Panthers beat Commerce 73-65

Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers hosted the Commerce Tigers in a non region matchup.

First Quarter

Both the Panthers and the Tigers began the game with 2 straight turnovers. Lake Hughes got the Panthers on the board first and the Tigers turned the ball over again. Following a turnover by the Panthers, the Tigers scored to tie it at 2. Daniel Snow got the rebound and scored to give the Panthers a 4-2 lead. The Tigers responded and tied it at 4. The Panthers had multiple opportunities to score but failed to do so and turned the ball over to the Tigers. The Tigers responded with a made 3 pointer to take their first lead of the game 7-4. Following a missed shot by Austin Taylor, the Tigers scored to extend their lead to 9-4. Hayden Payne scored off an impressive no look pass by Caleb John and cut the deficit to 9-6. After a missed shot by the Panthers and a turnover by the Tigers, Landon Kight scored to cut the deficit to 9-8. The Tigers responded with a 3 to extend their lead to 12-8 but Hayden Hughes quickly responded to cut the deficit to 12-10. Another quick response by the Tigers extended their lead to 14-10. Kight was fouled and made 1/2 free throws to cut the deficit to 14-11. The Tigers turned the ball over but the Panthers missed the layup and the Tigers took it all the way to the basket and scored to end the quarter. The Tigers led 16-11 at the end of the first quarter.

Second Quarter

The Tigers made a 3 and scored off 2 Panther turnovers to begin the quarter and extend their lead to 23-11. Eli Underwood ended the Tigers scoring run and picked up a foul. Underwood made the following free throw to cut the deficit to 23-14. After 2 straight turnovers by the Tigers, Underwood scored 4 straight points to cut the deficit to 23-18 as Underwood was on a 7-0 run by himself. The Tigers turned the ball over again and Houston Henry picked up the foul trying to score. Henry made 1/2 free throws to make the score 23-19. After a missed shot by the Tigers, Hughes made a 3 to cut the deficit to 23-22. Following a foul by Snow, the Tigers made a 3 and ended the Panthers 11-0 run and extended their lead to 26-22. The Panthers rebounded a missed shot by the Tigers and missed 2 open shots and the Tigers came back down the court and scored to extend their lead to 28-22. Underwood scored to cut the deficit to 28-24. Hughes stole the ball and Jude Ellis was fouled. Ellis missed both free throws but Hughes made a 3 to make the score 28-27. Henry stole the ball and Hughes made another 3 to give the Panthers a 30-28 lead. After 2 missed free throws by the Tigers, John stole the ball and took it all the way to the basket, missed the layup but Hayden Payne was there to get the rebound and score to end the half. The Panthers led 32-28 at the end of the 1st half.

Third Quarter

The Panthers made 1/2 free throws to begin the half following a technical called on the Tigers at the end of the half. After 2 missed shots on 2 straight possessions by the Panthers, the Tigers scored to make the score 33-30. Underwood scored to give the Panthers a 35-30 lead but the Tigers quickly responded to cut the lead to 35-32. Hughes made his 3rd 3 of the game to extend the lead to 38-32. The Tigers responded with a 3 and cut the lead to 38-35. Both teams missed a couple of shots but the Tigers ended the scoring drought with a made 3 to tie the game at 38. Henry missed a quick 3 but took a charge on the other end to give the Panthers some much needed momentum. Ellis made a 3 to give the Panthers a 41-38 lead but the Tigers quickly responded with a 3 to tie the game at 41. Kight scored and picked up a foul. Kight missed the free throw but the Panthers led 43-41. The Tigers responded with a 3 to take their first lead of the quarter 44-43. Kight scored to give the Panthers a 45-44 lead and the Tigers turned the ball over on the next possession. The Panthers turned the ball over, then John stole the ball and missed the layup and the Tigers went down and scored to take a 46-45 lead. The Panthers trailed 46-45 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Both the Panthers and the Tigers turned the ball over to begin the quarter. The Tigers made both free throws after a foul by the Panthers to extend their lead to 48-45. Hughes was fouled and made both free throws to cut the deficit to 48-47. Snow was fouled and made 1/2 free throws to tie the score at 48. The Tigers made a 3 after a couple missed shots by both teams to take a 51-48 lead. Hughes responded and tied it at 51 but the Tigers scored and retook the lead 53-51. Hughes made another 3 to give the Panthers a 54-53 lead and then Kight scored to extend the lead to 56-53. The Tigers responded and tied it at 56 but Taylor responded with a 3 to take a 59-56 lead. The Tigers quickly scored to cut the lead to 59-58 and after a missed shot by the Panthers, the Tigers were fouled attempting to score. The Tigers made both free throws to take a 60-59 lead. After a missed shot by the Panthers, the Tigers scored again and extended their lead to 62-59. Kight tied the game at 62 after making a 3. The Panthers were unable to hit the game winner to end the game. The game was tied 62-62 and went to overtime.

Overtime

Kight scored to begin overtime and give the Panthers a 64-62 lead. After a missed shot by the Tigers, Henry made a 3 to extend the lead to 67-62. Kight scored again to extend the lead to 69-62 and the Panthers were on a 7-0 run. The Tigers made a 3 to cut the lead t0 69-65 and the Tigers called timeout. The Tigers started fouling and they fouled Taylor. Taylor made both free throws to extend the lead to 71-65. After a missed shot by the Tigers, Kight scored to extend the lead to 73-65 to end the game. The Panthers won 73-65.