The 8th grade A boys basketball team took on Pennfield last night at home and showed they were the better Panthers as they came away with a thrilling victory!  Pennfield took an early lead, but the boys were able to keep the game close throughout the first quarter, trailing 14-12 after the first quarter.

 

Pennfield stretched the lead to 6 midway through the second quarter before the Panthers picked up the defensive pressure and made a run.  Logan Young forced a couple of steals and Dom Galloway had a big block, while Chaysten Stephenson knocked down a 3-pointer during the run.  The Panthers took their first lead of the game just before the end of the half when Logan Young came up with another steal and Carter O'Connell found Ethan Harris for an easy fast-break layup with just 6 seconds left in the half, taking a 26-24 lead into halftime.

 

The boys came out strong in the 3rd quarter and the lead grew to 9, 36-27.  Pennfield went on a run of their own and the Panthers found themselves trailing 38-36 and it was back and forth for the remainder of the game.

 

With a little over 3 minutes left Dom Galloway snatched an offensive rebound and scored the putback tying the game at 38.  A short time later Ethan Harris gave the Panthers a 1-point lead with a free-throw.  Pennfield then took the lead 40-41 with just over 2 minutes remaining, but the Panthers never wavered and the next trip down the floor Lincoln Warner found Ethan Harris on the wing who knocked down a huge bucket to give the Panthers a 41-40 lead they would not relinquish.  Pennfield was able to get a wide open look for a three and the win at the buzzer, but it came up short and the Panthers walked away with the 42-40 victory for their first win of the season!

 

This was a complete team effort as the boys had 11 assists on 17 made field goals!  Joel Toyer added 5 rebounds on the night and played some tough defense against a big and aggressive Pennfield interior while Edan Mast added valuable minutes off the bench and worked hard on the defensive end.

 

The Panthers look to continue their outstanding team play and winning ways next week when they travel to Northwest to take on the Mounties on Tuesday night.