By Alex Gillenwalters, Sports Editor
In a thrilling match last Wednesday, the Pellissippi Panthers dominated from start to finish, holding off the Cougars with a commanding lead. This victory marked the Panthers’ second consecutive win, bouncing back from a challenging 0-5 record in their previous five games. From the very start of the game everyone could tell how this game would go: we would win this one.
The Panthers showcased an impressive defense throughout the game, constantly pressuring the Cougars and forcing turnovers. The first half ended with the Panthers leading with a score of 34 points and the Cougars with 20 points. Our Panthers played more aggressively in the second half, scoring themselves another 37 points to secure the win against the Cougars.
The first half was relatively low-scoring even though our Panthers were taking every shot attempt they could get. They scored themselves nine points off of three pointers alone with 11 minutes left in the first.
The first and second half had some fantastic plays and our Panthers made sure to scor quickly at the start of both halves. The first points scored by the Panthers came from a three-pointer by #3, Tony McDaniel, who set the tone with his sharp shooting. The first half was comparable to a fantastic movie with an extremely hard block by #21, Loic Mimche, causing a Cougars player to travel, giving us the ball. The Panthers scored lower than average in each half, but kept the Cougars in check ending the first half at 34-20.
The second half was just as exciting, with the Panthers continuing their impressive performance and delivering several standout plays to secure the win. Immediately into the second half, #11, Kir Diew, got an impressive steal allowing him to capitalize with an open dunk as he smiled through the entire play.
The Cougars had a difficult time keeping the ball as they had 19 turnovers in the game, one of which happened to be stolen by #3, Tony McDaniel, whom made a pass to #8, Jonathan Caicedo, dunking on an open basket.
Maintaining an easy lead throughout the game, the Panthers ended the night with a score of 71 points, holding the Cougars to 54 until the buzzer rang.
