Hot-shooting Golden Lions outgun Panthers in state opener

The first state tournament appearance in nearly 10 years for the Ridgeland Panthers basketball team ended in less than two hours on Friday.

In Atlanta to face No. 6-ranked St. Pius X, the Black-and-White got hit by a barrage of 3-pointers by the Golden Lions, who coasted into the second round of the Class AAAA state playoffs with an 81-50 win.

“First of all, I have to congratulate St. Pius,” Ridgeland head coach Matt King said. “They truly are a class act down there, but it was good for our kids to see and go against a team that plays at such a high competitive level. Our kids played hard, but the better team won for sure. I was just excited we got that experience and it was nice to see us compete.”

St. Pius (21-7) hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 24-12 lead and added four more from long range in the second quarter to grab a 43-21 lead at the break. The Golden Lions used a 13-0 run to end the half.

“Honestly, it was 3021 and if we had made some lay-ups and free throws, we might have kept it around a 10-point game by halftime instead of the 22-point game that it turned out to be,” King explained.

St. Pius added three more threes in the third quarter and tacked on three more in the fourth to finish the game with 14 as a team.

Everett Lane and Christian Mattei had four triples each. Lane led the Golden Lions with 20 points, while Mattei was next with 14.

C.J. Shackleford and Fred Norman had 12 points each for Ridgeland (10-18), while Markeion Jones went for nine. The Panthers finished with six made 3-pointers.

“This season was definitely a step in the right direction, especially getting to the (state) playoffs for the first time in a while,” King said. “We had some big contributions by our seniors, Jones, Jacob Gadd and Grayson Moore.

“I think next year will look a little different. We’re going to have to have some young kids step up, but I think making the state playoffs two years in a row is definitely a goal to shoot for.”