The Portal Panthers are one step closer to making history as they knocked off Randolph Clay 62-44 in front of a sold out crowd at Portal and have advanced to the State Elite-8.

The Panthers jumped out to a 9-0 lead but saw Randolph Clay scratch their way back in the game via the long ball, and in particular Je’Sus Daniels who had 12 points on four three-pointers. Portal led 28-24 at the half and then pulled away early in the third as they went on a 12-2 run and were able to maintain a double digit lead for the majority of the second half.

“We knew going in they were going to throw a lot of different zone defenses at us,” said Portal coach Jeff Brannen. “It is hard to get in a flow on offense against that, but I thought we did a good job getting the ball inside to Amir and that set the tone. He got in foul trouble and it hurt us for a while, but we really turned things up after halftime and were able to create some separation. We still have some things to work on defensively but I’m proud of the effort.”

In the region championship and the opening round of the state Portal struggled to put away Jenkins County and Treutlen county, but Saturday night they pulled away early in the third thanks to hot shooting, and solid defense. The Red Devils went over five minutes without a basket as Portal increased their lead to 35-24 on a jumper by Joseph Thomas.

The Panthers had a balanced offensive attack led by Amir Jackson with 17 points and 17 rebounds. Marion Tremble added 14 points, while Elijah Coleman had 12 and Joseph Thomas had 10. Senior Bryce Clifton only had eight points, but brought a spark off the bench on offense and defense.

“We love the kind of energy Bryce brings off the bench,” Brannen said. “You need a guy like that who will dive for loose balls and create some havoc with the other team and Bryce is an important part of our team."

The Panthers will next host a familiar foe as Wednesday at 6:00 Wilkinson County returns to Portal. The two teams have played twice this year with Portal winning 67-59 in Portal and 65-62 in Irwinton. The Warriors also knocked Portal out of the state playoffs last year in the Sweet 16 by a score of 55-54.