Tigers declaw Panthers
Published 5:18 pm Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Luverne Tigers showed the Georgiana Panthers who is the stronger cat on the court as the Tigers led a tight game that ended with a score of 64-63 Monday night.
The varsity boys got an early lead as Lonnie Freeman added four points in less than a minute at the beginning of the first quarter.
Rashad Cannon and Morrease Barber each added three-pointers, eventually adding to the end of the first period with 16-7, with Luverne leading over the Panthers.
Donald Burnett, Barber and Cannon added more points to the scoreboard during the second period with the majority of points earned by three-point shots.
Barber made a three-point shot at the buzzer at halftime, locking in the lead at 34-19.
The Panthers from Georgiana came charging out of the locker room, ready for vengeance and for total domination of the court as they added more points to their score during the third quarter.
The Tigers fought hard to keep up their lead as Lonnie Freeman and Ketric Jackson accumulated more points in the middle of the quarter, trying to hold the lead.
During the last few moments, Luverne’s Robert Freeman dropped in free throw points, which helped to keep the Tigers ahead at 47-37.
The Panthers were awarded a technical foul as three points were added to the scoreboard, which made the score at the beginning of the fourth quarter 47-40.
While the Tigers were leading most of the second half of the game, it was not easy and the fourth quarter was a period of drama and excitement.
By the last four minutes of the game, Brandon McGee and Jackson helped add more points to the score as it was 57-45, but Georgiana was not going down without a fight.
The Tigers called a timeout at 2:19 as they were narrowly leading with 58-56.
The Panthers were ahead by the last minute of the game with 63-62, causing fans on both sides to get on their feet.
Cannon help get the Tigers back in the lead with two points worth of free throws, which was the last nine seconds of the game.
The Panthers darted to the other end of the court to seize the win of the game, but to no avail and the Tigers clutched on to the final score.