Panthers fall short of doubleheader sweep in CPC final

Published 11:35 pm Sunday, February 23, 2025

By Jason O. Boyd

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YEATESVILLE, N.C. — A crazy week of schedule changes, weather and basketball didn’t end up exactly as the Northside boys had hoped.

The Panthers dropped a 58-54 decision to Lejeune in the title game of the Coastal Plains Conference Tournament. The loss gave Lejeune the league’s top seed in the NC High School Athletic Association Class 1A state playoffs, which began on Tuesday. Northside (20-5), the No. 2 seed from the CPC and the No. 13 overall seed in the East, hosted North Duplin Tuesday.

“I mean, now we’re just going to hone in, see what we’ve got in the playoffs, regroup, and we’re OK,” said Northside coach Jared Adams, who, like many, was frustrated over the outcome. This one game doesn’t define us. We’ve had a great season. We don’t quit. We fight hard. We work hard. We have nothing to be ashamed of.

“It was a one-possession, one-basket game, and we took the loss. But we fought back because we were down nine to put ourselves in that position.”

Northside’s week — which included playing Pamlico County a day early at Northside and losing three days of practice due to the winter weather — ended with disappointment in the final 25 seconds. The Panthers rallied against Lejeune (15-6) in the final moments after trailing by 10 points with 6:38 left.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Landon Moore and Max Vansant cut Lejeune’s lead to 55-53 with two minutes left. Both teams called a timeout after a change of possession before a bizarre last 25 seconds unfolded.

Northside’s Zi’mier Alexander was fouled and made one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 55-54. During that stop in play, the officials found blood on the uniform of Lejeune’s Evan Velez. Instead of making him exit the game to swap his uniform, he and teammate Roman Wells stripped their shorts off in front of the crowd, traded them and put them back on. Velez was allowed back onto the court to finish.

Malachi Moore, who finished with a team-high 20 points, was then forced to foul Elijah Winston with 11 seconds left as the Devil Pups tried to run out the clock. Winston made the second of two free throws for a 56-54 lead.

Northside called time and Moore drove to the basket but missed a shot on a frantic exchange where he and at least one other player fell to the floor. When the dust settled, Northside’s Nick Moore was called for his fifth foul with 4.4 seconds left. Lejeune’s Devon Charles, who finished with a game-high 22 points, made both free throws for the final margin.

“I mean, you kind of have a couple of bang-bang plays inside 10 seconds and guys go up for layups, hit the ground,” Adams said. “Something’s got to be called. The official said it might, maybe could have been a charge.

“Regardless, you make the call. You make the call. You don’t let two kids hit the floor, the ball goes up, a two-point ball game, inside 12 seconds, and a no-call.

“You make the call if good or bad or indifferent. But, you know, that was a bang-bang right there.”

It put a damper on a game where Northside, wearing road blacks since it was the visiting team, jumped to a 17-4 lead after a 3-pointer by Malachi Moore. The Panthers held the lead until the last minutes of the third quarter, where Lejeune put together a 13-0 run in the final 3:07 for a 44-37 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well tonight from the outside,” Adams said. “They kind of ran a tight zone a couple times. Rebounds just kind of came off our hands and fell into theirs.”

All-tournament team: Lejeune — Devon Charles, Conner Shea, Sebestian Dorelien; Northside — Max Vansant, Malachi Moore; Pamlico County — Koby Lane; Southside — Josh Armstrong.

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