After huge first half, Panthers fall short @ Callaway as season comes to an end

Sports, Team FYN Sports

Lagrange, Georgia- The #4 seed Union County Panthers (0-13) face the #1 seed Callaway Cavaliers (8-9) in the first round of the state playoffs. Senior Kaston Hemphill returned after being out with an ankle injury for about a month.

First Quarter

The Cavaliers went up 6-0 right out o f the gate, hitting two 3 pointers off Panther turnovers. Junior Landon Kight responded with a 3 to cut the deficit to 3. The Cavaliers went up 7-3 after scoring off an offensive rebound. Kight scored a layup after getting the offensive rebound to cut the deficit to 2. The Cavaliers extended their lead to 3 after making 1/2 free throws. Kight tied the game after making 3/3 free throws after getting fouled shooting a 3. The Cavaliers made another 3 to take the lead. Junior Lake Hughes responded with a 3 to tie the game. Senior Kaston Hemphill made a deep 2 to give the Panthers the 2 point lead. The Cavaliers responded with a deep 2 to tie the game at 13. The game was tied 13-13 at the end of the first quarter. Credit to the coaching staff for having a great game plan to slow down a very talented #1 seed. The Panthers did not look like an 0-9 team after a very impressive first quarter.

Second Quarter

The Cavaliers took a 2 point lead after a Panther turnover and Head Coach Corey Garrett called a timeout. The Panthers were playing great defense in the first half, playing their best game of the season at the right time. The Cavaliers went up 4 after another Panther turnover. The Panthers offense was really struggling breaking the press, which led to 2 more Cavalier points. The Panthers closed the quarter on a 8-1 run. With 30 seconds left, the Cavaliers had 6 players on the court and the Panthers got 2 free throws. Kight would miss both free throws. The Panthers had shocked the Cavaliers in the first half. Again, the Panthers did not look like an 0-9 team.

Third Quarter

Hemphill scored a deep 2 and gave the Panthers an early 1 point lead. The Cavaliers hit a 3 pointer to take a 2 point lead, which was the start of a big quarter from 3 point range for the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers hit a deep 2 to take a quick 4 point lead. Junior Hayden Payne made a layup and got fouled but missed the following free throw. The Cavaliers hit another 3 to take 5 point lead. The Panthers were struggling breaking the press as the Cavaliers were going on a run. The Cavaliers hit another 3 to take a 9 point lead. The Cavaliers scored again off another Panther turnover to extend the lead to 11. The Cavaliers hit another 3 pointer, their 4th of the quarter to extend their lead to 13. Kight responded with a 3 to cut the deficit to 10. Hughes made 1/2 free throws to cut the deficit to 9. The Cavaliers scored to extend their lead to 11 as the Panthers were struggling to slow down the Cavalier offense. Hughes hit a 3 to cut the deficit back to 8. The Cavaliers hit another 3 but Hughes responded with a 3. The Cavaliers made five 3’s in the third quarter. The Panthers trailed 45-36 to end the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Cavaliers extended their lead to 11 as they scored off another Panther turnover. Hemphill made 1/2 free throws to cut the deficit to 10. The Cavaliers hit a 3 and got fouled and made the following free throw to extend there lead to 14. The Cavaliers had all momentum and the panthers just had no answer. The Panthers fall to the Cavaliers 65-42 as their season comes to an end. The Panthers only lose 1 player this year and have a lot of players returning with experience. This was a very tough year for the Panthers due to COVID but the team got better each week. I expect the Panthers to have a better season next year.

Leave a comment

Back to Top