Photo and story by Ryan Silapan of The Panola Watchman
JACKSONVILLE — In a tightly contested game, the Panola College men's basketball team showed they were able to maintain their cool.
The Ponies took their first lead of the second half with 7:10 left, and despite constant pressure from Paris, Panola was able to persevere.
David Jones had a double-double 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocks to lead a balanced scoring attack as No. 3 seed Panola staved off No. 6 Paris 63-59 in a Region XIV Tournament quarterfinal matchup at John Alexander Gymnasium on Thursday.
"Just very, very proud of my guys," Panola Coach Aaron Smith said. "They just played so hard and were not going to lose that game. I'm very proud of how they played."
Jones broke a 47-47 tie with a pair of free throws, and Panola kept the lead the rest of the way.
The sophomore forward from Sacramento said the team never got rattled as Paris gave it their best to take back the lead.
"Keep composure," Jones said. "At the end of the game teams tend to get desperate and go for steals, so we can't feed into what they are trying to do. They are trying to speed us up so we can't do that, we just need to keep our composure, and we came out with the win at the end of the game."
Smith pressed the right buttons in regards to Jones and reserve guard Esteban Roacho, who aren't really known for their scoring.
Jones came into the game averaging 5.7 and Roacho 4 points per game on the season, combined for 28 in the game.
"David Jones was big time for us," Smith said. "David Jones is really, really good, and I knew he was going to be ready to go. Yes, you have to have talent but these games are won with character, and Esteban and David put in the work. Esteban put in the work, knew he was going to make those big shots and free throws."
Along with Roacho, Troy Hupstead also scored 12 points with eight rebounds; Isaac Jackson scored nine; while Jacobi Lewis and Olaverr Camacho both scored seven. Lewis added a team-high four assists and Camacho nine rebounds.
A De'May Jones 3-pointer just seconds before the first half horn sounded gave Paris a 29-28 lead going into halftime.
Panola — who was playing their first game in eight days — felt that if they could keep the game close late, they would be able to win with Paris playing their fourth game in six days.
"They were playing their fourth game in six days, so I was hoping their legs were going to run out on them," Smith said. "They were going to miss some shots, but they played all the way through and were good all the way through. Just proud of my guys, they weren't going to lose that game."
The Ponies were able to get their lead up to as many as eight but was quickly down to five following a Christian Ashby 3-pointer that made 62-57 with 1:18 left.
Paris cut it to three on a Ronald Holmes runner with 26.6 left but weren't able to score on their ensuing possession, and Lewis hit the second of two free throws with 2.5 left to secure the victory for the Ponies.
"Real good game by everybody, everybody contributed," Lewis said. "We did whatever was necessary to win the game and everyone played hard and we got the W."
Paris — who defeated No. 11 seed Coastal Bend 82-62 in a XIV Tournament opening round game on Tuesday — was led by Holmes who scored 16 points.
Kron Davis scored 11 points, Ashby and De'May Jones both scored nine, while Tariq Aman scored five with a game-high six assists.