Panthers Advance to Final Four; First Time In 54 Years

By Wright Hogsed

The 25-5 Union County Panthers Men’s Basketball team has accomplished a feat not seen since 1971: They’re heading to the final four.

The Panthers finished their regular season and region tournament in second place in the region (only behind private school North Cobb Christian out of Kennesaw) and the sixth seed in the GHSA AA state basketball tournament. In the first round, the Panthers hosted a 9-14 Pierce County team, which they handled pretty easily behind a combined 48 points (9 three-pointers) from Senior Guards #2 Houston Henry and #34 Hayden Hughes. The game ended with a final score of 87-61, with the Panthers advancing to the Sweet 16.

In the Sweet 16, the Panthers hosted 18-9 Westside Macon and handled them mightily. The Panthers started the game slowly behind only eight first-quarter points. However, they would gather in the second and third quarters, outscoring Westside 48-13. The Panthers would finish with eight players scoring, but Henry led all scorers with 18 points. The game would end with the Panthers on top 75-33 and an Elite Eight home game looming against a good KIPP Atlanta Collegiate team.

KIPP entered the game with a record of 19-9 and a huge win over three-seed Morgan County. Union County knew they would need to play their style of basketball to win and advance to the final four. In a video by OneShotVisuals, Coach Corey Garrett told the team before the game, “It’s the Elite 8 for a reason… It’s play our game, it’s make our game work better than theirs”. Playing their game is exactly what the Panthers did, as they started the game off holding KIPP to five points in the first quarter. They did this behind smothering defensive performances across the board, but especially from Junior C #12 Vince Marevka, who gathered defensive rebounds left and right and finished the first quarter leading in scoring with seven points. At the end of one quarter, the Panthers led 15-5 and had the home crowd electric behind the hope of a potential final-four appearance for the first time in 54 years. The crowd had no reason to stop cheering in the second quarter as Union remained dominant on both sides. The half ended with even more sparks as Houston Henry knocked down back-to-back threes to put the Panthers up 30-13.

The second half began a resurgence from the KIPP Warriors as they finally outscored the Panthers in a quarter, doing so 14-12 and cutting the lead to 15. For the Panthers, the fourth quarter was all about making sure to bend but not break, as KIPP scored the most points they had all game. Even though this was the case, the Panthers pulled through and punched their ticket to Americus, GA, and the Final Four. The game ended with a final score of 66-59. The Panther’s high scorer was Houston Henry, with 22 points, followed by 15 points each for Senior Guard #11 Maddox Young and Junior Center #12 Vince Marevka. Other contributors included Hayden Hughes (9 points), Junior SG #5 Holden Payne (3 points), and Senior F/C #23 Kaden Combs (2 points).

The Panthers play in the Final Four against a 24-4 Tattnall County, where the Panthers will try to advance to the State Championship game for the first time in 54 years. The last team to accomplish these feats for Union County was the 1970-1971 Union County Panthers, coached by the late Earl Odom (Georgia High School Basketball Portal, n.d.). That team went 29-0 until the State Championship, falling short to Hogansville 47-43 (Georgia High School Basketball Portal, n.d.). Many of the players from the 1971 team will watch their grandkids or family members play in this final four-game, including the grandfather of Houston Henry, who is watching his grandson lead the Panthers along the way. Union County will root for their Panthers on Friday, February 28th, as they hope to advance and win it all.

References

Georgia High School Basketball Portal. (n.d.). Union County High School Basketball Team. Retrieved February 28, 2025, from http://www.ghsbp.com/state/teams/unioncounty.html