Panthers host Oconee Co. Friday

Jackson County opened up the 2010 portion of the season with a non-region pairing against Habersham Central at home last Tuesday.

Despite high hopes from the Panther nation, it was the Raiders that came away with the victory, winning 68-49.

Individual statistics were not available at press time.

On Friday, the Panthers played host to Elbert County in a region pairing at the Pit. After getting off to a strong start, Jackson County found themselves trailing the Blue Devils 16-15 at the end of the first quarter. Elbert County moved out to a nine-point advantage by the end of the second quarter to carry a 34-25 lead into the half.

While Jackson County had remained within shouting distance in the first half, when the third quarter got underway, the Blue Devils broke loose. They held the Panthers to seven points while tacking on 29 to
their lead to make it a 63-32 advantage at the end of the third. They would score 23 more while holding the Panthers to nine in the fourth quarter to take the 86-43 win.

Nick Oney led the Panthers in scoring with 10 points on the night. Juice Harrison scored nine points and had nine rebounds. Jonathan Holton scored six points.

For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.