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Panthers hold off Bloodhound rush
Fast start leads Mt. Pleasant boys basketball to 2-0 conference record
MT. PLEASANT — It’s a good thing the Mt. Pleasant boys basketball team started hot in Friday night’s Southeast Conference clash with Fort Madison, because the Bloodhounds were feeling it late.
The Panthers were able to cling on to victory and brush off a late Fort Madison rally en route to a 52-50 SEC win.
“Winning is not easy,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach Eric Rawson. “It's hard to win. We've got to figure that out.”
The Panthers were all over the Bloodhounds early on. Mt. Pleasant’s defense suffocated Fort Madison, rushing out to a 12-0 lead and threatening to record a first-quarter shut out.
Fort Madison closed the first quarter out with seven points, cutting the Panthers’ lead to 12-7 after the first horn, but Mt. Pleasant kept the pressure up in the second, stretching it to a 29-17 advantage.
It was a high-scoring third quarter, but the Panthers still kept control throughout. Mt. Pleasant held what seemed to be a comfortable 47-35 lead at the half.
Fort Madison cut into a Mt. Pleasant lead that was as high as 15 in the third quarter, slowly chipping away at it to get it down to just one possession.
The Bloodhounds had the Panther lead down to three points in the final minute, but Payton Hagans connected on a clutch contested layup, which made it 52-47. A Fort Madison 3-pointer ripped the nets in the final seconds of the game, but after a Panther timeout, Mt. Pleasant was able to throw the ball in without getting fouled.
“Ryan (Wilson) is a good coach,” said Rawson about the Bloodhounds’ leader after the game. “He's going to keep them playing hard, and they certainly did that.”
Hagans ended the night with 18 points on the night. Nate Stroud finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
“I think we have a big target on our backs, and it's getting bigger and bigger,” said Stroud. “We've just got to stay focused.”
Christian Stacy ended the night with seven points. Zachary Newton collected five points and five offensive rebounds. Noah Lange and Avin Truong finished with three points each, and Ian Reid scored one.
Mt. Pleasant is now 2-3 overall and 2-0 in the SEC, tied atop the league with Keokuk. The Panthers play at Benton on Monday night.
