For the second year in a row the Portal Panthers were knocked out of the state playoffs by the Wilkinson County Warriors. In the Elite-8 Wednesday at Portal, Wilkinson County came back from a six-point fourth quarter deficit thanks in large part to free throws where they outshot Portal 21-3 in the second half and hit 13 of their 21 in handing the Panthers their first home loss of the season 46-42.
Portal had a chance to tie the game with seconds remaining but Bryce Clifton’s three pointer was off the mark and the Warriors came down with the rebound. Portal only hit one three-pointer the entire game.
“I thought we played a good game defensively most of the game, but we struggled a bit on offense especially for a stretch there in the fourth quarter,” said Portal coach Jeff Brannen. “We turned the ball over on three straight possessions in the fourth and let them back in the game and you can’t do that in a close game against a good team."
They say it is tough to beat a good time three times. Wednesday night the No. 3 ranked Panthers took on Wilkinson County for the third time this season. Portal won the first game in Irwinton 65-62 and then beat them January 14 by a score of 67-59 in Portal. The Warriors also put Portal out of the state tournament last year winning 55-54 in the state Sweet-16.
The Panthers have typically gotten off to a fast start, but Wednesday it was the warriors jumping out to a 9-0 lead before Portal turned up their defensive intensity and tied the game 15-15 at the end of the first quarter.
The Portal defense continued in the second quarter as they limited the high scoring warriors to only six points and grabbed a 25-21 halftime lead.
“We dug ourselves a hole in the first quarter but we did a good job of keeping our composure,” Brannen said. “I thought we put ourselves in a good spot to win, and holding that team to only six points showed how tough we played on the defensive end.”
In the third quarter the Panthers were able to maintain their lead and took a 36-30 lead into the fourth quarter after a dunk by Amir Jackson that brought the sold out crowd to their feat.. In the fourth Wilkinson only scored two field goals, but shot 16 free throws. The Warriors took their first lead since the first quarter, 39-38 on a Jordan Jackson free throw with 3:50 left in the game.
Trailing 41-38 Amir Jackson hit a driving layup to cut the lead to 41-40 with 1:55 left. Justin Stanley was then fouled on an off balance shot and made both free throws for a 43-40 lead with 1:23 left. Elijah Coleman brought Portal within a point with a jumper to make it a 43-42 game with 1:08 left.
Coleman missed a jumper with 17 seconds left and Portal was forced to foul. Stanley made both free throws to extend the lead to 45-42. Portal had a chance to tie the game but Clifton shot was off the mark.
“One game doesn’t define our season,” Brannen said. “We had a great year and I am very proud of these guys. I hate it for our seniors who played their hearts out all season.”
Joe Thomas led the Panthers with 15 points while Amir Jackson had 11 points. Wilkinson County was led by Justin Stanley with 16 points. Portal ends the season with a record of 28-2.
