Panthers claw past Tigers

MT. PLEASANT - It was the third installment of the Highway-34 cat fight between the Panthers of Mt. Pleasant and the Tigers of New London on Monday night, and in both games, the Panthers had the sharper claws. Mt. Pleasant pulled away for a 54-38 victory in the girls game and hung on 65-56 in the boys game.

The girls teams traded punches throughout a first half of basketball that showcased the talents of a couple of senior point guards. Mt. Pleasant's Tristian Shull scored nine points in the opening two quarters to help the Panthers hold a 20-18 halftime lead. Ashlyn McSorley had eight in the first half for New London.

Mt. Pleasant switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half, and that helped the Panthers hold the Tigers to just seven third quarter points. Mt. Pleasant would lead 37-25 after three periods, and pull away with a 54-38 victory.

'We knew we had to kick it into gear at the end,” said Shull. 'And we did.”

Shull scored 18 points to lead Mt. Pleasant. Andrea Lopreato added 13. Emma Huckabone had 12. Karsyn Lamm scored five. Kate Schimmelpfennig had four, and Ava Lowery finished with two.

McSorley put up 17 points for New London. Marah Hartrick had 13. Keaura Williams and Natalie Burden finished with four apiece.

New London head coach Aimee Iverson said she thought her team rushed shots in the second half, but she was happy to see them battle with a Class 4A school.

'They played till the very end,” Iverson said. 'I couldn't ask for anything more.”

The Mt. Pleasant boys couldn't contain New London's Kade Benjamin in the first half, but they still went into the locker rooms with a four-point lead. Despite giving up 18 points to the Tigers' sophomore post, Mt. Pleasant led 14-10 after one quarter, and 30-26 at halftime.

Mt. Pleasant began to pull away in the third quarter. The Panthers closed the third period on a 10-2 run to go up double-digits, grabbing a 46-35 advantage at halftime.

New London finally caught fire in the fourth quarter. Blaise Porter scored a quick nine points to take the game from a 15-point contest to a 52-46 Mt. Pleasant lead.

The Tigers were able to cut the Panther advantage to just one point, at 53-52, with 2:30 left in the game, but the Tigers couldn't grab hold of the lead. Mt. Pleasant ended the night on a 13-4 run to beat the Tigers for the second year in a row, and take a 2-1 lead in the annual series, which began in 2019.

'The last two years have sprouted a rivalry between these two teams,” said Mt. Pleasant's Brevin Wilson, who led the Panthers with 22 points. 'It's competitive. It's fierce, and they're a very good basketball team.”

Dewon Trent scored 16 points to give the Panthers a second double-digit scorer. Chase Williamson had nine. Owen Vansickel scored seven, and Dylon Hagans had two.

Benjamin finished the night with 32 points to lead New London. Porter had 6. Devin Swanson scored six, and Camden Kasel had two.

'They're a solid team,” said New London head coach Bryant Porter. 'I feel like we didn't play our best basketball, but at the end of the day, you've got to take a loss like you do a win.”

Mt. Pleasant is now 5-4 in both girls and boys basketball. The Panther girls will host Fort Madison on Friday, while the Mt. Pleasant boys play the Bloodhounds on the road.

New London is 2-8 in girls basketball and 5-2 in boys basketball. The Tigers will host Notre Dame in a doubleheader tonight (Tuesday).