Panther Rion Brown hit a career high 42 points in Liberty’s 67-61 win over Burke County on Saturday night, earning the senior the honor of being named WTOC’s player of the week. The Lady Panthers fared well, too, winning 73-66.
Panthers 67, Bears 61
Brown, a University of Miami commit, has scored 330 points so far this season. Tennessee commit Jordan McRae is not far behind with 276 to date.
Panther coach Willie Graham said the game got physical in the fourth quarter as the Bears, trailing by 15, made a run.
"He was hitting some real high percentages," Graham said of Brown’s 42 points. "He was 12 of 15 from the 2-point area. As most teams do, they tend to slide toward Jordan McRae, which opens him up more. He had a nice, smooth game — a quiet 42."
He said the Bears double-teamed McRae, leaving Brown open for shots. When McRae got into foul trouble, they didn’t take Greg Richardson into account, which allowed him to enter double digits in scoring and assist Brown to keep the Panthers ahead.
for another physical game Friday when the Panthers host Baldwin.
"They are a good basketball program," he said. "Last year, we beat them pretty handily up there, but then they came down here and we struggled."
The coach anticipates a fast-paced game and said his players have to be ready to go. The Panthers are 4-0 in Region 3-AAA.
Panthers 17 34 46-67
Burke 13 19 38-61
Panthers top scorers:
Rion Brown: 42
Greg Richardson: 11
Jordan McRae: 10
Lady Panthers 73,
Lady Bears 66
The 10-3 overall, 3-1 Region 3-AAA Lady Panthers squad beat the Lady Bears, thanks in part to sophomore center Courtney Rhodes, who knocked in a game-high 23 points and helped her squad to a 73-66 victory. She was aided by sophomore Diamone Johnson, who scored 19 and senior Kourtney Alexander, who earned 18.
Lady Bears 12 28 48-66
Lady Panthers 16 28 48-73
The coach said his team is in store