Panthers pull out 54-52 win over Greenbrier

The Bobcats clawed back with a 17-1 run to close out the half and left the Panthers trailing by nine at the break.

“Internally, there was a lot going on,” Ferguson explained. “I calmed the kids down and told them we had been down by eight or nine before with the schedule we had played so far. We had held back on some new looks and sets and decided to use them in the second half.

The refs were calling a tight game and the Panthers were in the one-and-one with five minutes left in the third.

“Any time you get points at the free throw line, you take them,” Ferguson explained. “ I told the kids to attack, attack and I think what changed the game was we got Greenbrier out of their rhythm and they had to slow down due to foul trouble.”

The Panthers made ten more trips to the charity stripe and finished with a 20 of 28 effort. Greenbrier was 13 of 18 from the free throw line.

Jojo Lyles led the Panthers in scoring in the opening eight minutes of action with seven points while Chase Runyon added four, Cody Carlson fired in a 3-pointer, and Will Napier made two free throws as the home team led 16-10.

Portland went up by seven, 19-12 on an old-fashion three-point play by Thornton.

The Bobcats came back with five straight points to trim the deficit by two, 19-17.

Napier connected and Thornton cashed in on another three-point play and a 24-17 edge.

The Bobcats came back and closed out the half with a 17-1 run that produced a 34-25 halftime margin.

Twelve of Portland’s 17 third quarter points came at the free throw line while Runyon recorded a field goal and a 3-point shot though the Purple still faced a 47-42 deficit with eight minutes left to play.

The Panthers tied the game at the 6:41 mark as Runyon nailed a jumper and Paxton excited the large home crowd with a 3-point field goal. Runyon added two free throws to give Portland the advantage.

Will Osborne buried a 3-pointer for the Bobcats, but Paxton tied the score again on a single foul shot.

Greenbrier swished two free throws over the next three minutes before Runyon knotted the score at 52-52 with 1:16 remaining.

Greenbrier was whistled for a charge and the Panthers worked the clock down and Thornton scored his winning bucket with three seconds showing.

The Bobcats missed at the buzzer to preserve the win for the Purple.

Runyon finished with 23 points to lead the Panthers with Lyles, Paxton, and Thornton each contributing eight. Napier had four, and Carlson chipped in with three. Jayce Mangrum topped Greenbrier with 19.