The Portal Panthers hosted the New Hampstead Phoenix on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers saw themselves down big early and tried to fight into the game. They ultimately fell 72-63.
The Panthers were coming off of a big win against Jenkins County on Friday night. Shots were falling in abundance in the first quarter as the period ended with the Phoenix leading 20-17. The 2nd quarter is where thing went left for the Panthers. New Hampstead opened up on a 17-5 run that gave them a 37-22 lead midway through the 2nd quarter. Rashawn Truell scored 10 points in the 2nd period. He hit some deep 3s that left the Portal fans speechless. The run was capped off by a big slam by William Williams.
Entering the 2nd half down 45-27, the Panthers sprinted out to a big run. Zion Lanier and Brian McQueen hit a couple of 3s to bite into the Phoenixes lead. The lead got to as low as 9 points in the 3rd quarter. The 4th quarter was filled with two teams trading buckets. King Cole hit some tough midrange jumpers in the 4th quarter to hold off the Panthers.
Zion Lanier led Portal in scoring with 22 points including 16 in the second half. Brian McQueen followed up with 15 points. Other contributors were Zeke Percell, CJ Hardin, Jaylon Strickland, Josh Coleman, and KJ Hunter.
For New Hampstead, Rashawn Truell led the team in scoring with 18 points. King Cole poured in 15 of his own. Other contributors were William Williams, Antoine Youmans, Tristen Hines, Mack Smith, Dorian Mobley, and Mason Brown.
The Panthers now fall to 4-3 on the season with a 2-1 record in region play.
Up Next:
The Panthers will be in action on Tuesday, December 17th when they host Claxton. The girls will tip off at 6:00pm and the boys will start around 7:30pm.