PINETOWN — Columbia came out swinging against Northside, but it was a counterpunch by the Panthers in the second quarter that allowed them to move past the Wildcats with a convincing 67-46 victory on Thursday.
The Wildcats (0-4, Tideland) where no doubt aware of Northside’s freshman phenom Edrice Adebayo and did not back down as they came out and took a 6-0 lead before ending the first quarter up 10-9.
“In the last couple of games we thought we could just come out and win because we’re Northside,” Panthers coach Mike Proctor said. “We have to fight through stuff like that and realize that we have to come out and work. (Columbia) doesn’t care who Northside is, they came here to try and win a ball game.”
Columbia’s lead did not last much longer as the combination of Bam Bam and Boot Man proved to be too much.
Adebayo, who goes by the nickname Bam Bam, delivered six second-quarter points, while Antonio “Boot Man” Woods slashed his way to nine second-quarter points and propelled the Panthers to a commanding 35-22 halftime lead.
Woods would score a game-high 20 points, while Adebayo finished with 16 to lead Northside.
“Antonio is a junior and has been with us a long time and he’s showing a lot of leadership,” Proctor said. “He’s doing a good job and he’s just a good player.”
The tide turned when Caleb Sherman knocked down a three to give Northside its first lead of the game, 14-13.
That lead grew to 30-22 after a Woods’ layup and expanded to 34-22 when Andrew Peartree scored a bucket with :10 left in the half.
The Wildcats, who were led by Rayvon Basnight’s 14 points, would not threaten the rest of the game.
The win was the second in a row for Northside, who with their season-opening win over Creswell handed Proctor the 350th victory of his career.
The milestone win caught the Panthers’ coach by surprise.
“I really didn’t know how many I had until (principal) Mr. (Charles) Clark bugged me to death to look back and see how many wins I got,” joked Proctor, who has coached at the school since its inception in 1990. “Three-hundred-and-fifty is good, but it just means that I’m old, been coaching a long time and I’ve had some pretty good players.”

Northside 46, Columbia 24
The inside-outside duo of center Jordan Woolard and point guard Alex Adams helped the Panthers to their second straight win as they topped Columbia 46-24 on Thursday.
Adams, a sophomore scored a game-high 15 points, while the senior Woolard added 12 in Northside’s rout of the Wildcats.
“We’re looking for Alex to pick her game up from where it left off last year and we want JW to get big on the inside,” Northside coach Michelle Leathers said.
The Panthers got off to a big start as they coasted to a 19-3 first-quarter lead as Adams scored eight points in the first eight minutes.
“It was very important to get off to a good start,” Leathers said. “In the past we’ve gotten leads and lost them, but tonight we stayed focused.”
The Wildcats, who were led by Brean Hassel’s eight points, struggled against the Panthers’ press and didn’t fair much better when they got into their halfcourt offense.
After taking a 29-11 halftime lead, Leathers used her bench liberally and was able to outscore Columbia 17-13 in the final two quarters.

Girls’ game
Columbia        3    8    7    6    —    24
Northside        19    10    16    1    ¬—    46
Wildcats (24)
E. Basnight 6, Bowswer 5, Hassel 8, White 1, L. Basnight 5.
Panthers (46)
Alex Adams 15, Jordan Woolard 12, Lang 8, Franks 8, Gruber 2.

Boys’ game
Columbia    10    12    13    11    —    46
Northside    9    26    21    11    —    67

Wildcats (46)
No. 50 8, Rayvon Basnight 14, Collins 6, Rawls 7, Spencer 9, Sexton 3, Reynolds 2.
Panthers (67)
Antonio Woods 20, Edrice Adebayo 16, Washington 9, Slade 6, Peartree 4, Sherman 6, Howson 2, Plasencia 2, Jones 5.