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Mt. Pleasant can’t solve Keokuk
Panthers done in by Chiefs in Substate boys basketball quarterfinals
KEOKUK — A season that saw 13 regular season wins and a Southeast Conference championship came to an unceremonious end for the Mt. Pleasant boys basketball team on Monday night.
For the second time this month, the Panthers fell victim to Keokuk’s ever-frustrating home court advantage. The Chiefs outscored the Panthers 32-16 in the second half to knock Mt. Pleasant out of the Class 3A Substate 5 tournament 60-32.
“The third quarter got away from us,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson. “They doubled us up, and we didn't have an answer. We kind of lost our composure.”
The Panthers had erased an eight-point first quarter deficit, cutting the Chiefs’ lead to 19-14 after the first quarter and 28-26 at halftime. Mt. Pleasant had pair of short-lived leads early in the third quarter before it all started to go south.
Keokuk clamped down on defense and ran the score up to 44-34 before the end of the third quarter. The Chiefs rolled on in the fourth quarter, and the Panthers could never get within striking distance.
“It's a tough environment to play in,” Rawson said. “We just didn't have an answer.”
Keokuk had previously held home court against Mt. Pleasant on Feb. 2, beating the Panthers 57-38 in a marquee battle. Mt. Pleasant had previously won six-straight over the Chiefs, including a 57-55 home win this Dec..
“I thought we came in focused, with the game plan we had in place,” Rawson said. “We knew what we were doing, it's just the third quarter got away from us and we couldn't claw back into it.”
Christian Stacy scored 13 points in the loss, with all of his points coming in the first half. Nate Stroud scored 12 points. Payton Hagans had nine. Noah Lange finished with three. Payson Coleman had two, and both Avin Truong and Ian Reid chipped in one.
The Panthers finished the year 13-8 overall and 8-2 in SEC play to win the conference for the second year in a row. Keokuk (16-6) takes on top-seeded and fifth-ranked Solon in the Substate final on Thursday night at Solon High School.
