Mt. Pleasant continues to struggle against Keokuk

MT. PLEASANT - It wasn't a fun night for the Mt. Pleasant boys basketball team on Friday. The Panthers fell 64-52 to Keokuk, their fourth-straight loss to the Chiefs in the series.

The Panthers fell behind early, despite six quick points from Dewon Trent. The Chiefs hassled the Panthers on defense throughout the first two quarters, and found their own rhythm from beyond the arc to open up a 16-9 lead after one quarter and a 30-14 halftime advantage.

'Their sense of urgency was a lot better than ours to start the game,” Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson said. 'We didn't have any sense of urgency until about the fourth quarter.”

The Panthers did creep back in the third. Trent started the second half like he did the first, pouring in 11 points to help Mt. Pleasant get the game within 13, at 43-30.

Mt. Pleasant cut the Chiefs' lead to 12, at 45-33, but Keokuk hit the next two shots to take a 50-33 advantage. The Panthers would go on a run to get the Chiefs' advantage down to eight points in the final minute, but time ran out, squashing any hopes of a comeback bid.

'It felt like we left some shots out there in the first half,” said Coach Rawson. 'It just seemed like the ball didn't go into the basket for us.”

Trent finished the night with 25 points to lead Mt. Pleasant in the loss. Chase Williamson had nine. Jack Johnson and Owen Vansickel scored six apiece. Brevin Wilson scored four, and Payton Hagans had two.

Mt. Pleasant bounced back with a 37-22 win at Mediapolis on Saturday. The Panthers are now 10-7 overall and 4-4 in conference play, and will head to Iowa City on Tuesday night to face Regina.