Panthers knock off Knights in Region 2B quarterfinal, 82-68

Combs leads Page with 22; Panthers travel to No. 1 Strasburg Friday

By Randy Arrington

SHENANDOAH, Feb. 24 — The Page County Panthers exceed 80 points for the third time this season on Tuesday night as they knocked off the Knights of Buckingham County in a Region 2B quarterfinal, 82-68.

“It’s going to be good for us going forward,” PCHS head coach Tyler Parker said of the momentum from Tuesday’s first round win. “We knew that they had…definitely a solid point guard in [senior David Jones] and knew they had another guy [senior Ja’Siah Jones]…we knew they were going to come in here and try to beat us, and we’re glad we contained them and did everything we could to come out on top.”

First team All-Bull Run selection Caden Combs lead the Panthers with 22 points, while fellow all-district teammates Isaac Foltz and Trenton Eppard posted 17 points each.

The Buckingham Knights, runner-up in the James River District, looked a little intimidating warming up — especially with the likes of 6’8″ Nicholas Edmondston (No. 45), who recently declined a full ride to play football at the University of Virginia. He has decided instead, to be a professional fireman.

Despite the overall height and overall talent that Buckingham brought to the Valley, it was the Panthers who pounced on an early lead by forcing turnovers and going on a 9-0 run in the first two minutes. Combs put up nine of Page’s 24 points in the opening frame. The final three minutes were evenly played and the Panthers carried a 24-18 lead into the second quarter.

Foltz fought hard in the paint to snag rebounds on one end, while putting up six points in the first frame on the other end.

“He got hot there in the first half and kinda carried us when we had some foul trouble and Combs was out,” Coach Parker said, “so it was big night for him.”

Buckingham made up ground in the second quarter, but the game became a hard fought grind with two ties and two lead changes in the final two minutes of the first half. Eppard would hit a bucket at the buzzer to give Page a 36-32 lead at the half.

The third quarter proved similar to the first as Page went on a 24-16 run during the period. Senior Dawson Richards scored all 12 of his points in the third quarter after hitting four three-pointers inside of seven minutes. Page lead 60-48 heading into the fourth.

The Knights made one final push midway through the final frame. When Combs hit a bucket with 4:46 left in the game, the Panthers held a 20-point lead, 70-50. Just one minute and 41 seconds later, Buckingham had hit four consecutive three-pointers and trailed by only eight, 70-62.

Combs stepped up and lead the way with nine points in the fourth, followed by Eppard with six. The Panthers would finish off the game at the line in the final two minutes and ultimately win by 14. Eppard had one of his best games of the season, with 17 points, including a pair of triples and a couple of “highlight reel” maneuvers in the paint.

“He’s all over the place,” Coach Parker said of Eppard after the region quarterfinal. “Thankfully he got second team all-district because we thought he needed the recognition, and he just proved tonight that he could maybe be even higher…heckuva player, great kid, super proud of him.”

Eppard said his inspirational performance was inspired by the guys around him.

“I guess having my teammates tell me to shoot the ball because I don’t do that very often,” the senior point guard said, “but knowing that they are behind me gives me that confidence boost.”

Overall, Page County shot 55 percent from the floor, 53 percent from the line, and committed 16 turnovers (eight each half). Buckingham hit 47 percent from the floor, 41 percent from the line, and had 12 turnovers.

Senior Ja’Siah Jones (No. 4) led the Knights with a game-high 25 points, followed by senior David Jones (No. 23) with 15.

No. 4 Page County (14-10) now advance to a Region 2B semifinal at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27. The Panthers will travel to No. 1 Strasburg (17-7) to face the Bull Run District runner-up for a third time this season. The Panthers split with the Rams during the regular season — winning at home by one on Jan. 2, and losing on the road Jan. 24 by nine.

“They, right now, are one of the better defensive teams that I have seen around…in the state,” Coach Parker said of the top-seeded Rams. “We know that going into there is going to be a battle. Toss the ball up, and let’s see who wants it the most.”

While their 14-10 record may not show quite as much success as the Panthers had anticipated heading into the season with eight seniors, Page is still in a position where they are just one win away from qualifying for the VHSL Class 2 state tournament.

“It’s very special,” Eppard said of the season. “We’ve got eight seniors that are trying to keep the pace going, and knowing that we’re one game away from [playing in] a region championship. That’s what we’e focused on right now. We’re not too worried about states right now, we just want to win the next game and go play for a championship.”

Both players and coach simply don’t want to see the season to end for a group that’s been together for a while.

“The message tonight was don’t let this be the last…we cannot finish like this, we gotta get one under our belt and hopefully another one on Friday,” said Coach Parker. “We don’t want this thing to end, we want to keep going and pushing forward.”

“We’re ready,” Eppard said of Friday night’s matchup with Strasburg. “This is what we’ve been waiting for.”

REGION 2B BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Quarterfinals ~ Tuesday, Feb. 24