Northside boys claw back to reach 2nd round

Published 4:52 am Friday, February 28, 2025

By Jason O. Boyd

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YEATESVILLE, N.C. — The state high school basketball playoffs are never void of drama. There was plenty of it in Tuesday’s Northside High School boys’ game with North Duplin.

The Panthers were staring at a big, early-game deficit for the second contest in a row. This time, Northside put on a furious rally and nailed an 82-67 win emphatically with a dramatic dunk that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Northside (21-5), the No. 13 seed, was looking to continue its success in the NC High School Athletic Association Class 1A state playoffs Friday with a road trip to Durham and No. 4 seed Voyager Academy (21-5).

Northside trailed by double digits against Lejeune last Saturday in the Coastal Plains Conference title game. The Panthers got to within one at 55-54 but were not able to pull out a win as Lejeune took the crown, 58-54. It was just the second loss of the season at home, one that left a bitter taste in the Panthers’ mouths.

Fast forward to Tuesday and Northside was facing another challenge early. North Duplin (11-12), the No. 20 seed, led 17-4 and used an 8-2 run in the final 1:32 of the first quarter for a 25-10 lead.

“They came out hot, they came out pressuring the ball, and we just came out flat,” senior guard Max Vansant said. “We felt dead, we weren’t making free throws, we weren’t finishing layups, I was making dumb passes.

“We came out so sloppy, and we definitely had to battle back. “It’s hard to come back from that, but that’s how our team is, we crawl back. We worked too hard to let a team like that come out 17-4 on us.”

North Duplin kept at it and maintained a double-digit lead until late in the first half. Northside was able to chip it to 36-30 at the half after baskets by Zi’mier Alexander and Malachi Moore.

Moore scored his 1,000th point after hitting two free throws with 5:51 left in the first half. He had seven of Northside’s 20 points to lead the way. His scoring in the third quarter was part of the reason the Panthers were able to eventually take the lead.

Northside used a 13-2 stretch in a two-plus minute stretch of the third quarter to take the lead for good. Memphis Keech scored six straight points, Kevin Berrelleza hit a runner in the lane and Landon Moore nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Panthers a 53-45 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Moore had 11 points while Vansant and Alexander each scored six points. However, the statement came with just under four minutes left. Both teams were scrambling for a rebound when Nick Moore caught the ball and slammed it home with two hands for a 68-58 lead. It set off a wild celebration and marked the first time in the game the Panthers led by double digits.

“I was down, I thought Zi (Alexander) was getting a rebound, but Zi and Nick were there on the right time. That dunk really got us very, very hyped, and it was a nice moment.”

Malachi Moore led Northside with 25 points while Alexander had 14 and Vansant had 13. Northside struggled at the free throw line, connecting on just 18 of 38.

North Duplin’s Donavan Armwood led all scorers with 26.

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