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Panthers battle down Warriors
TerrellJohnson
Terrell Johnson gets airborne and makes the shot in Tuesday’s victory over the Warriors. Johnson and Michael Manning scored 13 points in the game.
The Warriors from Tattnall County came into the Panthers’ arena and waged a hard battle before falling behind by nine points to give the home team their second-straight victory.
The Warriors came out strong and were first to put points on the board despite the visible size advantage the Panthers had over their opponents.
The Panthers gave up a five-point lead and allowed the Warriors to sit one point ahead early in the second period.
Ball possession went back and forth from there in a fierce battle to see who would come out on top for the half. The battle ended at the half with a 29-29 tie.
The Panthers opened the third period with a quick four-point lead but the Warriors were not done with the battle and immediately came within two. The Panthers struggled until head coach Willie Graham called in the second team. Within minutes, they opened the Panthers up to a 17-point lead by the end of the third period (60-43).
To start the fourth period, the Panthers’ first team went back in and let the Warriors come within five points with 1:14 left on the game clock. The Panthers mustered up enough defenses to pull away and hold on to win 75-66.
“I am by no means satisfied with the way they played,” Panthers head coach Willie graham said. “We had no defense we focused on offense too much. There were too many missed assignments and too much individualism on the court.” Graham went on to say his first team needed to find the “we” and “us” that make up a team and stop focusing on the “I.”
He clearly gave the game-saving credit to his second team who gave the Panthers the spread they needed to hold onto the win.
“We sent our second group into the game and they were playing harder than our first team,” he said. “They were playing more together than our first team, especially where defense was concerned. If it were not for them we may have lost this game.”
The Panthers are now 3-2 as they enter the real battle of regional action when they travel to Burke County tonight. Graham explained the importance of the upcoming game as his team spent the rest of the week practicing for tonight’s battle.
“We told them it’s a region ball game on the road,” he said. “It has much more significance then just a win or a loss and we have to come back at practice and make sure we get ready.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

Points scored
Terrell Johnson 13
Michael Manning 13
Charles Friend 10
Jordan McRae 10
Rion Brown 7
Rashine Mitchell 6
Emmanuel Fuller 5
Roderick jones 4
Chris Riley 4
Donrico Wigfall 2
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