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By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

Jemison’s varsity boys’ basketball defeated Marbury on Jan. 12 with a final score of 59-39.

The Panthers played strong in the paint all night – a game plan that consistently put up points and drew fouls from the other team.

Ryan Thompson had 22 points, most of which came from hard drives to the basket. Thompson established his presence in the game early, putting up 11 of the team’s 13 points in the first half. A few minutes into the second period, he slammed a dunk that got the crowd off their seats.

“Our game plan tonight was to get the ball inside the line, because we haven’t been doing that lately and I knew we had a height advantage,” Coach Stacy McGehee said. “[Thompson] delivered. Not only did he deliver, but when [Marbury] doubled him, he got the ball out to the open person, who scored for us.”

The Panthers did well on both sides of the ball, which allowed them to maintain a lead throughout the entire game. The team pulled off a win without one of its main starters. McGehee noted the efforts of Bailey Sammons and Ryan Smith at guard for the night.

“There was a little bit of pressure on them tonight to deliver, because the playing time they have has not been what it was tonight,” McGehee said. “I was just proud of the guys for not trying to do more than they needed to and playing like a team.”

Teamwork and solid play brought home a win for the Panthers as they aim for second in the area. McGehee said the team wants to stay out of fourth place to keep the ball on their court in the area playoffs.

Jemison (8-5) will play at home against Vincent (16-7) on Jan. 17.