Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers basketball team hosted the Towns County Indians in a non region rivalry matchup.

First Quarter

The Indians got on the board first to begin the game and held 2-0 lead. Following a foul after an attempted block by Caleb John, the Indians made 1/2 free throws to make the score 3-0. After missing multiple shots, Jude Ellis got the Panthers on the board following a made floater to cut the deficit to 3-2. The Indians responded after 2 missed shots by the Panthers and extended their lead to 7-2. John scored and picked up the foul but missed the following free throw. The Panthers trailed 7-4. The Indians scored again to extend their lead to 9-4 and following an Indian turnover, Ellis made a 3 to cut the deficit to 9-7. Following a foul by Lake Hughes, the Indians made both free throws and scored 4 quick points off 2 Panther turnovers to extend their lead to 15-7. Houston Henry was fouled on a 3 pointer to end the quarter but missed all 3 free throws. The Panthers trailed 15-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Second Quarter

The Indians scored immediately to begin the second quarter and after multiple missed shots by the Panthers, the Indians scored again to extend their lead to 19-7. After turnovers by both teams, the Indians scored again to extend their lead to 21-7. Hayden Payne got the Panthers on the board for the first time in the quarter as he scored off a nice backdoor cut and cut the deficit to 21-9. Hughes made a 3 to cut the deficit to 21-12 but the Indians scored on a last second shot to extend there lead to 23-12 to end the half.

Third Quarter

Payne scored to begin the half, picked up a foul, and made the following free throw to cut the deficit to 23-15. The Indians were fouled on their possession and made 1/2 free throws to extend their leas to 24-15. Henry was fouled and made both free throws to make the score 24-17 but after a turnover by the Panthers, the Indians pushed the ball up quick and scored to extend their lead to 26-17. Henry scored and Ellis made a deep 3 to cut the deficit to 26-22 and forced the Indians to call a timeout. Following the timeout, the Indians scored to extend their lead to 28-22. After a missed shot by the Indians, Ellis made another deep 3 to make the score 28-25. The Indians made 1/2 free throws after a foul by the Panthers and then scored again, plus the foul to make the score 31-25. Hughes made a 3 to cut the deficit to 31-28 but following a turnover by the Panthers, the Indians pushed the ball up the court and scored to end the quarter to give them a 33-28 lead to end the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Indians made both free throws following a foul to begin the quarter to extend the Indians lead to 35-28. Ellis made a deep 3 from the logo to cut the deficit to 35-31. Following another foul by the Panthers, the Indians made 1/2 free throws to make the score 36-31. Payne scored as he was getting fouled but missed the following free throw to make the score 36-33 but the Indians responded and extended their lead to 38-33. John was fouled and made both free throws to cut the deficit t0 38-35. Ellis made a his 4th 3 of the half to tie the game at 38 with 3 minutes to go. The Indians responded with a 3 but Hughes scored and cut the deficit to 41-40. Hughes fouled out on the next possession and the Indians scored to extend their lead to 43-40. The Indians scored and then made a 3 off two straight Panther turnovers to take a 48-40 lead with less than 2 minutes left. The Panthers would fall to Towns County 49-41 and fall to 3-6 on the year. The Panthers will travel to Fannin County on Saturday & Towns County next Friday night.