Panther boys done in by Keokuk rally

MT. PLEASANT - Things were looking good for the Mt. Pleasant boys in the first quarter on Friday night, but a fierce comeback by visiting Keokuk led to a 56-50 loss.

The Panthers seemingly had Keokuk figured out from the get-go, scoring 16 of the first 18 points of the ball game. Mt. Pleasant saw a 16-2 lead slowly disappear.

Keokuk closed the first quarter out on an 8-2 run to cut the Panthers' lead to 16-10. By halftime, Mt. Pleasant's advantage was just two, at 29-27.

Keokuk took the lead in the third quarter, winning the period 12-8 to go into the fourth period with a 39-37 lead.

Mt. Pleasant couldn't bye a three-point basket all night, and the Panthers stayed cold from deep in the third period. Brevin Wilson hit a three as time expired, but that was the only make of the day, as the Panthers went 1-10 from deep.

Wilson led the squad with a career-high 22 points, going 9-11 from the field and 1-1 from three-point land. Clayton Lowery had a nice night as well, finishing the game with 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Jaxon Hoyle had five points in the loss. Keegan Kohorst scored four. Zach Manganello, Brody Bender and Konnor Peterson finished with two points apiece.

Panther head coach Caleb Akey said the gameplan worked perfectly early in the game, but that Keokuk's adjustments gave Mt. Pleasant troubles.

'We were working on Keokuk the last couple days and scouted their film, and we knew what they were going to do,” Akey said. 'We practiced for what they were going to do. All that stuff was in place, and we jumped out to a big lead. Then they did that full court pressure, and for some reason we let that hurry us up, speed us up, and then the wheels kind of fell off from there.”

Mt. Pleasant fell to 2-3 overall with the loss, and the Panthers are now 1-1 in the Southeast Conference.