Going up against Cordova’s tandem of Rodgerick Brown and Tyler Harris Friday night on the road, the Bartlett Panthers knew they needed to play focused basketball in order to compete with one of the county’s hottest teams.
After hanging with the Wolves in the first quarter of action, the Panthers began to fall behind in the second quarter and found themselves in a 37-23 halftime hole thanks in part to the hot hand of Harris, the four-star junior point guard with offers from Iowa State and the University of Memphis.
Harris, who is ranked No. 84 in the country by Rivals.com for the 2018 class, finished Friday’s game with 28 points.
Bartlett adjusted in the second half but was still outscored 20-15 in the third quarter.
Senior Panther guard Marlon Sharp helped pace his team, scoring 19 points in the game.
Bartlett (11-12) outscored the Wolves 22-18 in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough to get the win.
Cordova was led by Brown’s 32 points. The 6-foot-5-inch, three-star junior forward is ranked No. 145 in his class by Rivals.com. He has offers from the University of Arkansas and the University of Tennessee.
Along with Sharp, Bartlett was buoyed by sophomore guard Jefferson Walker’s 9 points, along with a combined 12 points from Riley Hogel and Ryan Grigsby.
The Panthers are 2-2 in 14-AAA play and are preparing to host Kingsbury on Tuesday before playing at Arlington on Feb. 3. Bartlett is hoping to avenge a 56-52 loss to the Tigers earlier this season.
Written by Graham Sweeney, special to the Express.
