By Alex Gillenwalters, Sports Editor
In an incredible match this past Saturday, the Pellissippi Panthers kept a large lead over the Vol-State Pioneers. Immediately after the game’s tip-off, both teams were jumping at the opportunity to get the first points.
The Panthers gave fans an exciting first few seconds of the game with their first four shot attempts, all made three point shots, scoring them 12 points to start the game off. The first half ended with the Panthers leading with 49 points and the Pioneers with 36 points. The second half was played much more defensively by the Panthers, yet they still scored 80 points to secure them the win against the Pioneers.
After a tough few losses, Coach Jones decided to change up the starting lineup for this game, a move that immediately paid off as the starters scored the team multiple important points in the first half. Between his play-calling and the lineup changes, Coach Jones was a major contributor to the Panthers win.
Starting off the first few minutes of a game with a score of 12 points to the Pioneers’ 4 gave the Panthers an incredible lead, and they didn’t slow down there as the score went up to 20-8 with 14 minutes left in the first half.
The Panthers kept us on the edge of our seats with impressive plays such as #11 Kir Diew’s two hard blocks back-to-back, following up with rebounds to secure the ball for his team. Quickly after, #5, Kendrick Lloyd, got a steal which led into a fast break down the court that ended in another two points being scored for the Panthers. Diew had another highlight later in the game with a shifty crossover into a step back shot attempt, scoring their team another two points.
The second half was not as entertaining as the first, as the Panthers played more strategically and put focus on defence. Going into the second half with a 13 point lead, the Panthers kept things simple with time-wasting tricks and scoring easy points.
As time wound down on the clock, the gap in score started to dwindle down, which made the bleachers a bit nervous. The Panthers saw this and quickly pulled it back together, keeping a confident lead until the last second, ending the game 80-66.
