In an interscholastic contest between the Patriots of Northern High School, and the Panthers of Patuxent High School, two student-athletes shined for their respective teams. Junior point guard Darus Maddox of Patuxent, and senior forward Sammy Thomas of Northern each put up over 30 points, with Thomas edging Maddox 35-31. In the end however,, Maddox got the last laugh as his team won the game 70-65.
The game started off with each team exploding out of the gate, making their shots, and forcing the defenses to change their strategies. Thomas, a 6’6” forward, was the tallest person on the court, and was fed the ball in the post consistently. This forced Patuxent to double team him, leaving one of his teammates open. Maddox, a 5’7 guard would find holes in the zone, and forced Northern to switch to a man to man concept. The first quarter ended in a 14-14 tie.
The second and third quarters were very similar. Each team’s star kept finding ways to score, and their teammates chipped in when it became necessary. The game took an exciting turn when in the third quarter Maddox forced a steal and began a fast break. Maddox glanced over his left shoulder and saw teammate Terrell Gross sprinting behind him. Maddox laid a ball off the backboard so it missed the rim, only to be caught by Gross and slammed down with two hands. The crowd, which had been into the game the entire time, was launched into a frenzy, and they didn’t stop until the buzzer for the end of the third quarter sounded, with the scoreboard reading 48-43 in favor of Patuxent.
In the final quarter, Patuxent’s pressure made Northern force the ball up court, and their defense forced the Patriots to settle for jump shots, instead of feeding Thomas in the paint. The Panthers’ dribbling and wasting the clock at the end of the game ended up being the difference. The Patriots couldn’t get a stop. The final buzzer sounded, and Patuxent had silenced the Northern fans, and brought their home crowd to a standing chant of “I Believe That We Just Won”.
Thomas led all scorers with 35. The Patriots next highest scorer was guard DeShawn Freeland, who chipped in with 9 points. Maddox led the way for the Panthers with 31, and junior Chris Pendleton came off the bench to score 9 points. The bench scoring was a key factor in this game. Patuxent’s bench outscored Northern’s bench 11-5.
Patuxent’s record improves to 2-4 and they move on to play at Great Mills Jan 7. Northern’s record drops to 3-2 and they move onto play Leonardtown, also on the 7th.
Contact Max Tayman at news@thebaynet.com