Panthers claim third straight win

Published 12:11 pm Wednesday, January 10, 2018

The Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) men’s basketball team got the new year off to a good start with a 104-95 win over Washington Academy at home on Saturday afternoon.

The win was the team’s third straight and improved the three-time defending USA National Post- Grad champions to 6-4 on the season.

After falling behind early, SVCC took its first lead of the day when K.J. Reagans hit a three-pointer for a 35-32 lead at the seven-minute, 17-second mark of the first half.

Four straight points from Michael Jackson and another bucket by Reagans gave SVCC a 46-39 lead, and the local team took a 48- 41 lead to the halftime break.

A tip-in by Josh McClure and a bucket by Kamron Hughes gave the Panthers a 59-56 lead at the 15:37 mark of the second half.

Seven straight points by Justin Williams including a three-pointer at the 10:37 mark extended the local team’s lead to 81-72.

Southside Virginia Community College kept the pressure on as a three-pointer by Reagans at the 2:45 mark gave the Panthers a 96-88 lead, and the local team hit 3-of-4 from the line over the final minute to seal the victory.

Jackson led SVCC with 28 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Isreal Stith added 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Williams finished with 19 points and three steals, while Hughes tallied nine points and eight rebounds. McClure added eight points and an impressive tally of 17 rebounds for the Panthers.

Bradley Belt, who has committed to the University of Wyoming, paced Washington Academy with 20 points.

The Panthers will hit the road for a return engagement with Washington Academy in Greenville, North Carolina, Sunday at 2 p.m.