Northside rolls past Northgate into secondround of playoffs

By BRIAN DANSBY

Special to the Ledger-Enquirer

Northside scored 3-pointers on its first two possessions and never looked back defeating Northgate 64-46 in the opening round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs.

Jeremy Floyd hit the first, then R. J. Sessions hit the second for a quick 6-0 lead.

The Patriots led 20-6 after one quarter.

Floyd opened the second quarter with a 3-point field goal to run the lead to 23-6.

Northside extended the lead to 20 points on Mario Westbrooks' layup with 4:22 left in the first half.

Floyd had rebounds on the first three third-period Northgate possessions and Davion Thomas had six of his 10 points in the first three minutes of the second half, including a crowd pleasing dunk that extended the lead to 22 points at 40-18.

Northside kept the Vikings down for most of the contest, but coach Kenneth Lawrence was not happy with the execution in the sloppy second half.

"I thought we played OK in spurts," Lawrence said. "We didn't finish the game the way it needed to be finished. I thought the effort was good. We've got a bunch of seniors they should be able to do it. They've been through it they should know what it takes to keep your focus."

Peyton Cain hit a 3-point shot early in the fourth period to pull Northgate within 16 points at 47-31.

On the ensuing Northside possession the Northgate bench was called for a technical foul. Northside's Tay Sears hit 1-of-2 free throws

and Marcus Beverly hit both his free throws. Northside received possession due to the technical and Thomas' hook shot extended the Patriot lead back to 21 points at 52-31.

Sessions led all scorers with 20 points including 15 in the first half. Floyd had 10 points for Northside.

"When we were calm, we executed perfectly," Sessions said of his team's effort.

"We need to keep calm and not let the crowd get us too hyped."

Adrian Tolbert led the Vikings with 15 points.

Northside will host Richmond Hill -- a 63-61 winner over Jones County -- in the second round on Saturday.

Wednesday at Northside

Northgate 6 10 12 18--46

Northside 20 14 13 17--64

Northgate (46)

Adrian Tolbert 15, Luke Motzel 10, Cain 5, Watson 4, Evans 4, Rutherford 4, Stargill 2, Weller 2.

Northside (64)

R.J. Sessions 20, Jeremy Floyd 10, Davion Thomas 10, Beverly 8, Sears 4, Westbrooks 4, Vincent 3, Tandarich 3, Baker 2.