Eagles stun Panthers

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The Johnston Panthers boys basketball squad fumbled an 11-point second half lead and fell 47-43 to the Times 2 Academy Eagles on Tuesday evening during senior night at Johnston High School.

Times 2 sophomore Emmanuel Kayee led all scorers with 17 points, and his teammate Jason Peters, a freshman, finished with 10.

Johnston’s top scorers were senior Will Juarez and sophomore Tom Zednik, who finished with 14 points apiece.

The Panthers played intelligent ball for much of the contest, but midway through the second half things fell apart, and Johnston let the game slip away.

“We just didn’t play with any aggression,” Panthers head coach Dan Mazzulla said. “We didn’t play any team basketball, we played very selfish basketball.”

Juarez scored ten of his 14 points in the opening frame, but then, the senior guard had to sit on the sidelines when he picked up his third foul late in the first half, and that messed with the Panthers’ rhythm.

“He gets in foul trouble,” Mazzulla said. “And, when he gets in foul trouble, we’ve got to put him on the bench, and then, when he comes back in, he plays a whole different game.” 

Times 2 got a 3-point shot from Peters, two minutes into the game, and drew an early 3-0 lead.

Next, Johnston’s Matt Sabitoni, a senior forward, who was dawning fellow senior Nate Vasquez’s No. 5 jersey for senior night, scored with a putback and got the Panthers within 3-2.

Johnston knotted the game at 5 when Sabitoni drilled a shot from downtown with 12:17 left.

Then, Juarez led the Panthers on a 7-0 run when he buried a jumper, a layup, and a 3-pointer in succession, which gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead with 8:41 remaining.

Times 2 pulled within 14-12 a minute later when Ahmad Nyabally hit a 3-pointer, and then, Kayee and Peters added a free throw each.

After that, Johnston got six straight points from Zednik during a 6-1 run and took a 20-13 edge.

The Panthers maintained that advantage for the rest of the first half and brought a 22-15 buffer into the break.

The Panthers took a 29-19 lead with 12:26 left, after a runner from Juarez, a put back from Zednik, and a 3-pointer from Sabitoni, during a 7-4 spurt.

Johnston got its largest lead of the game at 31-20 when Zednik scored with a runner with 9:51 remaining.

However, with 4:47 left, Times 2 got buckets from Nyabally and Paul Pinkrah and inched within 37-31.

The Panthers pushed the lead back up to eight for a short span, but with 2:17 remaining, Times 2’s Kayee scored with a breakaway layup and cut the deficit to five.

Thirty-one seconds later, Kayee drove through the lane and missed a layup, but he grabbed the rebound and tried again. The second time, Kayee was more than successful. The sophomore guard made a layup while he was fouled, and then, buried a free throw to complete the 3-point play, which pulled Times 2 within 42-40 with 1:46 left.

Zednik lost control of the ball during Johnston’s next possession, and that led to a fast break layup from Kayee, which tied the game at 42 with 1:37 left.

“They get aggressive against him and he doesn’t step up to the challenge,” Mazzulla said of his sophomore forward. “He’s young and he thinks everything is going to go his way. And, at the end of the day, it’s about aggression. You’ve got to be aggressive. It’s a very competitive game.”

With 39.6 seconds remaining, Johnston’s Remington was fouled while driving the baseline. The freshman guard was rewarded with a trip to the charity stripe where he made the first of two free throws, and gave the Panthers a one-point margin.

However, when Remington missed the second attempt, Times 2’s Nyabally corralled the rebound before he was fouled by Kayee under the basket.

Nyabally made both free throws and gave Times 2 a 44-43 lead.

Next, Nyabally intercepted a pass from Zednik and assisted ahead to Peters for a breakaway layup, which gave the Eagles a 46-43 lead with 10.6 seconds remaining.

Johnston rushed up the court and looked for an open 3 next, but instead, Cam Iasimone was whistled for a traveling violation and that sealed the deal.

The Panthers open the playoffs on Friday night and the coach isn’t sure of what he is going to get out of his team come game-time.

“I really don’t know what to think to be honest with you,” Mazzulla said. “I thought we’d have a little bit more energy, I thought they’d be a little bit more aggressive, and, I thought they’ve had a little bit more passion to play, but I didn’t see it tonight. So, I really don’t know what to expect, to be honest.”   

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