Sumter County MS Panthers capture second straight Deep South Conference Championship

Published 12:59 am Friday, January 27, 2023

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AMERICUS – Thanks to a 14-7 run in the second half and solid defensive play throughout the game, the Sumter County Middle School boys’ basketball team (SCMS) went on to defeat Lee County East Middle School (LCE) by the score of 46-36 and capture its second straight Deep South Conference Championship.

“I want to give a shout out to Coach (Rodney) Shelton for laying the foundation,” SCMS Boys’ Head Coach Jonathan Gooden said. “It feels great. Our boys worked very, very, very hard. We worked hard and they deserve everything they get right now. I’m proud of them.”

Sumter County MS guard Austin Davis scored 25 points to help lead the Lady Panthers to a 46-36 victory over Lee County East and their second straight Deep South Conference title.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

Austin Davis led the undefeated Panthers (16-0) in scoring with 25 points and Briceton Terry scored 10. Travion Breedlove chipped in six points and Brandon Covin had five for SCMS in the winning cause.

After a hard-fought first half, the Panthers led at halftime 20-13 and Davis led SCMS in first half scoring with 13 of his game total of 25 points.

Sumter County MS guard Brandon Covin drives to the basket.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

Over the first three minutes of the third quarter, SCMS went on a 6-3 run that was capped off with a basket from Davis. This prompted LCE to call a time out with a little over three minutes to go in the quarter.

However, that timeout didn’t stop the Panthers, as they continued to clamp down defensively and continued to score on the offensive end. By the end of the third quarter, SCMS had a 34-20 lead.

Sumter County MS guard Travion Breedlove scored six points in the Panthers’ win over LCE to capture their second straight Deep South Conference championship.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

Over the final six minutes of play, the Panthers continued to neutralize the Trojans’ offense with solid half court defense and they continued to score at the other end. They used their defensive pressure to score points off turnovers and they were able to score several second chance points by out rebounding LCE on the offensive glass. As a result, the Panthers would go on to claim the Deep South Conference championship by defeating LCE 46-36.

Jeneah Martin led the Trojans in scoring with 18 points and Tristen Terry has 15 in the losing cause.