RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
BERNE – South Adams senior Isaac Scott rose to the occasion on Senior Night at the Stardome Friday with a career-high 13 points, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Starfires from dropping a 49-33 decision to the Eastbrook Panthers.
The Panthers (14-8) put three players in double figures in a balanced attack. Sophomore Malakai Luthy led his team with 13 points, with classmate Jayden Younce scoring 12 and senior Draven Collins adding 11.
A big key for the Eastbrook victory was the disparity in turnovers. The Panthers had only six while forcing the Starfires (6-15) into 15.
Another key was a 12-2 run in just over two minutes late in the first quarter.
Before that rally, Scott scored the Starfires’ first two buckets of the game—on a put back and baseline jumper—and sophomore Hunter Fields added a free throw to get the Starfires to a 5-5 tie at the 5:18 mark. Then the Panthers made their 12-2 run, led by Luthy’s five points, on a baseline drive and an old-fashioned three point play. Younce capped it with a three from the right corner at the 1:05 mark to give the Panthers a 17-7 lead.
Though South Adams freshman Nolan Colpaert followed with two free throws to make it 17-9 at the end of the period, that was as close as the Starfires would get. A 9-5 second-quarter advantage by the Panthers put them up 26-14 at the half. It would have been 26-11 if not for Scott’s buzzer-beating three-pointer from well beyond the half-court line.
South Adams nearly played the Panthers even in the second half, losing the third quarter by just two, 13-11, and earning a 10-10 deadlock in the final period. Cutting way back on turnovers helped the Starfires regroup, as they had just four in the second half after 11 in the first.
Younce hit his second three to start the scoring in the third quarter and put the Panthers up 29-14. Tytus Lehman hit a turnaround jumper and a three on the Starfires’ next two possessions to get his team back within 10. South Adams got within nine twice, once when freshman Gavin Herring’s two free throws made it 32-23 at the 1:19 mark and again when Scott’s 12-foot jumper made it 34-25 with 41 seconds left.
But then Eastbrook’s Luthy hit a pair of free throws and Collins, with four seconds left, sank a three-pointer from two steps past the top of the key to put the Panthers ahead, 39-25, heading into the final period.
Eastbrook made 5-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter to help hold off South Adams.
South Adams made 10-of-22 twos (45%), 2-of-8 threes (25%), and 7-of-10 free throws (70%). Eastbrook went 12-for-24 on twos (50%), 5-for-13 on threes (38%), and 10-for-15 on free throws (67%).
South Adams scorers: Scott 13, Lehman 11, Herring 6, Colpaert 2, Fields 1.
Eastbrook scorers: Luthy 13, Younce 12, Collins 11, Bodie Howell 6, Reid Aupperle 5, Kyler Hackman 2
Eastbrook won the JV game, 37-24. Henry Craig led South Adams with 11 points. Kaiden Jones scored 15 for the Panthers.
The Starfires drew a bye in the 2A South Adams Sectional and will play next Friday, March 7, against the winner of Tuesday’s game between Bishop Luers and Bluffton. Game time Friday is 7:30.
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