Panthers lose on late comeback by Rebels

The Panthers led by nine entering the fourth quarter but couldn’t keep a scrappy Fannin Co. boys basketball team from putting up 19 points in the frame and lost, 53-51, Saturday, Dec. 7, in Blue Ridge.

Union Co. (2-4) went cold on offense in the fourth, managing just eight points in the loss.

Panther head coach Corey Garrett gave all of the credit to Fannin Co. for earning the big comeback win.

“They made some huge shots down the stretch, and we just couldn’t answer them,” Garrett said.

Despite the loss to the rival Rebels, Garrett said there is plenty to be excited about moving forward.

“We’ve only had five practices with our full team and two of those were over Thanksgiving and were really just about conditioning,” Garrett said.

The Union Co. football team reached the second round of the state playoffs this season, meaning the players who play both football and basketball missed the start of the basketball season.

Those players include some of the team’s most productive seniors: Pierson Allison, Kyle Morlock, Cayden Rich, and Sawyer Drake, along with newcomer, junior Kaston Hemphill.

“Our biggest challenge is just getting better at the little things,” Garrett said of his team. “It’s a big of an odd situation. I wasn’t the coach last season, and even though we are running a lot of the same stuff, the styles are different.”

Garrett was the coach of the girls team last season before taking over the Panthers this year.

“We are still trying to gel so that we can play exactly how we want to play,” Garrett said. “But most of those things will work themselves out eventually.”

As for the loss to Fannin Co., Garrett said that Allison had taken the SAT the morning before the game. Also, Drake injured his hand in a car door earlier in the day and missed the game. The timetable for his return is uncertain.

“Not that any of that is an excuse for our loss. Fannin Co. played very well, especially in the second half, and we just did not have an answer for them,” Garrett said.

Allison scored a team-high 16 points in the loss. He currently leads the team with nearly 17 points per game in the four games he has played so far.

Morlock is averaging slightly more than 13 points per game through four games. He scored 10 against the Rebels.

Before his injury, Drake was scoring 11 points per game in the three games he played.

Sophomore Lake Hughes scored nine, while senior Bryson Lariscy added six for Union Co.

Rich scored three and sophomore Landon Cox added a made free throw to round out the Panthers scorers.

Up next for Union Co. is the Region 8-AA opener against Elbert Co. on Friday, Dec. 13. That game begins at 7:30 p.m. in Blairsville.

“Elbert lost nine seniors from last season, but they are very athletic and very well coached, so we are going to be in for a challenge,” Garrett said.

After that, the Panthers travel to Monticello at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 14, for another region matchup.

To read about this week’s Player of the Week for the Panthers, click here.