By Brad Greer

It was the Cameron Shorty – Ricky Hunt show as the  North Panola Cougars erased a 36-30 halftime deficit  to take a 66-63 victory over visiting Coldwater Saturday night in Sardis.

Hunt poured in 13 of his 19 points in the second half while Shorty recorded a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds as both scored seven points each in a pivotal fourth quarter which saw North Panola outscore the  Cougars 18-11 to come away with the win.

Brandon Bagwell gave North Panola (4-4) the lead for good on a layup to make the score 61-59 with 1:41 left to play.

Coldwater would not go away quietly however as Jakevin Farmer put-back of a Marcel airball cut the North Panola lead to 63-61 with 49 seconds left in the game. But on the following possession, Hunt came up with the two biggest points of the game as the senior tipped in  a missed shot from teammate Ketwan House for a 65-61 North Panola lead with 42 seconds showing on the clock.

After a Coldwater turnover, Shorty put the game away by hitting the front end of a one-and one free throw opportunity with 16 seconds remaining. Farmer quickly connected on a long range jumper to close the gap to 66-63 but was too little, too late as North Panola inbounded the ball and ran out the clock.

Bagwell also played a key role in the Cougar victory as the senior added 17 points. Terrence Turman followed with four points while Darius Jackson chipped in with three. Terrell Carpenter and House closed out the scoring with one point each.

Chris Votis led Coldwater, (5-8) with 20 points while Hunt and Marcel Newson contributed with 13 points each.

NP Ladies

In the opening game, the Coldwater girls showed why they are one of the top Class 1A teams in the state by thumping a young North Panola squad 65-39.

Charmaine Stackhouse and Jerontay Clemons led the No. 3 ranked Cougars with 24 and 23 points each to improve their record to 12-1 on the season.

Cearea Jackson and Angelica Davidson led North Panola with 10 points each while Teariny Wheatley and Aundrea Taylor chipped in with five and four points. Brooklyn Polk, Candace Mottley, Annastasia Johnson, Darlesha Ward and Deedra Burdette all added two points for the Lady Cougars.

Friday night, both North Panola teams picked up Region 2-4A road wins  against  Lewisburg. The Lady Cougars received 10 points from Weatley in a 38-30 win over the Patriots. Mottley added eight points while Johnson had seven points in the victory. Burdette and Taylor rounded out scoring with five and three points each.

The North Panola boys meanwhile eased past Lewisburg 64-39. The Cougars will travel to Center Hill for another district tilt tonight starting a 6 p.m.