The South Iron Boys Varsity Basketball team remained perfect on the season this week with convincing wins over Ellington and Osage. They downed the Whippets on Tuesday 81-52 before trouncing the Indians 74-59 on Friday to keep their undefeated streak alive. They now sit at 6-0 on the season.
The week started out with the Panthers having to travel to Ellington, but the journey certainly didn’t affect their abilities, as they broke out for a 22-10 lead after the first quarter. That was just the tip of the iceberg though, seeing as they poured in 24 in the next frame to go up 46-24 at the half.
South Iron was just getting started though, and came out firing after the break. They dropped a game-high 30 points in the third quarter and held the Whippets to just 11. That 76-35 lead was quite enough to convincingly have the game in hand, so Head Coach Dusty Dinkins put in the subs in the fourth.
Ellington crept back in a bit, taking advantage of the Panthers starters getting a breather with 17 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough. The boys from Annapolis held on to win easily, 81-52, for their fifth straight on the season.
Jermartez Burse was an absolute beast in this one with a game-high 34 points. He went nuts from beyond the arc with a 6-of-12 three-point performance and also led the team with eight rebounds. Kolton Dinkins and Sawyer Huff were next on the stat sheet with 12 points apiece.
Coach Dinkins commented on the victory with, “We had a very good shooting night! Our defensive intensity was also very impactful. Overall, a very good game for our team.”
The final game of the week saw the Panthers traveling again as they had to make the long haul to Greenwood to take on the Osage Indians. Once again they didn’t disappoint with another big first quarter.
They put up 18 on Osage and held them to just 13 to set the tone early. Things would be tight early on though as the Indians had some fight in them. The second quarter was a back-and-forth scoring affair, with the Panthers putting up 24 and Osage nipping at their heels with 22. Still, South Iron held a 42-35 advantage at the break.
Things wouldn’t be much different in the third, as both teams kept it tight. The Panthers managed 18, but couldn’t gain much more separation with their opponent mustering 17 of their own. They found some relief in the the final quarter though, as that separation was finally gained with a 15-6 frame to close out the victory. The 74-59 win against another Class 4 school this year moved the Panthers to 6-0 on the season.
Coach Dinkins on the effort, “Great experience for our team. A three and a half hour bus ride and several distractions for us to overcome; while trying to compete against a solid Class 4 team. We weren’t our best and turned the ball over too many times, but we battled as a team and secured the win!”
Huff and Burse were standouts once again, as they both managed 22 points to co-lead the team. Burse managed six boards and five steals to boot, and Huff had three assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals as well. JerMarquis Burse got involved in this one as well with 15 points and K. Dinkins had 11 and led the team with eight rebounds.
The Panthers will look to remain perfect as they host Arcadia Valley on Tuesday. You can watch the game on the Streamline Sports app, tipoff is at 7:30 pm.
