CADIZ — Buckeye Local was able to withstand a 37-point effort from Luke Powell in edging Barnesville on Tuesday night.

Kobe Mitchell’s 43-point outing Thursday night was a bit much too much for the Panthers to overcome.

The sleek-shooting junior scored 12 points during the final period as the Huskies pulled away for a 61-47 triumph in boys’ Buckeye 8 basketball play inside Harrison Central High School.

The game was knotted at 45-all early in the quarter, but Harrison Central scored 16 unanswered to secure the victory, one that put the Huskies above the .500 mark at 8-7.

“He’s a heckuva player,” Buckeye Local head coach Chris Heaton marveled. “He can shoot the basketball, he can get to the rim. We knew what he was capable of. He’s just tough to stop.”

As the fourth quarter opened, though, Mitchell showed he’s not just a scorer. His pass to Johnny Vermillion resulted in a layup. And seconds later, his behind-the-back dish to Vermillion resulted in him being fouled and sent to the line. Vermillion cashed in on both attempts giving the Huskies the lead for good.

“That’s what I keep telling everybody,” Harrison Central head coach Justin Clifford explained. “He’s unselfish and the other guys benefit from it.”

Vermillion’s freebies ignited the aforementioned spurt, one that included a 6 of 7 showing from the line by Mitchell, along with clutch hustle plays by his teammates.

“We haven’t been making those plays when we’ve needed them, and we’ve talked about that,” Clifford said. “It wasn’t the ball going in the hoop (that led to the win). It was taking a charge, getting out on the shooter and the other little things that don’t show up in the box score that, I thought, we did better.”

The Huskies, in action for the first time in 12 days, played without usual starter Sam Santille, but Skylar Mazeroski filled in strong, and Cabot Arbaugh also provided key minutes.

“We had a freshman (Arbaugh) in, and he played well,” Clifford said. “Everybody did their part. When we do that, we’re not a bad team.”

The Huskies were pushed to the limit by a Buckeye Local (6-11) team that picked up where it left off vs. the Shamrocks; moving the ball with precision and showing strength inside. After trailing by eight at halftime, the Panthers got hot behind Hayden Taylor, who scored 11 of his team-best 13 in the period.

“We had that run in the third,” Heaton said, “but once we crawled back into it we just didn’t have the juice to finish.

“We just got a little stagnant offensively and really didn’t move the ball that well.”

Harrison Central limited Buckeye Local to one fourth-quarter field goal, and that came as the clock hit all zeros.

“They’re big, athletic and a handful,” Clifford said of the Panthers. “We did a good job of closing some lanes and getting a hand up on some shots late.”

Both teams are off until Saturday, when they travel to Edison for the Buckeye 8 Crossover. Harrison Central faces Edison at noon, followed by Buckeye Local vs. Union Local at 2.

NOTE

During all of halftime of the varsity game, a montage of Kobe Bryant highlights was played on the gym’s large videoboard. Bryant, the ex-Los Angeles Lakers standout and five-time NBA champion, died this past Sunday, along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others in a helicopter crash in suburban Los Angeles.