Ottumwa surges in fourth quarter for win over MP freshman boys

OTTUMWA ? The ninth-grade boys? basketball team faltered in the final minutes of a game against Ottumwa on Monday, losing to the Bulldogs by a score of 52-42.

After going down 11-6 in the first quarter, the Panthers went on a 20-11 run to take a 26-22 lead at halftime.

They held on to that lead through the third quarter, which ended 34-28 in the Panthers? favor.

However, the Bulldogs surged to a lead with a 24-point fourth quarter, and Mt. Pleasant couldn?t stop them.

Tyler Batten scored 16 points to lead Mt. Pleasant, and Alex Carrasco chipped in 11 points.

Cale Christner contributed seven, and Keegan Pullis scored six while Darren Hunter tallied two points and Dylan Bloom added one.

The Panthers will kick off a freshman/JV/varsity tripleheader against Washington on Friday at 4:45 p.m. in Mt. Pleasant.