Portal head coach Jeff Brannen knew his team would have their hands full as the Metter Tigers came into Portal ranked in the top 10 in Class-A. Brannen was right, as the Tigers pulled away in the second quarter, and went on to win 67-48.

The loss was the fourth in the last five games for the Panthers, who now fall to 7-4 on the season, while Metter improves to 8-3.

“We got off to a slow start again, and dug ourselves a hole,” Brannen said. “All night we were battling foul trouble. We cut it to eight in the fourth, but they pulled away after that.”

The Panthers were able to tie the game 9-9 in the first quarter on a pair of free throws by Connor Washington, but Metter came back to lead 14-9 after one quarter of play.

The Tigers continued their run in the second quarter as they went on a 17-3 run to take a 26-11 lead. A Devonta Brown three pointer cut the lead at 27-16, but the Tigers would go on to take a 33-19 lead at the half.

Dax Reddick hit a pair of three pointers early in the third quarter to cut into the Tiger lead, but Metter stormed back to lead 46-32 at the end of the third.

In the fourth the Panthers finally cut the lead to single digits at 46-38 on a Reddick putback, but Metter closed the game on a 21-10 run — primarily on backdoor cuts and layups — and they’d go on to win 67-48.

“We still don’t have the right chemistry right now,” Brannen said. “Basketball is a marathon, not a sprint, and we have 25 games. We really need to get it going soon though, as we open subregion play on the 28th.”

Connor Washington led the Panthers with 20 points, Reddick chipped in with 13. Metter was paced by Immanuel Hackett and Lane Young who each had 12 points.  

The loss drops the Panthers to 7-4 on the season. Next up for Portal they open subregion play as they host Calvary Dec. 28 with the girls starting at 3 p.m.