PORTAL — In an action-packed first day of the Portal Holiday Classic, one of the best games was saved for last.
    With a cross-county rivalry making emotions run high before the game even began, Portal and Southeast Bulloch battled it out, playing through seven lead changes before Portal caught fire and pulled away over the last 10 minutes of play for a 59-48 win Thursday night.
    Stacy Morgan had a 26-point effort to top 20 for the eighth time this season while Robert Lee chipped in 22 to help lead the Panthers (8-1) to the victory.
    “That was a good win against a good team,” said Portal coach Jeff Brannen. “I think it showed a bit that we hadn’t played in a few days, but we were able to get things together. Southeast Bulloch gave us a good run, but part of becoming a good team is being able to win when a team can make some good runs on you.”
    Portal started the game hot with consecutive 3’s from Morgan and Lee, but SEB bounced right back with six unanswered points to tie the game early in the first quarter.
    The teams stayed neck-and-neck through the opening minutes, but the Jackets were forced to scrape by as leading scorer Devante Tremble picked up three fouls in the first 6:30 of playing time and was forced to the bench until the second half.
    Tremble managed just six points on the night, but Kaelin Jones (13 points), Preston Smith (12) and Matthew McBride (10) all pulled together to keep SEB in the fight.
    “We had some guys that stepped up and helped us,” said SEB coach John Page. “I feel bad for Devante. It seems like he ends up in foul trouble and has to sit a little every time we play Portal.”
    Portal held a 13-11 lead after the first quarter, but SEB overcame Tremble’s absence and rallied in the second period.
    McBride put the Jackets in front with a 3 to begin the second quarter and Smith twice grabbed defensive rebounds and went coast-to-coast for easy buckets.
    Lee began to make his presence known with a deep three and a midrange jumper after a quiet first quarter, but Jones knocked down a pair of inside shots and Corey McCollum connected from up close to give SEB a 26-25 lead at halftime.
    “I thought that we played about as well as we could have hoped for in the first half,” said Page. “We were able to execute like we wanted to. Unfortunately, we got a little bit away from our plan in the second half.”
    Treston White helped to disrupt that SEB rhythm as he scored all five of his points and pulled down three rebounds in the first two minutes of the third quarter.
    A layup by Smith gave the Jackets a 31-30 lead midway through the quarter, but the Panthers exploded for an 11-0 run that SEB never recovered from.
    Lee accounted for six of the points during the span while Morgan hit a short jumper and a pair of free throws.
    SEB stayed within 43-35 at the end of the third quarter, but was never able to get back into contention.
    Portal finally built its lead to double digits and a massive two-handed dunk by Lee with just over two minutes to play left no doubt for the Panthers.
    “We were able to come up with some plays when we needed them,” said Brannen. “You aren’t always going to be able to play the whole game on your terms. Southeast forced us out of what we wanted to do a couple of times, but we were able to make things happen when we needed it.”
    The Portal Holiday Classic continues throughout today and concludes Saturday night.
    Portal will take on Metter — a 52-51 loser to Savannah Country Day in its first game — at 8:30 p.m. while Southeast Bulloch meets South Effingham at 7 p.m.

    Mike Anthony may be reached at (912) 489-9404.