Panthers back in the postseason
For the first time since 2008, the Ridgeland Panthers are headed to the state tournament.
The Black-and-White had a few shaky moments in the second half of their Region 6-AAAA tournament opener, but righted the ship to punch their ticket to the GHSA’s version of the Big Dance.
Ridgeland went on to finish as the region’s No. 4 seed and will open the playoffs this weekend against state-ranked and Region 8 champion St. Pius X in Atlanta. The date and time for the game had not been determined as of press time.
“We only won six games last year,” King said. “This year, we’ve upped our win total and we’re going to state, so we have a lot to be proud of.”
Ridgeland 67, Southeast 58
Up by a seemingly comfortable 16 points at halftime on Tuesday, the Panthers saw it disappear completely in the third quarter against the host Raiders. However, the Panthers refused to panic and used a 7-0 run in the fourth to finally put Southeast away and secure the state berth.
Defense and rebounding would be two important factors down the stretch as the Raiders would never threaten again. The Panthers added five free throws in the final 1:38 to seal the victory.
Markeion Jones hit five 3-pointers, went 6-of-7 from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 21 points. Fred Norman dropped in 14 points, Grayson Moore added 11 and Markeith Montgomery and C.J. Shackleford added eight each.
Northwest 70, Ridgeland 55
The duo of Region Player of the Year Luke Shiflett and Tanner Boyd combined to score all 25 points for the Bruins in the second quarter of last Thursday night’s region tournament semifinal and used it as a springboard to a victory over the Panthers.
Boyd would score 13 points in the second and Shiflett would drop in 12 to put their team ahead, 39-29 at intermission. Shiflett finished with 24 points on the night, followed by Boyd with 19.
Jones hit four 3-pointers to finish with 17 points. Jalyn Shelton added 12, while Moore and Norman had eight and seven points, respectively.
Heritage 55, Ridgeland 50
The Generals led 25-24 at halftime on Friday and stretched out their advantage to 43-34 going into the fourth quarter. The Panthers battled back in the final period, outscoring the Generals, 16-8, but fell five points short.
Cole Wilcox had 18 points for Heritage in the win.
Jacob Gadd connected on three 3-pointers and led Ridgeland with 12 points. Jones added 11 points. Moore dropped in eight and Shackleford chipped in with seven.