PORTAL — Portal Panthers coach Jeff Brannen was worried his team would be flat heading into Friday’s game against the Jenkins County Eagles.
With tonight’s game against Emanuel County Institute —the second-place team in Region 3-A that suffered its only region loss to Portal in December — looming large, Brannen was worried about his team overlooking JCHS.
What he saw didn’t let him down.
The starting five exploded out of the gate, holding the Jenkins offense to just eight first-quarter points and jumping ahead 47-17 at the break. The PHS bench finished the job as Portal (21-1, 11-0) knocked off the visiting Eagles 90-40 Friday on senior night.
The Panthers went to the line 12 times in the first half, knocking down 20 of the 23 attempts.
“I was really proud, and we came out ready to play,” Brannen said. “We went to the bench early. Everybody came in and contributed and did what they’re supposed to do —what they’re coached to do. That’s what we’ve been working on. We’ve got players on the bench that can also play, and they got their chance.”
The bench matched the intensity of the starters in the third quarter, starting the period on an 11-0 run before Jenkins County’s Akeem Young got his Eagles on the board with a bucket 3:18 into the frame.
The Panther reserves put up 13 more points in the third, outscoring the Eagles 24-13, and in the final quarter, Brannen cleared the bench and got everyone some minutes. All 13 players on the PHS roster scored in the effort, and Steven Cox came off the bench to match Mario Farris with a game-leading 14 points. Farris sank 8 of 9 attempts from the charity stripe. Justin Raymond added 11 for the Panthers.
Chris Watson and Josh Graham led Jenkins with eight points each, and Watson hauled in seven rebounds.
Portal Sophomore Michael Reese electrified the Portal crowd after he entered the game in the fourth quarter. He got the team’s last three points when he stole the ball away in the final minute and slammed it home, bringing the Portal faithful to its feet. He hit the free throw after he was fouled on the dunk.
Brannen is happy with the level of play he has seen from his bench.
“It’s good when you have games like this later on in the year,” said the Portal coach. “All the players practice hard every day and they get a chance to show it in the game. It is just a good morale builder, because they’re practicing hard, and they look forward to practice. “They’re making us better. If you have tough practices when everybody’s going at each other, everybody’s going to get better.”
The Panthers grabbed 30 rebounds in the game, and the dominating win has them confident heading into tonight’s ECI game.
Portal can grab the regular-season, Region 3-A title with a win over the Bulldogs.
“It’s a big game. We’re 11-0 in the region, and it’s our last region game,” Brannen said. “We want to go through our region schedule undefeated, because we’re going to see these teams again in the tournament. “We’ve just got to take care of our business. We can’t rely on other people knocking somebody off. We’ve got to take care of us and let the other seeds fall into place.”
The game takes place tonight in Twin City. The girls tip off at 6, and the boys’ action will immediately follow.
Lady Eagles 72,
Lady Panthers 34
Nicole Smith and Toshe McClain combined for 54 points as the Jenkins County Lady Eagles (11-12) dominated the struggling Portal Lady Panthers 72-34 in region play Friday on senior night in Portal.
McClain — who netted 21 points in the runaway victory — had a double-double in the first half and finished the game with 19 boards. Smith racked up 33 points, including three 3-pointers.
“They just came to play tonight,” said JCHS coach Randy Cooper. “It’s getting to be time for the region (tournament), so I’m glad to see them step it up.”
The Panthers (9-15, 3-11 Region 3-A) came out of the gates in a hurry, working up a quick 6-4 lead in the game’s opening minutes. Smith tied the game with a layup and gave the Eagles a 9-6 lead after sinking the foul shot on an old-fashioned 3-point play.
Jenkins never trailed after that, scoring15 more points in the first quarter and running away with it in the second. They led 46-18 heading into the break.
The story was the same all night for the Panthers, who could not contain the JCHS offense and had trouble finishing their shots.
“The girls are not stepping up,” said Lady Panther coach Earl Donaldson. “They didn’t come to play ball. We’ve spent the last four games like that. We haven’t been communicating on defense and our shots haven’t been dropping. I’m disappointed.”
Smith and McClain led all scorers in the contest, while Kanesha Eason and Kendra Buchannon each grabbed eight for the Panthers.
Portal celebrates
senior night
The Portal Panthers honored nine senior basketball players in between the girls and boys games against Jenkins County Friday. Recognized for their accomplishments on and off the court for the last four years were Lady Panthers Cassandra McBride, Dominique Allen and Bridgett Oglesby.
Six senior boys were honored — T.J. Busby, Mario Farris, Dan Farris, Justin Raymond, Nick Prescott and David Buchannon.
PHS senior Shauntia Burns was recognized as team manager.
With tonight’s game against Emanuel County Institute —the second-place team in Region 3-A that suffered its only region loss to Portal in December — looming large, Brannen was worried about his team overlooking JCHS.
What he saw didn’t let him down.
The starting five exploded out of the gate, holding the Jenkins offense to just eight first-quarter points and jumping ahead 47-17 at the break. The PHS bench finished the job as Portal (21-1, 11-0) knocked off the visiting Eagles 90-40 Friday on senior night.
The Panthers went to the line 12 times in the first half, knocking down 20 of the 23 attempts.
“I was really proud, and we came out ready to play,” Brannen said. “We went to the bench early. Everybody came in and contributed and did what they’re supposed to do —what they’re coached to do. That’s what we’ve been working on. We’ve got players on the bench that can also play, and they got their chance.”
The bench matched the intensity of the starters in the third quarter, starting the period on an 11-0 run before Jenkins County’s Akeem Young got his Eagles on the board with a bucket 3:18 into the frame.
The Panther reserves put up 13 more points in the third, outscoring the Eagles 24-13, and in the final quarter, Brannen cleared the bench and got everyone some minutes. All 13 players on the PHS roster scored in the effort, and Steven Cox came off the bench to match Mario Farris with a game-leading 14 points. Farris sank 8 of 9 attempts from the charity stripe. Justin Raymond added 11 for the Panthers.
Chris Watson and Josh Graham led Jenkins with eight points each, and Watson hauled in seven rebounds.
Portal Sophomore Michael Reese electrified the Portal crowd after he entered the game in the fourth quarter. He got the team’s last three points when he stole the ball away in the final minute and slammed it home, bringing the Portal faithful to its feet. He hit the free throw after he was fouled on the dunk.
Brannen is happy with the level of play he has seen from his bench.
“It’s good when you have games like this later on in the year,” said the Portal coach. “All the players practice hard every day and they get a chance to show it in the game. It is just a good morale builder, because they’re practicing hard, and they look forward to practice. “They’re making us better. If you have tough practices when everybody’s going at each other, everybody’s going to get better.”
The Panthers grabbed 30 rebounds in the game, and the dominating win has them confident heading into tonight’s ECI game.
Portal can grab the regular-season, Region 3-A title with a win over the Bulldogs.
“It’s a big game. We’re 11-0 in the region, and it’s our last region game,” Brannen said. “We want to go through our region schedule undefeated, because we’re going to see these teams again in the tournament. “We’ve just got to take care of our business. We can’t rely on other people knocking somebody off. We’ve got to take care of us and let the other seeds fall into place.”
The game takes place tonight in Twin City. The girls tip off at 6, and the boys’ action will immediately follow.
Lady Eagles 72,
Lady Panthers 34
Nicole Smith and Toshe McClain combined for 54 points as the Jenkins County Lady Eagles (11-12) dominated the struggling Portal Lady Panthers 72-34 in region play Friday on senior night in Portal.
McClain — who netted 21 points in the runaway victory — had a double-double in the first half and finished the game with 19 boards. Smith racked up 33 points, including three 3-pointers.
“They just came to play tonight,” said JCHS coach Randy Cooper. “It’s getting to be time for the region (tournament), so I’m glad to see them step it up.”
The Panthers (9-15, 3-11 Region 3-A) came out of the gates in a hurry, working up a quick 6-4 lead in the game’s opening minutes. Smith tied the game with a layup and gave the Eagles a 9-6 lead after sinking the foul shot on an old-fashioned 3-point play.
Jenkins never trailed after that, scoring15 more points in the first quarter and running away with it in the second. They led 46-18 heading into the break.
The story was the same all night for the Panthers, who could not contain the JCHS offense and had trouble finishing their shots.
“The girls are not stepping up,” said Lady Panther coach Earl Donaldson. “They didn’t come to play ball. We’ve spent the last four games like that. We haven’t been communicating on defense and our shots haven’t been dropping. I’m disappointed.”
Smith and McClain led all scorers in the contest, while Kanesha Eason and Kendra Buchannon each grabbed eight for the Panthers.
Portal celebrates
senior night
The Portal Panthers honored nine senior basketball players in between the girls and boys games against Jenkins County Friday. Recognized for their accomplishments on and off the court for the last four years were Lady Panthers Cassandra McBride, Dominique Allen and Bridgett Oglesby.
Six senior boys were honored — T.J. Busby, Mario Farris, Dan Farris, Justin Raymond, Nick Prescott and David Buchannon.
PHS senior Shauntia Burns was recognized as team manager.
