TVBA

By Jason Fite/Sports writer

The Lewis County 4th Grade Lady Panthers TVBA team traveled to Brooks High School in Killen, Alabama on Saturday, February 11th for games against the Brooks (AL) Lady Lions and the Lexington (AL) Golden Bears.

The first half of the first game of the day between the Lady Panthers and the Lady Lions was slow paced and low scoring. Brooks scored the game’s first four points before a pair of Jacelyn Anthony baskets and a shot from Delani Hull pulled Lewis County to a two-point lead that held to halftime. Lewis County would hold a four point lead early in the second half before a six-point run gave Brooks the lead. The Lady Panthers would come back to claim lead late at 13-12,but the Lady Lions would score in the final moments to take a 14-13 win. Jacelyn Anthony led Lewis County with 6 points, Delani Hull had 4, and Jazlynn Baugh added 3.

The Lady Panthers would bounce back in their second game of the day against the Lexington Golden Bears. The Lewis County defense was the star of the first half as they shut out the Golden Bears for the entire half while Jayda Baugh (6) and Briley Dodson (2) accounted for the Lady Panthers scoring in the period as Lewis County held an 8-0 lead at halftime. The second half began in the same fashion as the first with Lewis County scoring the first six points of the half to go up 14-0 before a late free throw and field goal put the Golden Bears on the board as Lewis County took the win 14-3. Jayda Baugh had 6 points in the win, Delani Hull added 4, and Briley Dodson and Jacelyn Anthony each had 2.

The Lady Panthers finished 1-1 on the day in TVBA play.

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The Lewis County Panthers 4th Grade TVBA team traveled to Killen, Alabama and Brooks High School on Saturday, February 11th for games against the West Morgan (AL) Rebels and the Brooks (AL) Lions.

In the first game of the evening the Panthers and Rebels went back and forth, matching each other basket for basket before West Morgan took at two point lead at the half. KanonMcDonald had six first half and Cooper Johnston four as the Panthers trailed 17-15 asthe teamswent in at halftime. The second was as close as the first as the Panthers kept fighting and the teams swapped the lead over thelast fifteen minutes of action. But it was the Rebels that were able to hang on and took the win 32-29. Kanon McDonald finished with 8 points, Cooper Johnston and Dominick James each added 6, Haven Ray had 5, and Kayden O’Neal 4.

The Panthers returned to the floor in their second game of the night against the Brooks Lions. The Panthers hung with the Lions over the first ten minutes of the first half,staying within three points. But the Lions began to take control midway through the first half,using an 8-0 run to take a 26-15 lead at halftime. Brooks kept the pressure on in the second half as they continued to open up their lead in the second half and pulled away to a 47-31 win over the Panthers. Kanon McDonald led the Panthers with 9, Haven Ray had 6, Kayden O’Neal, Hunter Carroll, and Dominick James each had 4, and Cooper Johnston and Michael Adkins each had 2.

The Panthers finished 0-2 on the night in TVBA play.

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The 4th Grade Panthers Tennessee Valley Basketball Association team traveled again to Brooks High School in Killen, Alabama on Saturday, February 18th for matchups against the Florence (AL) Central Wildcats and the Muscle Shoals(AL) Trojans.

In the first game of the day for the Panthers they jumped all overthe Widcats early, using five points from Kayden O’Nealand four from Kanon McDonald to fuel an 11-0 run before allowing Central their first points. Lewis County built a fourteen-point lead at 19-5 as the game reached halftime. Central would bounce back after the halftime break. The Wildcats rode a pair of five point runs to pull to within six, but the big first half lead the Panthers built wasmore than enough as Lewis County took a 27-19 win. Kanon McDonald led the Panthers with 10 points in the win, Kayden O’Neal added 7 points, Hunter Carroll ended with 4, and Haven Ray, Michael Adkins,and Dominick James each had 2 points.

The Panthers took the floor in their second game to face the undefeated Muscle Shoals Trojans. Muscle Shoals scored the first nine points of the first half beforethe Panthers were able to putpoints on the board, and they continued to build their lead over the last ten minutes of the half. Muscle Shoals took a 24-12 lead at the half. The Panthers continued to struggle over the second half as the Trojans limited opportunities while extending their lead until the final buzzer, handing the Panthers a 40-19 loss. Kanon McDonald had 8 points in the loss, Kayden O’Neal had 5, Cooper Johnston added 4, and Dominick James 2.

The Panthers were 1-1 on the day in TVBA action.

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The 4th Grade Lady Panthers TVBA team traveled to Brooks High School in Killen, Alabama on Thursday, February 23rd to open play in the season-ending TVBA Tournament.

In their first game of the night the Lady Panthers faced the Cullman (AL) Lady Bearcats. With the game tied at two after just over three minutes of action in the first half, Lewis County went on a run and outscored the Lady Bearcats by eight for the remainder of the half to secure a 10-2 lead at halftime. The Lady Bearcats began to climb back after the half as they cut the Lewis County lead to four at 11-7 in the opening minutes of the second half. But,the Lady Panthers found an answer and again began to limit opportunities for Cullman. The Lady Bearcats were heldto only one basket over the final ten-plus minutesof action as the Lady Panthers cruised to a first-round win 24-10. Jayda Baugh and Addisen Staggs each had 6 points in the win, Jazlynn Baugh added 5, Briley Dodson 3, and Jacelyn Anthony and Delani Hull each finished with 2 points.

With the win, the Lady Panthers had to turn around and play in their second-round matchup against the Lawrence County (TN) Lady Wildcats. The pace of the second game of the night was much slower,as neither team was affording the other many opportunities on the offensive end for the first twelve minutes of the first half. Lawrence County would secure a 7-3 lead as the game reached the half. The two teams again found struggles on offense, but it was the Lady Panthers that had the most troublein the second half managing only a pair of Jayda Baugh baskets as Lawrence County took the win 12-7. Jayda Baugh finished with 4 points in the loss, Jazlynn Baugh had 2, and Jacelyn Anthony 1.

With the loss the Lady Panthers fell to the lower bracket of the tournament and wouldturn around to play again in the third round on Friday.

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The Lewis County Lady Panthers 4th Grade TVBA team traveled to Brooks High School in Killen, Alabama for their third round game in the TVBA Tournament on Friday, February 24th to face the Decatur (AL) Lady Raiders.

It was a quick turnaround and another long trip for the Lady Panthers, but the start to the game was clear that they were ready to play. Jayda Baugh scored the first six points of the game and the Lady Panthers held a 6-0 lead at the midway point of the first half. Decatur was able toclose out the halfon a 4-0 run and Lewis County held a 6-4 lead at the half. The Lady Panthers went on a 7-0 run to start the second half behind four points from Jacelyn Anthony and three more from Jayda Baugh, and held the Lady Raiders to one basket in the half as Lewis County took the third-round win 15-6. Jayda Baugh scored 8 in the win, Jacelyn Anthony added 4, Briley Dodson had 2, and Jazlynn Baugh had 1 point.

With the win the Lady Panthers advanced to the fourth round to take on the Meek (AL) Lady Tigers. Additionally, the Lady Panthers secured their place in the TVBA Final Four with the win.

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The Lewis County Panthers 4th Grade TVBA team traveled to Athens High School in Athens, Alabama for the second round of TVBA Tournament action on Saturday, February 25th. The Panthers would be playing in the lower bracket following an opening round loss and would square off with the Lauderdale County (AL) Tigers.

Dominick James scored four of Lewis County’s first six points of the game and the Panthers held a 6-3 lead midway through the first half. Using a 6-0 run, Panthers pulled out in front and carried a 14-5 lead in to the halftime break. Lewis County would continue to control the pace of the game over the course of the second half as Lauderdale County was never able to pull back into the game and the Panthers came away with the win 23-11. Kanon McDonald had 6 points in the win, Dominick James and Haven Ray each had 5, Kayden O’Neal 3, and Cooper Johnston and Hunter Carroll 2 points each.

With the win the Panthers had to turn around for a second game on the night, facing the Athens (AL) Eagles. Kanon McDonaldand Kayden O’Neal each had four to account for LewisCounty’s first eight points as they took an 8-2 lead midway through the first half. The Eagles would fight back and score fourteen points over the final eight minutes of the first half to over take the Panthers and carry a 20-15 lead into halftime. The Panthers would bounce back out of the break, pulling even at 23, but the Eagles responded with a 13-0 run to reclaim control and cruise tothe win 42-31. Kanon McDonald finished with 13 points in the loss, Kayden O’Neal added 8, Dominick James 6, and Cooper Johnston 4.

The Panthers finished the night 1-1 and claimed their place in the TVBA Final Four.

With the win the Panthers would move on to play the Athens (AL) Eagles later in the day in the third round.

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The Lewis County Panthers 4th Grade TVBA team opened up play in the season-ending TVBA Tournament on Thursday, February 23rd as they matched up with the Brooks (AL) Lions at Florence Middle School in Florence, Alabama.

The Panthers started off the tight matchup scoring the opening our points,but Brooks countered with a 9-0 run to take a 9-4 lead midway through the first half. A Cooper Johnston bucket followed by a three from Kanon McDonaldwould tie the game at 9, but Brooks would close out the first half on an 11-3 run to take a 20-12 lead at halftime. Brooks would pull away over the first half of the second half and held a 35-23 lead, but the Panthers were not going down without a fight. Hunter Carroll would score eight and Haven Ray four over the closing minutes to pull the Panthers within two, but the comeback would fall short as Brooks to the win 37-35. Hunter Carroll led the Panthers with 14, Kanon McDonald added 8, Haven Ray 7, Cooper Johnston 4, and Michael Adkins 2.

With the lossthe Panthers would fall into the lower bracket and play on Saturday against Lauderdale County to move on in the tournament.

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The 4th Grade Lewis County Lady Panthers returned to Brooks High School in Killen, AL on Saturday, February 25th for their quarterfinal matchup and for seeding in the TVBA Final Four with a matchup against the Meek (AL) Lady Tigers.

The Meek Lady Tigers took control early in the game, outscoring the Lady Panthers 7-1 in the first ten minutes of action. After a Jacelyn Anthony basket made it a 7-3 game, Meek closed out the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 15-3 lead just before halftime. The Lady Tigers continued to control the game as the second half began, scoring six straight before a Delani Hull three made it a 21-6 game. Meek would outscore Lewis County 5-2 from that point in the second half and take the win 26-8. Jacelyn Anthony led the Lady Panthers in the loss with 4, Delani Hull added 3, and Addisen Staggs had 1 point.

Despite the loss, the Lady Panthers would secure their spot in the TVBA Final Four and play the Brooks Lady Lions on Monday night, March 6th.

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The 3rd Grade Lewis County Panthers TVBA team traveled to Rogers High School in Florence, AL for a pair of afternoon matchups against the Rogers (AL) Pirates and the Lawrence County (TN) Purple on Saturday, February 11th.

The Panthers opened the day against the Pirates. The two teams exchanged the lead throughout the first half as both teams would hold a small lead at one time. But Rogers would inch out in front 13-7 as the game reached halftime. Rogers used an eight-point run that spanned the two halves of the game to pull out in front and the Panthers struggled to find offense to cut the lead. The Panthers would trail by as many as 11 but would get within two possessions before falling to Rogers 28-21. Carter Creasy had 11 points in the loss, Kendel Mathis 4, and Cash Creasy, Cazden Lomax, and Keegan Salyers each had 2.

In the second game of the afternoon the Panthers faced the Lawrence County Gold. In a very low scoring first half the two teams struggled to find offensive opportunities as each defense played a strong half. As the game reached halftime it was the Panthers that held a one-point lead at 4-3. The game remained low scoring after the halftime break, as each team countered the other in a back-and-forth final period. The two teams exchanged the lead a total of six times and the game was tied at 11-11 in the closing seconds. The Panthers secured one final opportunity in regulation and Cash Creasy knocked down a jumper as time expired to secure the win for the Panthers 13-11.

The 3rd Grade Panthers ended Saturday’s TVBA action 1-1.

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The Lewis County Panthers 3rd Grade team began play in the TVBA postseason tournament on Thursday night, February 23rd when they traveled to Sheffield, Alabama and Sheffield Parks and Recreation for their first round matchup with the Deshler (AL) Tigers.

The Panthers started the game firing on all cylinders as their defense limited the Tiger opprotunities early and took a lead in the opening moments. The Panthers would go on to outscore the Tigers by six in the first half and held on to a 14-8 lead at halftime. Lewis County continued to play great defense to start the second and went on a nine-point run to start the half and cruised to a big 32-12 win. Kendel Mathis had 12 points in the win for Lewis County, Carter Creasy added 8 points, Landyn Everson and Cash Creasy 3 each, and Cazden Lomax, Camden Greene, and A.J. Davis 2 each.

With the win the Panthers would return on Friday for the second round against top-seed Decatur (AL).

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The Lewis County Panthers 3rd Grade TVBA team returned to Sheffield Parks and Recreation in Sheffield, Alabama on Friday, February 24th for a second round matchup against the Decatur (AL) Raiders.

The teams played a very tight first half, matching baskets over the course of the the period with the Raiders taking a late lead in the half to go up 11-9 at halftime. The Panthers pulled to within one at 13-12 in the early part of the second half, but they wouldget no closer as Decatur ran off twelve unanswered points to go up 25-12. Deshler would go on to take the win 32-14. Carter Creasy led Lewis County with 9 points in the loss, Camden Greene added 3, and Kendel Mathis and Cash Creasy each had 1 point.

The Panthers would be back in action on Saturday, February 25th in the lower bracket.

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The Lewis County Panthers 3rd Grade TVBA team traveled once more to Sheffield Parks and Recreation in Sheffield, Alabama for the third round of the TVBA Tournament. The Panthers, playing in the lower bracket, would face the Brooks (AL) Lions to determine seeding in the TVBA Final Four.

The Lions outpaced the Panthers early in the first half. Brooks was able to pull out in front 10-4 by the midway point in the first half, but the Panthers would find an answer. Lewis County went on an eleven point run to close out the half with a 15-10 lead. The Brooks Lions would begin to chip away at the Panther lead after the break at halftime. Over the first eight minutes of the second half the Panthers were able to fend of the Lions by matching baskets, but the Lions would work even with five minutes left in the game. The Panthers were unable to overcome the second half surge by the Lions and fell 32-26. Carter Creasy had 10 points for the Panthers, Camden Greene and Cash Creasy each added 5 points, Kendel Mathis had 4, and Landyn Everson had 2 points.

Despite the loss the Panthers secured a place in the TVBA Final Four.

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Lewis County was represented by 3 teams in 3 divisions in the Tennessee Valley Basketball Association Final Four. The 4th Grade Lady Panthers, the 3rd Grade Panthers, and the 4th Grade Panthers all traveled to Muscle Shoals High School in Muscle Shoals, Alabama for games beginning on Monday, March 6th.

The 4th Grade Lady Panthers are coached by Delicia Hull and assisted by Jake White. Members of the Lady Panthers are Addi Bastin, Addisen Staggs, Briley Dodson, Delani Hull, Gracelynn Staggs, Jacelyn Anthony, Jayda Baugh, Jazlynn Baugh, Landree White, and Payton Weatherly. The Lady Panthers’ first game, the TVBA Final Four Semifinal, is against the Brooks (AL) Lady Lions on Monday, March 6th.

The 3rd Grade Panthers are coached by Michael Creasy and assisted by Brad Creasy. Members of the Panthers are Cash Creasy, Cazden Lomax, Landyn Everson, Cruz Hallman, A.J. Davis, Braison Sullivan, Camden Greene, Carter Creasy, Conner Harris, Kendel Mathis, Keegan Salyers, and Lennox Culberson. The Panthers’ first game, the TVBA Final Four Semifinal, is against the Brooks (AL) Lions on Tuesday, March 7th.

The 4th Grade Panthers are coached by Mallory McDonald. Members of the Panthers are Brantlee Tripp, Cooper Johnston, Dominick James, Haven Ray, Hunter Carroll, Kanon McDonald, Kayden O’Neal, and Michael Adkins. The Panthers’ first game, the TVBA Final Four Semifinal, is against the West Morgan (AL) Rebels on Saturday, March 11th.