Mt. Pleasant suffers first SEC loss as last second shot falls short at Fort Madison

FORT MADISON — Mt. Pleasant and Fort Madison boys’ basketball went down to the wire the first time the two met on the hardwood and it was much of the same in the pairs second head-to-head on Friday night.

The first meeting ended with the Panthers edging the Bloodhounds, 52-50, but in Friday’s matchup it was Fort Madison (5-5, 3-2) who got the better of Mt. Pleasant (8-4, 5-1) 53-52 as the game winning shot was off the mark.

For Mt. Pleasant, it’s the first Southeast Conference loss of the season. Despite the loss, it was a milestone night for Mt. Pleasant senior Payton Hagans. Hagans notched is 1,000 career point.

It was anyone’s game down the stretch.

After being knotted at 24-24 at the break, the Panthers created two points of separation through third period to make it 39-37 heading into the fourth.

However, Fort Madison opened the fourth on a 7-0 run for a five-point lead. The Panthers scraped and clawed to get back into it, but a Bloodhound three-point play would end up being the game winner.

The Panthers got a shot at a game winner, but couldn’t get it to fall.

Christian Stacy led Mt. Pleasant with 16 points. Payton Hagans finished with 12 points. Nate Stroud tallied a double double with 11 points and 11 boards. Avin Truong had 10 points and Noah Lange three.

Mt. Pleasant is scheduled to play Mid-Prairie on Monday night and will look to bounce back in SEC play against Washington on Friday.