Lady Panthers
The Portal Lady Panthers took home their first region win by defeating the Buccaneers 48-36. The win on Tuesday evening ended a four-game losing streak for Portal.
Portal entered the fourth quarter with a 13-point lead after an eruption in the third quarter. McIntosh County went on a small run that was killed when Senior Glen Lowe drew a charge on a shot attempt that would have cut the lead to six with two minutes left.
The Panthers took control of the game with a run that ballooned a nine-point halftime to 19 midway through the third quarter. “We were more focused starting out in the second half,” Nicole Newton, Lady Panthers head coach said. “We really wanted to emphasize working the ball inside and work our offense from the inside-out and lock down on defense.”
The Panthers improved to a 6-10 record on the season. Head coach Nicole Newton acknowledged her team’s strength of schedule. “Our non region schedule was a gauntlet, so those beatings we took hopefully made us better,” Newton said. The Panthers have seven more region games compared to one non region game remaining on their schedule.
Junior Angel Cone led Portal in scoring with 11 points. Senior Glen Lowe finished with 10 points in the game.
Men's Panthers
The Portal men’s basketball team looked to keep the ball rolling versus McIntosh County. They did just that as the Panthers took down the Buccaneers 57-44 on Tuesday night.
Portal took control in the very beginning and never let up. The Panthers never trailed in the game. Things did get a little tense when the Buccaneers went on a run in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to six with a little under four minutes remaining in the game. Portal was able to get pivotal stops and take care of the ball to put the game away. Freshman David Thomas sealed the deal with an acrobatic layup.
The Panthers had to get this win while missing a starter. Senior Marion Tremble got injured in their last game and was not able to suit up on Tuesday night. Freshman KJ Hunter got the start and shined in the expanded role. Hunter led the Panthers in scoring with 19 points and brought energy on both ends of the floor. “He’s a freshman and he gave us some good quality minutes today and he did what we asked him to do,” Jeff Brannen, Panthers men’s head coach, said.
Several Panthers chipped in offensively. Senior Amir Jackson added 12 points including a big putback poster that got the gym rocking. Freshman David Thomas also poured in 12 points for Portal.
McIntosh County Senior Brandon Johnson led all scorers with a game-high of 20 points in the game. He seemed to hit all of the shots to keep this game from getting out of hand.
Portal improves to a 15-1 record and are now 3-0 in region play.
UP NEXT:
The Portal Panthers will defend their home court against the Jenkins County War Eagles on Friday, January 19th. The Lady Panthers will tip off at 6:00 p.m. and the men’s will start after. The game will be CASH ONLY. There will be no use of GoFan. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to guarantee a seat.
