Panthers fall to Elbert County 49-25 after big defensive first half performance

Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers host the Elbert County Blue Devils in a region matchup. The Blue Devils won the previous matchup convincingly 68-26. The Panthers are still looking for their first win of the season. This is the last home game of the shortened season for the Panthers.

First Quarter

After both teams got off to a slow start, Freshman Eli Underwood scored to put the Panthers up 2-0. Junior Caleb John extended the Panthers lead to 3-0 as he made 1/2 free throws. The Blue Devils responded as they made a mid range jumper to make it 3-2. Junior Daniel Snow scored as he got his own rebound and extended the Panthers lead to 5-2. The Blue Devils responded with a 3 to tie the game at 5. The Panthers were playing great defense against a very talented Blue Devil team. Junior Lake Hughes made 2 free throws to take a 7-5 lead. The Blue Devils were making very tough shots due to good Panther defense as they tied the game at 7. Hughes made 2 free throws to make the score 9-7. The Panthers led 9-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Second Quarter

To begin the second quarter both teams were very sloppy. The Blue Devils tied the game after a steal and a made layup. Kight scored in the paint as the Panthers took a 2 point lead. Snow scored 4 quick points as the Panthers took a 6 point lead. The Blue Devils responded as they scored 4 quick points and cut the Panther lead to 2. Snow made 1/2 free throws to extend the Panther lead to 3 as Snow had a very big game, rebounding and scoring. The Blue Devils quickly cut the Panther lead to 1. The Panthers led 16-15 at the end of the first half. The Panthers had a huge half defensively holding the Blue Devils to 15 points.

Third Quarter

The beginning of the second half was very competitive as both defenses were holding their ground. The Blue Devils took a one point lead as most of the quarter was scoreless. John tied the game as he made 1/2 free throws. The Blue Devils scored 5 straight points to take a 5 point lead late in the 3rd as their offense started clicking. Snow scored as he ended the Panther scoring drought. The Blue Devils ended the quarter on a 12-2 run as they led the Panthers 29-19 to end the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Blue Devils offense had all the momentum and they kept their foot on the gas as they scored 4 straight points which forced the Panthers to call a timeout. John answered out of the timeout with a nice euro step layup to end the scoring run. John answered again with a nice move in the paint. .John had a big fourth quarter as he scored 6 straight points after the Panther timeout. The Blue Devils offense was just too much for the Panthers. The Blue Devils ended the game on a 12-0 run as the Panthers fall to the Blue Devils 49-25. The Panthers fall to 0-10 on the season. The Panthers travel to Rabun County as it will be the last regular season game of the season.