PINETOWN — Northside’s size already put it at a disadvantage going into Thursday’s matchup with Pamlico County. The offense suffered, too, when stud guard Ikeem Greene had to sit out with an ankle injury. It helped prevent the Panthers overcome a 5-point halftime deficit in their 62-52 loss.

With him went a lot of the team’s efficiency on that end of the court. He brings a potent mix of keen shooting, dazzling ball handling and smart playmaking that is a key component to the Panthers’ offense.

“They outrebounded us all night. That’s one of our Achilles’ heels,” said coach Michael Proctor. “When Ikeem hurt his ankle right before halftime, that really hurt us. He’s our leader, he’s our ball handler and he couldn’t move in the second half. I think that’s what hurt us … Hopefully he’ll be alright, because if he’s not, we’re in trouble.”

Greene, despite the injury, put his stamp on the game. The senior had nine points, 10 assists and grabbed six rebounds. Bryson Radcliffe led the team in scoring and rebounding. He had 14 points and seven boards.

Even though they were undersized, the crafty Panthers worked well slashing their way to the basket. Pamlico County’s six second-half 3s were enough to create some separation after leading by five, 32-27, at halftime. Getting to the basket was an effective way to keep the game from getting out of reach. With the exception of a pair of free throws, Northside earned all of its fourth-quarter points on layups.

“They shot the 3 pretty well in the second half,” Proctor said. “When they started knocking down some of those 3s, I think that was the turning point of the game.”

Proctor tried to have the Panthers adjust to take away perimeter chances, but it didn’t work out as planned. If nothing else, it highlighted a deficiency to work on in practice.

“We tried to get in the passing lanes and make them cut backdoor a little to eliminate those 3s,” he said. “But we didn’t do a very good job at it. We’re not a very good man-to-man team. That’s something we’ve got to work on.”

After trailing 17-11 at the end of the first quarter, Pamlico County’s offense exploded for 24 points in the second. The Hurricanes got three long-range shots to go down to help them comeback and claim the lead.

Northside gets the opportunity to play a couple of games in a short span when it hosts this weekend’s Northside Holiday Tournament. Proctor hopes it allows him to hammer out a rotation, which is something he hasn’t been able to get done after six games.