Parkview 64, Newton 62

Important R4-7A game@parkview_hoops (6-3) vs. @NewtonRamsHoops (7-6) pic.twitter.com/ZHHoHuAHGI

— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) January 13, 2021

Tuesday night Parkview (7-3) hosted Newton (7-7) in an early Region 4-7A matchup that pitted an up-and-comer in the Panthers vs. an established program loaded with talent in the Rams. Newton, having just fallen out of the Top 10, needed to get back on track against a Parkview team that had quietly gotten off to a hot start. In a back-and-forth battle, it was Parkview who came up with enough stops to earn a signature win to move to first-place in the region at 2-0 while Newton sank to last at 0-2.

The Panthers opened quickly, dealing with Newton’s superior size and athleticism at each position. 6-foot-5 senior Avantae Harper set the tone as a battering ram, using his aggressive motor to score in the paint and give Parkview an early 8-3 lead.

1Q; 5:25@parkview_hoops 8@NewtonRamsHoops 3@HarperAvantae attacks the rim. pic.twitter.com/6r9DW2yioG

— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) January 13, 2021

Harper would score eight of his 16 points in the first quarter and collect 13 rebounds and 3 blocks over the course of the game, winning his matchup with 6-foot-7 Miokaye Grant. Newton saw TJ Clark score five points in the opening frame using his pull-up game to his advantage, able to shoot over Parkview’s smaller guards.

1Q; 3:53@parkview_hoops 12@NewtonRamsHoops 8@AllGas23 hits the pull up pic.twitter.com/pRgTC72bw0

— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) January 13, 2021

Stephon Castle found Jakai Newton in the corner for a late three to knot the game at 16 heading into the second quarter.

1Q; 1:07@NewtonRamsHoops 16@parkview_hoops 16 @StephonCastle hits @jakai_newton for three. pic.twitter.com/QsROSJXMTg

— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) January 13, 2021

Parkview extended their lead to seven points but MJ Whitlock came off the bench for the Rams and provided energy, scoring and playmaking for others.

2Q; 4:48@parkview_hoops 27@NewtonRamsHoops 22@1MarcusWhitlock finds Miokaye Grant pic.twitter.com/CPqkWAxRtd

— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) January 13, 2021

The Panthers switched from man to a 1-2-2 zone and disrupted the flow of the Rams. Asher Woods, who got hot with 10 points in the quarter, chased the ball up top and applied ball pressure, hindering Newton’s slashing guards from getting anything going downhill. Jason Edwards hit a pair of threes in the quarter and helped Parkview maintain a 39-31 advantage after 16 minutes.

In the third quarter the two teams traded bucket for bucket. Whitlock scored two of his 9 points on a floater to make it 45-39 with 4:17 left before Woods answered with a tough reverse layup to keep the lead at six.

3Q; 4:17@parkview_hoops 45@NewtonRamsHoops 39@1MarcusWhitlock with the hoop pic.twitter.com/eGxFNbc77z

— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) January 13, 2021

3Q; 2:55@parkview_hoops 47@NewtonRamsHoops 41@asherwoods22 has scored in a variety of ways today. He has a game-high 16. pic.twitter.com/OawBQDvALh

— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) January 13, 2021

A Whitlock three tied the game at 47 before the Rams stole momentum with a late Castle steal and slam before the buzzer, giving Newton a 51-49 lead.

End 3Q@NewtonRamsHoops 51@parkview_hoops 49

Rams have all the momentum as Stephon Castle finishes with a slam. @StephonCastle 16p 3a 3s 1b@jakai_newton 9p 7r@1MarcusWhitlock 9p@AllGas23 9p@asherwoods22 16p@HarperAvantae 16p 8r@jasonedwards_1 12p pic.twitter.com/MB5oAMnoH7

— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) January 13, 2021

The Panthers edged ahead in the final frame with Woods and Edwards hitting consecutive threes and would take a 61-56 lead with 3:01 remaining when Nathaniel Belete worked the high-low with Harper.

4Q; 3:01 @parkview_hoops 61@NewtonRamsHoops 56

Panthers are working the high-low to @HarperAvantae pic.twitter.com/rOOYg5WXfQ

— Kyle Sandy (@KyleSandy355) January 13, 2021

With the game slowly slipping away, Clark stepped up for the Rams and netted seven of his 16 points in the quarter helping cut the lead to 61-60. Newton had a contested layup attempt with 51 seconds left to take the lead, but he couldn’t convert and the Rams had to send Woods to the line with 27.1 seconds to play. Woods, who finished with a game-high 24 points, would coolly sink 3-of-4 from the line in the final seconds to ice the game and secure the Panther win.

Top Performers

Parkview
Asher Woods – 24 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal
Avantae Harper – 16 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks
Jason Edwards – 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals

Newton
Stephon Castle – 18 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
TJ Clark – 16 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Jakai Newton – 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block
MJ Whitlock – 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block

My Take

Continue reading Upperclassmen Trio helps Parkview protect homecourt vs. Newton →