Second round trip to Wilmington a gift or curse for Panther Creek?
Panther Creek took care of business in the opening round of the NCHSAA 4A playoffs, defeating Cary, 71-47.
Now the Catamounts will get on a bus and travel to No. 7 Hoggard on Thursday. The second round of the playoffs can be a roll of the dice: teams can play a familiar foe or a team that know nothing about.
Panther Creek knows a little about the Vikings (20-7). The Catamounts defeated Hoggard, 71-50, in December in Wilmington. The good news for Panther Creek head coach Shawan Robinson is they have seen Hoggard before, so he doesn’t have to worry about scouting a team he knows nothing about. The bad news is the Vikings have seen the Catamounts as well.
“It’s a gift and a curse, they are familiar with what you do so they don’t have to do that much scouting either,” Robinson said. “It is nice to know that you are playing against somebody you’ve seen. I haven’t seen them since December, but you kind of know their personnel and what they are capable of. I just hope our guys can make the two-hour trip and perform.”
Panther Creek senior, and Penn State commit, Justin McKoy led the Catamounts (23-5) with 20 points in their rubber match with Cary (8-17). Daylen Berry added 14 points for Panther Creek. The Imps were led by Aaron Smith and Jared Moore, who each scored 8. Cary played most of the game without senior captain, and leading scorer, Jett Fortuny, who left in the first quarter after taking a shot to the face.
Fortuny scored five quick points in the opening quarter, his final bucket of his career giving the Imps a 9-8 lead. Cary would led 15-14 after the first quarter, but never led the game again after Panther Creek went up 16-14 after a basket from Mason Taylor. Robinson realized Fortuny’s absence was a huge lost for the Imps.
“They lost one of the best players I’ve coached against since I’ve been here,” Robinson said. “He spreads the floor a little bit and opens up drives for them. When he went down we could really focus on protecting the paint and rebounding. I hate it for that kid, but that’s kind of why the tide turned.”
Cary only scored five points in the second quarter, three of those coming from the free throw line right before the half. The Imps scored on a layup to pull within five (22-17), then went eight straight possessions without scoring. Panther Creek led 32-20 at the break and got it going offensively after a slow start.
Robinson said his guys were able to settle down, perhaps playing tight early under the pressure of the win or go home playoff mentality.
“The first round is always tough,” Robinson said. “I warned my guys that (today) could be a trap game. We had to bring our own energy; Justin was able to get going, he hit some jump shots and we found our rhythm.”
The Catamounts had it going at the free throw line, connecting on 34 of 37 free throws in the game.
“That’s probably the best we’ve shot since I’ve been a coach,” Robinson said. “I am very impressed with that number.”
Panther Creek will now visit a Hoggard team that’s had a tough time against programs from the Triangle this year. The Vikings are 0-3 against Wake County this season, falling to Panther Creek, Broughton (77-44) and Wakefield (56-41).
4A men’s results
No. 17 Leesville Road 67, No. 16 Riverside 52
No. 9 Knightdale 75, No. 24 Overhills 68
No. 12 Broughton 76, No. 21 Green Hope 64
No. 13 Garner 91, No. 20 Lumberton 78
No. 14 Rolesville 74, No. 19 Cardinal Gibbons 70
No. 11 Pinecrest 50, No. 22 Sanderson 40
No. 18 Apex Friendship 91, No. 15 Heritage 79
4A women’s results
No. 16 Rolesville 65, No. 17 Green Hope 58
No. 9 Leesville Road 65, No. 24 Garner 46
No. 21 Middle Creek 63, No. 12 Lumberton 57
No. 20 Athens Drive 46, No. 13 Apex Friendship 40
No. 14 Millbrook 64, No. 19 Knightdale 44
No. 22 Riverside-Durham 47, No. 11 Hoggard 35
No. 10 Jordan 74, No. 23 Overhills 40
No. 15 Cardinal Gibbons 63, No. 18 Seventy-First 62
3A men’s results
No. 1 Hillside 58, No. 32 West Brunswick 49
No. 4 Williams 69, No. 29 Northern Durham 50
No. 11 South Johnston 61, No. 22 Chapel Hill 47
No. 7 East Wake 52, No. 26 Rocky Mount 48
No. 23 Northwood 48, No. 10 Southern Durham 47,
No. 18 Dudley 63, No. 15 Harnett Central 56,
No. 2 Northern Nash 75, No. 31 Havelock 61
3A women’s results
No. 16 Rocky Mount 47, No. 17 Harnett Central 39
No. 8 East Wake 74, No. 25 Western Alamance 72
No. 4 Hillside 79, No. 29 New Hanover 32
No. 19 Eastern Wayne 62, No. 14 Clayton 53
No. 7 Hunt 54, No. 26 Williams 52
No. 23 Southern Durham 59, No. 10 Topsail 51
No. 18 Eastern Alamance 57, No. 15 Orange 52
No. 2 Southern Guildford 57, No. 31 Chapel Hill 29
2A men’s results
No. 1 Farmville Central 93, No. 32 Providence Grove 43
No. 9 Kinston 63, No. 24 J.F. Webb 35
No. 4 Vance County 82, No. 29 Bartlett Yancey 53
No. 3 Goldsboro 68, No. 30 Clinton 59
No. 15 South Granville 80, No. 18 West Craven 69
No. 2 Greene Central 90, No. 31 Beddingfield 64
2A women’s results
No. 1 Farmville Central 66, No. 32 Heide Trask 21
No. NCSSM 56, No. South Lenior 32
No. 3 Kinston 64, No. 30 North Johnston 33
1A men’s results
No. 8 Pamlico County 94, No. 25 Franklinton Academy 62
No. 24 Chatham Central 58, No. 9 Ocracoke 56,
No. 15 Granville Central 54, No. 28 East Columbus 44
No. 3 Northwest Halifax 79, No. 30 Raleigh Charter 48
No. 11 Voyager Academy 55, No. 22 Gates County 49
No. 18 Louisburg 65, No. 15 Bear Grass Charter 46
No. 2 Henderson Charter 87, No. 31 Lejeune 44
1A women’s results
No. 5 Vance Charter 70, No. 28 Franklin Academy 31
No. 13 Henderson Collegiate 61, No. 20 South Davidson 45
No. 4 Chatham Central 54, No. 29 Voyager Academy 28
No. 10 Raleigh Charter 51, No. 23 Gates County 39
This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 10:06 PM.
