By MICHAEL MURRAY

The Americus-Sumter High School Panthers capped off the team’s 2015’ basketball action with a substantial 73-45 win over the Class A Terrell County Greenwave on Dec. 22.
With the win, the Panthers improve to 5-6 on the 2015-16 season.
The non-region contest saw the Panthers grab an early lead over Terrell, posting 19 points in the initial period while ASHS’ strong defense held the Greenwave to only 12. The Panthers steadily pulled ahead throughout the next two frames, adding another 16 points before the half and tacking on 17 more immediately after the break.
The Panthers continued their defensive push over these 16 minutes of play, holding Terrell’s shooters to single-digit scores until the final period.
Terrell had their most productive stanza of the game in the fourth period, when the team added 18 points to their score. Their late efforts were not enough to overcome the Panthers’ early lead, however, and the ASHS boys sealed the 73-45 win.
Daylon Leary stepped up for the Panthers to lead the team to victory in the year’s closer. Leary drained three of six attempts from beyond the three-point line and sank his only shot from the lane on his way to 11 points for the Panthers.
Two others, Fred Bryant and Kiante Sims, joined Leary in scoring double-digits in the match, each adding 10 points to the Panthers’ final tally. Sims led the team on the boards, grabbing eight rebounds while Stephon Luster dished out four assists in the game.
Aiden Sanford contributed seven points to the Panther victory while Josh Lusane and Shqual White each tossed in six. Michael Terry and White each contributed a pair of steals for the Panthers.
In total, the Panthers hit 47.9 percent of their shots from the lane and connected on 62.5 percent from beyond the arc as they pushed for the win.
The Panthers return to 1-AAAA action on Jan. 2, traveling to Bainbridge to take on the Bearcats. The Panthers will stay on the road, traveling to Lee County, Albany, and Cairo before returning to the Panther Den in Americus on Jan. 16 to battle Thomas County Central.