By Randy Jennings / Contributor
Sidelined by a shoulder injury in the opening half and with his team trailing by 13 at the break, Antoine Almuttar convinced Parish Episcopal coach Ahmad Ajami that his shoulder felt good enough to give it a go.
The 6-foot-4 senior scored 18 points in the final two quarters to propel the Panthers to a 56-51 come-from-behind victory over Greenhill on Friday, in a rivalry matchup of boys basketball programs separated by only a few blocks.
“We wanted to try and limit Antoine’s minutes,” said Ajami, “but he is the heart and soul of our team. When he came on the floor he lifted all of our players.”
Ironically, Greenhill was without its best player, Jaxson Thompson, after he fouled out with 6:40 remaining. Almuttar drew the final Thompson foul that instigated a six-point Panthers possession.
A technical foul was called on Greenhill after Almuttar’s basket and he converted two free throws. Given possession after the technical, Almuttar connected on an inside shot to cut a 14-point deficit to eight with six minutes remaining. Almuttar and his twin brother, Armon, have both signed with Northwestern State in Louisiana.
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The Panthers (9-4), who were the TAPPS Division I state champion in 2024 and runner-up last season, will take a five-game winning streak to California for a holiday tournament next week.
The Hornets (12-7), who earned an SPC 4A championship last season for the first time since 1998, led for all but nine minutes. They were outscored 26-10 in the fourth quarter as three players including Thompson, fouled out.
After a holiday break, Greenhill resumes play in the Breakfast Brothers Showcase in Lancaster beginning on Dec. 29.
Parish, playing at home for just the second time this season, regained the lead for the first time since the opening quarter on a driving basket by Rob Moore IV. It was part of a 14-point run that stretched over four minutes. Greenhill scored only two points in the final five minutes.
Rice signee Thompson, a flashy 6-2 senior point guard, led the Hornets with 18 points; 6-2 junior Trey Davis had 10 and 6-4 junior Dani Agbor had eight, including Greenhill’s final field goal, a 3-pointer for an 11-point lead, with 6:15 remaining.
Parish’s Hudson Lucas, a 6-9 senior and Nevada signee, scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half. His follow-up dunk in the fourth quarter set off a spree of six points in 20 seconds.
“When teams play us, they have to play four quarters,” said Ajami.
