McKoy, Berry, and Barbee combine for 55 points in Panther Creek's 78-63 victory over Athens Drive

By: Zachary Adams

1/18/19

CARY, NC — Panther Creek (14-2, 3-0) used big nights from Justin McKoy, Daylen Berry, and Dre Barbee en route to their 78-63 victory over Athens Drive (11-5, 2-1).

The Jaguars started quickly, as Mickey Frost grabbed the opening tip and turned it into two points. Dre Barbee would answer on the other end with a deuce of his own. After Barbee’s bucket, Athens would go on a 6-0 run to go up 8-2 with just five minutes and a half minutes to play in the opening frame. The Catamounts would then put their foot on the gas, closing the first quarter on a 19-2 run to go up 21-10 after eight minutes of play. Justin McKoy, Daylen Berry, and David Butners combined for 15 points in the first.

After Panther Creek went up 25-10 early in the second quarter, Mickey Frost put an end to a 23-2 run by getting a runner to fall off the glass, making it 25-12 Catamounts with 6:46 to play in the second. With just over three minutes to go in the second quarter, Chase Graham would dial up his first three of the game to trim the Panther Creek lead to 10, 32-22. Athens senior CJ Mitchell would become a catalyst off the bench. Mitchell would got on a personal 6-0 run to cut the Catamounts’ lead to 34-28 with 1:19 to play before halftime. Panther Creek would close first half on a 5-0 run, including a Dre Barbee three from “Curry Land” just before the halftime buzzer. Panther Creek took a 39-28 lead headed into intermission.

Panther Creek would pick up right where they left off before halftime. The Catamounts opened the third quarter on a 6-2 run, capped off by sophomore Daylen Berry finishing a contested lay-up. CJ Mitchell would then distribute the rock to Northern Kentucky signee DJ Robertson for a three from the wing. Robertson’s triple cut the Panther Creek lead to 45-35 with 4:57 to play in the third quarter. With just over a minute to play in the quarter, Jaguar forward Jonah Milchuck would grab a big rebound and get a much needed bucket to follow. That made it 52-44 Panther Creek. After three quarters of play, Panther Creek led Athens Drive 56-49.

The Catamounts iced this game from the foul line. In the fourth and final quarter, Panther Creek went 10 of 11 from the charity stripe. Of those 11 appearances at the line, the Penn State signee found himself there seven times. McKoy went a perfect 7 of 7. Besides DJ Robertson, the Athens offense was stagnant in the fourth. Robertson would score nine points in the frame, including an emphatic one handed jam with 90 seconds to play. Despite Robertson’s highlight reel flush, Panther Creek would go on to defeat Athens Drive for the second time this season by the final score of 78-63.

Penn State signee Justin McKoy led the way for Panther Creek with 22 points. McKoy went 14 of 15 from the foul line in Friday’s game. Sophomore Daylen Berry and senior Dre Barbee would compliment McKoy well with 18 and 15 points respectively. David Butners also finished in double figures for the Catamounts with 11 points. Northern Kentucky signee DJ Robertson scored a game-high 28 points to lead Athens Drive. 22 of Robertson’s 28 points came in the second half. Mickey Frost used a hot start to be the only other Jaguar in double figures with 12 points.

Both the Jaguars and Catamounts will be back in-action on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Athens Drive will play Apex on Monday night apart of the Person Street Pharmacy Showcase at 7:00pm. Panther Creek will also be partaking in the same showcase, where they’ll play Cardinal Gibbons at 4:00pm.