Maurice Dixon
@WriturRece -| mdixon27@gmail.com
NORCROSS (GA) – Langston Hughes had Shiloh’s offense bottled up in the first but the old-fashioned three-point play broke the Generals free the rest of the way.
Patrick Carter Jr. scored 19 points and Tyrel Morgan added 14 and 10 rebounds but the Panthers lost their first game of the season, a 60-54 decision to Shiloh during the On The Radar Hoops Showcase at Norcross High on November 17.
Kendall Lewis and Toneri Lane both finished with 18 points for the Generals, who mustered just three points in the opening period even though Langston Hughes had only eight.
But in the second quarter, Shiloh dug its way out of an eight-point hole with six three-point plays, including three by Lane and two by Lewis. Lane notched 14 points in the frame and capped the momentum shift with a 3-pointer, placing the Panthers in the rear view (32-22) at halftime.
After the break, Langston crept back within two points on Carter’s 3-pointer but the Panthers couldn’t put the clamps back on defensively and they entered the final eight minutes down 49-37.
Shiloh played keep away for almost half of the fourth quarter and executed it very well even though that made the game hard to watch after about a minute. Despite playing defense for what seemed like forever, the Panthers managed to put together a late surge of nine straight points to cut the margin to single digits before the Generals sealed things at the line.
Freshman Kobe Davis, who definitely looked like the point guard of the present and future, had seven points, five rebounds and five steals in his high school debut.