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Panthers claw way to unbeaten startBy KEITH NIEBUHR © St. Petersburg Times, published December 12, 2000 The Lecanto boys are perfect -- barely. Last week saw the Panthers defeat North Marion on R.J. McIntyre's three-point buzzer-beater and top Citrus on the road behind Chris Jackson's late-game heroics. Lecanto also drilled Central 64-37. "That North Marion game was a big one," Panthers coach Chris Nichols said. "And the way we won it at the buzzer made it a big, emotional thing. "That carried us into the Citrus game, and that was a very tough game," he said. "We definitely have a lot of confidence from those games going into this week." Lecanto (5-0) plays host to Lake Weir tonight and Dunnellon on Friday. Jackson, a 6-foot-6 senior forward who scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against Citrus, scouted Dunnellon last Thursday when the Tigers beat Crystal River by 39 points. In that game, Dunnellon guard Stanley Jackson outscored Crystal River 32-27. Stanley Jackson has 2,108 career points and is averaging 37 a game. "We've got a big challenge this week," Nichols said. BIG TEST: Tonight's Seven Rivers Christian at Citrus girls game is one of the week's most interesting matchups. Seven Rivers (3-3) is in Class A. Citrus (1-2) is in 3A. Neither is off to great start, but both teams have lofty expectations. The Hurricanes have been led by guard-forward Alycia LePage and forward Julia Lambeck. Seven Rivers has been getting strong play from combo-guard Sherry Atwood. Last season, Atwood was a part-time starter for St. Petersburg Keswick, which reached the Class A final before losing to Ponce de Leon 62-55. She's averaging 15 points a game. "(Citrus) has a combination of a good guard and a good post player," Seven Rivers coach Tom Evans said. "(Lambeck) can post up as well as anybody. It should be a fun game." Citrus plays Lecanto on Thursday night and Crystal River on Friday. YOUTH HURTS: That the Crystal River boys are off to an 0-4 start is not a total surprise. The Pirates have been going with a starting lineup that includes two freshmen and two sophomores and is one of the youngest around. That inexperience helped lead to 31 turnovers against Dunnellon last week -- 12 of which came in the first quarter. Crystal River gets another tough test Friday night when it plays at Citrus. NOTABLE: The 13 points Chris Jackson scored against Citrus all came in the second half.
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