Four Panthers make All-Conference team

Published 5:46 pm Thursday, March 21, 2024

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Senior Griffin Johnson and sophomore Malachi Moore represented Northside High School on the Coastal Plains All-Conference first team, while teammates Tate Gibbs and Max Vansant made the second team.

The Panthers posted their best showing since before the COVID-19 pandemic with an 18-10 overall record, a 5-5 conference mark and a trip to the second round of the 1A state playoffs with all four in the starting lineup most nights.

“Griffin was one of our captains and did a great job of leading by example,” coach Jared Adams said. “He worked to develop into an offensive threat and hit some big three-pointers while playing well down low. Malachi made great strides his sophomore year and got to the rim better and improved his ball handling to create his own shots. He accepted and met my challenge to be a key contributor on varsity as a sophomore.”

Johnson averaged 15.1 points and 9.5 rebounds a game, while Moore contributed 14.9 points per contest.

Gibbs paired well with Johnson on the low post to average eight points and six rebounds a game, while Vansant scored 6.7 points with three assists and three steals per game from the point guard spot.

“Tate used his body well to get some buckets and rebounds for us down low,” Adams said. “Max had more assists and fewer turnovers than last year, which is what you want to see from your floor general. One or two turnovers while playing 30 minutes a game is really good. All four guys worked hard over the summer and were a huge part of our success. I’m glad two of them are coming back.”