Panthers race through Chiefs

MT. PLEASANT -- The Mt. Pleasant boys basketball team picked up its second win of the season in a Southeast Conference contest against Keokuk Friday night, 49-32.

Dewon Trent tallied a double-double for the Panthers, pouring in 20 points while pulling down 11 rebounds.

The majority of Trent’s points came from down on the block, something that Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson says opens the rest of the floor.

“It certainly opens things up outside,” Rawson. “Once we get him active on the block, it frees some things up on the perimeter for us.”

The Panthers started slow in the divisional matchup. Mt. Pleasant held a 7-4 lead a quarter through the first period, and then Keokuk’s MJ Davis went on a 7-0 run by himself. Davis ended the quarter with 10 points, giving the Chiefs a 14-9 lead.

In the second, the Panthers turned it on, specifically on the defensive end.

Mt. Pleasant scored 10 unanswered, split between Trent and Payton Pagans to start the quarter, giving them a 19-14 lead.

It wasn’t until the 3:05 mark that Keokuk scored their first basket. The Panthers held the Chiefs to just four points in the second quarter, giving them a 22-18 lead at the halftime horn.

“Defense was a big focus this week coming off the West Burlington game,” Rawson said. “I felt we got it extended a little bit defensively. We just need to contain the basketball a bit more. We got to be active with our hands. Our help side still needs to improve. Communication needs to improve, but we’ll get their. I’m certainly very happy with our effort. We try to keep teams under 40 or 45, and if we do that we feel like we will be in the game.“

To begin the second half, it was Trent and Hagans once again on the scoring end.

Out of the 14 points scored by the Panthers in the third, Trent had eight and Hagans added six.

Hagans, just a sophomore, has shown great potential, averaging 13 points on the season thus far.

“Sky’s the limit for Payton,” Rawson said. “He’s a bulldog. He plays with a lot of confidence. At times he gets a little overly aggressive and that’s his youth, but at the same time you don’t want to take the [play] out of the player.”

Keokuk kept it close, down by only six with just over a minute to go in the third, but a three from Hagans with two seconds on the clock gave the Panthers a 36-27 lead.

In the fourth, Mt. Pleasant nearly repeated their second quarter.

The Panthers allowed just five points in the final quarter of play, to Keokuk’s 13, allowing them to pull away with the win.

Accompanying Trent’s scoring, Hagans added 16 points, while Aaidan Ashton chipped in six points. Owen Vansickel finished with five and Dylon Hagans two.

With the win, the Panthers move to 2-2 on the season, and 1-1 in conference play.

Mt. Pleasant will be back in action on Monday with a trip to Cedar Rapids Washington.

Comments: hunter.moeller@southeastiowaunion.com