight points and 11 boards.
While Mourning and Purdue were effective on offense, it was their work on defense that had a bigger impact. The duo, along with the rest of the Seahawks’ frontcourt helped shut down Northside’s frontcourt tandem of Rachel Hollowell and Jordan Woolard by limited them to a combined 12 points.
“We were concerned, we didn’t think Northside’s record was indicative of how well they can play,” Southside coach Bill Lake said. “That’s a huge team … We really focused all week on boxing out and trying to keep them off the boards and I think we did a real nice job with that.”
Woolard posted eight points for the Panthers (8-5, 2-4) while Hollowell totaled four, but it was the play of freshman point guard Alex Adams that left Northside coach Michelle Leathers with a positive feeling after the game.
Adams sliced and diced her way through the Seahawks defense and showed nice touch around the basket to score a game-high 14 points.
“She’s going to be the next Michelle Leathers,” joked the Panthers’ coach who played basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. “She’s just getting into the speed of varsity but I told her it doesn’t matter that you’re a freshman. The team looks to her to score, she can take over a game.”

Girls game
Southside    13    15    15    10    —    53
Northside    2    8    10    16    —    36

Seahawks (53)
Dudley 8, Katisha Hyman 12, Deandrea Purdue 10, Painter 5, Mourning 8, Clark 6.
Panthers (36)
Alex Adams 14, Franks 1, Hollowell 8, Woolard 4, Stanley 1, Slade 5, Holmes 2.

Boys game
Southside    9    18    15    16    6    –    64
Northside    15    10    21    12    11    –    69

Seahawks (64)
Rokeem Miller 16, Byron Murray 15, Kyle White 13, K.J. Rouse 10, Rodman 5, Dixon 2, Moore 4, Pender 1.
Panthers (64)
Tony Peele 35, Slade 7, Kentrell Washington 14, Woods 8, Waters 6.