Article by Ryan Silapan at The Panola Watchman
CARTHAGE — When it mattered most, the Panola College men's basketball team were the ones who executed down the stretch.
With the game tied in the final 3:46, the Ponies turned a game that was completely up for grabs and for the taking, into a double-digit victory.
Rodney Johnson Jr. scored a team-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Isaac Jackson scored 22 with five rebounds and four assists to lead the way as Panola defeated visiting Trinity Valley 95-85 in a Region XIV Conference this past Wednesday.
"We have tough kids that want to win," Panola Coach Aaron Smith said. "When push came to shove that last four minutes or so, we came out on top."
A Bennie Amos III layup followed by two Troy Hupstead free throws, a Johnson Jr. dunk, a Jaylen Wysinger 3 and capped by a Hupstead power jam made it 89-80 in favor of Panola with 1:21 left in the game.
"It's something about this team, the togetherness that we have," Johnson Jr. said. "We don't care whose night it is, we love each other unconditionally. Whoever has the hot hand keep giving them the ball and let things keep flowing."
Panola was without starting point guard Jacobi Lewis, who missed the game with a sore wrist, and players needed to step up and that's what happened.
Hupstead finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, Amos III scored 12 with three assists, while Esteban Roacho and Wysinger split time at the point guard spot.
Wysinger scored 12 with six assists, while Roacho — who battled foul trouble before ultimately fouling out — dished out four assists.
First and foremost Smith credited Johnson Jr. for carrying Panola in the first half with 14 of his 25 points.
"Rodney was fantastic tonight," Smith said. "He was the only one that was really playing well in the first half. He hit some big shots for us and got to the rim; he was fantastic and Isaac was really good as well.
"Jaylen Wysinger and Esteban did a good job filling in for Jacobi and carrying that load."
Trinity Valley led Panola 44-39 going into halftime.
In the first half, the Cardinals hit nine 3-pointers to just five from the Ponies, including getting five from Dyri Empy.
Panola (16-5 overall, 7-3 Region XIV) made it a point of emphasis to really slow Trinity Valley down from beyond the arc in the second half.
Trinity Valley (9-8, 4-4) hit just three in the second half and one coming when the outcome had already been decided.
"We didn't think they could continue lighting it up the way they were," Johnson Jr. said. "It's unrealistic so we just came out and hedged more on the screens so we could keep them from hitting so many 3s."
Speaking of second half adjustments, Hupstead scored 15 of his 17 in the second half.
The 6-foot-7 freshman from Mount Vernon, New York said he was challenged at the half to make an impact on the second half and he obliged.
"My coaches got into me at halftime," Hupstead said. "They said I needed to step up, rebound and talk on defense; I did that."
Jakevion Buckley led the Cardinals with 25 points, Empy scored 22, Quevian Adger had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Dishon Daniels scored 11.
In the game Panola out rebounded Trinity Valley 46-38 and had 21 assists to only eight from the Cardinals.
Smith said Hupstead is the type of player that you can't keep down from getting rebounds.
"He just plays so hard," Smith said. "Sometimes he'll drive you nuts with a couple of things, but he just plays so hard. You can't keep him off the glass for too long."
The win marked three-straight now for Panola, who headed into Saturday's match-up at Navarro tied for third-place in the conference.
Pulling out the double-digit victory over Trinity Valley was a testament to the Ponies playing together.
"It was a good win," Hupstead said. "We stayed together and stayed composed even through moments of doubt, we stayed together."