CLAXTON – Things weren’t too pretty for Portal Thursday night at the Region 3-A tournament, but at this point in the season, it’s all about surviving and advancing.

            The Panthers (23-3) trailed for most of the first half and didn’t regain a lead until the third quarter, but a strong finishing kick led them to a 64-48 victory over Treutlen in the tournament semifinals. With the win, Portal clinched a spot in the upcoming state tournament for the second consecutive season.

            “We had six days off leading up to this game and it showed a little,” Portal coach Jeff Brannen said. “Treutlen played well and we knew that they’d give us a tough game. Beating a team three times in one season is very difficult, but we played our game and got it done.”

            Down by two points at the half, the Panthers kept pace with Treutlen through the opening minutes of the third quarter before making their move.

            Shaun Hagins’ 3 at the 4:13 mark gave Portal its first lead since the first quarter and a driving layup by Stacy Morgan (19 points) seconds later put the Panthers ahead for good.

            For a team that has battled injuries throughout its lineup for the entire season, things are healing up at just the right time for Portal. Thursday was one of just a handful of times that Brannen has been able to put his best five players on the court for extended minutes.

            Morgan was effective in driving the lane throughout the night and both Isiah Rich and Corey Reese were able to grind away at the Vikings for late points in the paint that helped seal the win.

            “It was nice to get everyone involved,” Brannen said. “We got in some foul trouble early, and that took away our inside game. In the second half, we were able to go back into the paint and start to get an edge.”

            Leading 40-31 to begin the final quarter, freshman Akeem Oglesby (20 points) supplied the dagger. Oglesby drained a long 3 – his fifth of the night – to send Treutlen reeling.

            The Vikings desperately fouled through much of the fourth quarter, but Portal made them pay from the line. The Panthers went 12-for-15 from the charity stripe in the final four minutes and never led by less than 11 in that span.

            Tonight, Portal squares off against either Calvary Day or Jenkins County in Millen at 8:30 p.m. for the right to move on to Saturday’s region championship game.

Claxton 75, ECI 48

            In Thursday’s opening game, Claxton – No. 1 seed out of the East sub-region – had no trouble at all with its quarterfinal matchup, dispatching Emanuel County Institute by a score of 75-48.

            With the win, Claxton moves to the Region 3-A semifinals and clinches a spot in the Class-A state tournament for the second time in three seasons.

            As has been the case throughout the season, a slew of Tigers led the way for Claxton (17-6). Senior guard Labron Glover led all scorers with 19 and Zenas Moore kicked in 14 more. Cornelius Taylor (11 points), Trey Hines (10) and Cedric Campbell (10) combined to make it five different Tigers registering double-digit scoring efforts.

            “We were clicking on all cylinders tonight,” CHS coach Eric Bluestein said. “We had a lot of guys come out and do exactly what we needed them to. We had the 4 o’clock start time, which can be kind of hard to get up for, but we handled it well.”

            After gaining an early lead, Claxton put things away early with a 23 point second quarter to take a 42-17 lead into halftime. From there, the Tigers were able to empty the bench and rest starters with the knowledge that they were moving on to tonight’s semifinals.

            For many of the Tigers, Friday’s win was a big step to take after last season’s disappointing end. Last year, Claxton entered the tournament with the best record in the region, but was cut down in the quarterfinals and didn’t qualify for the state playoffs.

            “We definitely addressed (last season) this week,” Bluestein said. “For our guys that were juniors last year, now they’re seniors. They wanted to make it county this time.”

            Claxton advances to today’s semifinal round at Jenkins County. No. 3 seed Wheeler County, which upset No. 2 Montgomery County Friday night, will line up against the Tigers ay 5:30 p.m.

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