Panthers win in final second

FT. MADISON — Mt. Pleasant sophomore Isaiah Lange played hero, or spoiler, at the Hound Dome on Friday night, all depending on which team you were pulling for.

Lange elated visiting Panther fans, all while stunning the hometown Hound faithful with a putback layup in the final second of a 63-61 overtime victory, the Panthers’ second one-possession road win in a row.

Tied 61-61 with under seven seconds to play in the extra period, Mt. Pleasant’s Ryan Helling launched a deep 3-pointer from nearly the logo, which bounced off the backboard perfectly into the waiting hands of Lange, who sank the follow-up with 0.8 seconds remaining in the contest.

Mt. Pleasant had come back from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime, rallying after the Bloodhounds had broke a 48-48 tie by scoring the first nine of the fourth period. The Panthers ended the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run.

Mt. Pleasant had a chance to win the game in regulation, as did Ft. Madison, but both teams saw shots fly away from the basket, and the contest went into the extra period at 57-57.

Mt. Pleasant senior Noah Lange led the Panthers with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Isaiah Lange and Ryan Helling each had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Keegan Heaton scored eight points off the bench for Mt. Pleasant. Grayson Lowery finished with seven points, a nd both Aiden Humble and Brody Clark collected three.

Mt. Pleasant won despite a fantastic performance by Ft. Madison star Nolan Guzman, who poured in 30 points in a losing effort.

The win brought Mt. Pleasant’s overall record to 5-7, and its conference mark to 3-4.