Liberty County topples Northside boys

WARNER ROBINS -- The Liberty County boys basketball team did its homework during the past week at practice. The result was the Panthers earning a pass into the second round of the GHSA Class AAAA tournament.

Three Liberty County players scored in double figures as the Panthers beat Northside 75-58 in a first-round tournament game Saturday.

“We looked at film on (Northside), and we knew how much they like to press,” Liberty County senior Sayvon Wilson said. “We practiced every day on how to break it. We just had to penetrate.”

Wilson led all scorers with 20 points. He scored 10 in the third quarter as the Panthers held off a furious Northside rally. Junior Michael Farrior came off the bench to score 16 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter. Senior center Melvin King got Liberty County off on the right foot by hitting for eight of his 16 points in the first quarter.

Depth of talent had been a mainstay of Northside’s team all season. But while Liberty County didn’t go as deep to its bench, the Panthers were more effective. Sophomore reserve Derrick Brooks had five assists. Liberty County’s bench outscored that of Northside 32-28.

“We worked on (breaking pressure) all week,” Liberty County head coach Willie Graham said. “They’re going to leave somebody open on the weak side. We didn’t give (Northside) as many turnovers as they thought.”

The Panthers committed eight of their 20 turnovers in the third quarter as the Eagles nearly came all the way back from a 12-point deficit.

Northside (20-8) trailed 44-32 with 4:05 left in the third quarter. Senior Devon Tanner led the Eagles back by scoring seven points during Northside’s 15-6 run that closed the quarter. The Eagles, however, were unable to get a tying basket. Two 3-point shots in the final 30 seconds of the quarter rimmed out. Liberty County answered by scoring the first five points of the fourth quarter.

Tanner led Northside with 10 points. Denard Williams and Jarius Smith each added eight for the Region 1-AAAA champions.

Liberty County (21-7) held a distinct rebounding advantage. The Panthers also converted 16-of-19 free throw attempts. One week after making just 30 percent of their free throws in a consolation game loss in the Region 2-AAAA tournament, the Panthers made were perfect on 14 tries in the fourth quarter on Saturday.

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Liberty County topples Northside boys