Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers (0-4) return to action to face the Rabun County Wildcats (2-16) in first game since December 12 due to COVID 19 issues.

First Quarter

Things got going early as the Adriel Clark scored the Wildcats first bucket before you could even sit down. The Wildcats were moving the ball around very well against a Panther team that hasn’t faced an opponent in just over a month. Junior Lake Hughes hasn’t missed a step as he hit a deep 3 early in the game to take an early 5-4 lead. Things were close early on as each team was going back and forth scoring. The Panthers offense stalled as turnovers started piling up. The Panthers needed a little time to get things going after they have only scrimmaged themselves for weeks. The Wildcats were a little more aggressive to start the game and it showed as they attacked the basket on every play. The Panthers quickly woke up as Hughes had a huge block on Junior Connor McKay as he went up for a fast break layup. The Panthers were down 16-12 to end the 1st quarter as Junior Landon Kight made a last second layup.

Second Quarter

To start the second quarter, the Panthers turned the ball over and Junior Grayson Carver responded with a 3 from the logo as the Wildcats offense started to gain momentum. The Panthers quickly responded with a great offensive possession as each team started to get going offensively. The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run very quickly, forcing the Panthers to call a timeout down 25-16. The Panthers were having a tough time stopping Clark as it seemed like he could make a shot from anywhere in the paint. The Panthers offense stalled out again as the Wildcats offense was starting to heat up, going up 34-20, forcing the Panthers to call another timeout. After a quiet quarter offensively for the Panthers, they trailed the Wildcats 35-22 at halftime.

Third Quarter

Junior Caleb John got the second half started for the Panthers with a great move as made a very tough layup. The Panthers offense couldn’t seem to knock down any shots as the Wildcats went on a quick 9-2 run forcing the Panthers to call another timeout to slow down the momentum. Hughes hit a huge 3 coming out of the timeout to slow the Wildcats down for a moment. The Panthers defense still had no answers f0r the Wildcats as they went on another run to end the quarter. The Panthers trailed 50-29 to end the 3rd quarter.

Fourth Quarter

To start the fourth quarter, McKay scored his 25th point in the game for the Wildcats, as he was a tough task for the Panthers to stop. The Panthers couldn’t keep the Wildcats offense quiet in the fourth quarter as they kept it rolling until the final buzzer. The Panthers fall to the Wildcats 66-40. The Panthers didn’t play up to their standard but it’s a very tough challenge to miss a full month of a season and come back and perform your best. The Panthers are a much better team than how they played against the Wildcats. The Panthers travel to Lumpkin County to face the Indians on Saturday, as I expect them to play a better game.