PORTAL — Over the last few seasons, Portal and Calvary Day have had plenty of classic shootouts in the Region 3-A tournament.
    Friday night’s matchup didn’t have quite the postseason ramifications as other meetings, but there was no shortage of intensity or drama.
    In the end, it was consistent shooting and a new-look lineup of Portal Panthers coming together to stave off a resilient Cavaliers squad and claim a 65-60 victory.
    “Calvary is always a good team and we know that we’re in for a tough game every time we play them,” Portal coach Jeff Brannen said. “We were pretty consistent and made plays when it counted.”
    Akeem Oglesby — back with the Panthers after playing last season at Statesboro — was a huge factor in the win. Oglesby burst onto the scene as a sharpshooting freshman for Portal (3-1, 2-0 Region 3-A) two seasons ago. Oglesby’s four 3-pointers showed that he still has range, but plenty of tough, driving layups and a 6-for-6 performance from the free throw line netted him a game-high 26 points and proved to be too much for Calvary Day (3-1, 1-1)
    Adding to the Panthers’ impressive shooting performance was Tyler Budgett, who matched Oglesby’s four 3’s and finished with 13 points.
    The Panthers maintained a lead through most of the game, but could never pull away.
    Calvary erased a seven-point deficit in the second quarter and took a brief lead, but Trent Thomas came up with a steal and fired up the home crowd with a huge two-handed dunk to give Portal a 32-31 halftime advantage.
    “We made a lot of early shots,” Brannen said. “I think we felt a little too good and it led to us standing around a little too much. Calvary wasn’t going to quit and I’m glad we were able to see that and step it up down the stretch.”
    The second half was a near duplicate of the first. Portal came out of the locker room hot to build a 55-48 lead after the third quarter and an Oglesby 3 gave the Panthers their biggest lead of the night early in the fourth quarter.
    Calvary’s A.J. Keene (21 points) led the comeback charge, draining a pair from behind the arc and driving through traffic for another pair of layups — the second of which tied the game at 60-60 with 1:58 remaining.
    But that was the end of the Cavs’ scoring.
    D’Von Moore drove the lane for a Portal layup and, on the next possession, hit a free throw for a 63-60 lead.
    A Calvary miss led to a fastbreak layup by B.J. Prescott and solid Panther defense didn’t allow another Calvary shot until the final buzzer.
   
Lady Cavs 60, Lady Panthers 19
    For a young and growing Portal girls squad, a home date against Calvary Day wasn’t exactly what the doctor ordered.
    The Lady Cavs struck early and often, building a quick lead before sailing to an easy 60-19 victory in Friday’s first matchup.
    Calvary’s Abigail Lewis led all scorers with 14 points — eight coming from a perfect night at the free throw line — while teammates Quivah and Nyjah Parker each netted nine.
    Chandalier Morgan did the heavy lifting for Portal as she scored 12 and was one of just four Panthers to record points on the night.
    “The first half was one of the best halves we’ve played so far,” Portal coach Cliff Hubbard said. “But that’s the thing. If we want to improve and win, it’s going to take four quarters of effort.”
    Leading 37-17 at halftime, Calvary (4-0, 1-0 Region 3-A) put the game even farther out of reach with a dominant third quarter.
    With the fourth quarter came the mercy clock, but little mercy from Calvary.
    Even with substitutes flooding the court for both sides, Portal didn’t record its first points of the second half until the 4:24 mark of the final quarter. Those two points from a short jumper by Tia Hagins was the only made shot of the half for the Panthers.
    The Portal boys and girls will be back in action tonight as Statesboro comes to town. Both Panther squads will be looking to avenge road losses against the Blue Devils from a week ago.

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