SPARKS, NV - After losing six of its first seven games this season, Antioch seems to have found its stride, and the Panthers punctuated the turnaround by finishing 2017 with a tournament title, claiming the Rail City Classic championship in Sparks, Nevada, with a 67-57 win over Santa Teresa in the title game.
Solomon Bland, who brought home tournament MVP honors, led the Panthers with 18 points in the title, including four three-pointers in the second quarter. Antioch (8-7) hit eight three's as a team in the win over the Saints, and had four players in double figures, as Henry Sires added 17 points, Jayvewon Quinn scored 16 points, and Eric Donaldson chipped in with 12 points.
Sires and Donaldson were both named to the all-tournament team.
Santa Teresa stayed within striking distance by hitting eight three-pointers of its own, but the magic ran out for the Saints against Antioch. Earlier in the tournament, Santa Teresa had advanced to the championship with a pair of close wins. After opening play with a 71-61 win over Reed-Sparks, the Saints edged past Bella Vista-Fair Oaks, 56-54, before nipping Galena-Reno, 44-43.
Multi-sport standout Ethan Janto led Santa Teresa (6-3) with nine points in the loss to the Panthers, while Kyrese McGill, Brendan Marksompop, and Justus Mojica had eight points each.
Prior to the title game win over Santa Teresa, Antioch was simply dominant against competition from outside its own region. The Panthers blew past Selma in the semifinals, 74-56, as Sires went for 22 points to lead the team. Donaldson added 16 points while Bland scored 14 points, and the second half was a difference maker. Antioch scored 23 points in a big third quarter offensively, and then held Selma to just six points in the fourth quarter.
The quarterfinals were much of the same for the Panthers, who routed Fernley, 77-51. Quinn led the way offensively in that one, with 17 points, while Donaldson's 15 points, Bland's 14 points, and Sires' 11 points rounded the usual quartet of double-digit scorers.
"This tournament was a great way 2017 for us. Starting the season 1-6 put us in a tough spot, but the team has responded, winning seven of our past eight games," said Antioch coach Andrew Riva. "We have really started to play like a team, and the results show what that does for us."
The Panthers are back in action on January 9, hosting Concord.
