There was high drama in the Alba-Golden gymnasium Tuesday , Nov. 22 as the Panthers hosted the Troup Tigers. Troup went home with the win, 56-52, in thoroughly-entertaining game which came down to the last couple trips down the court.

The Panthers came out strong. They dominated the boards early and dictated the flow of the game. Conner Gibson opened the scoring with a jump shot, and Gavin Dailey followed with an offensive rebound put-back.

Dailey scored again minutes later on a nice assist from Jerry Skinner. When Kaden Kennedy scored off of an assist from Boogie Trimble, it boosted the Panthers to a 9-4 lead, with the quarter drawing to a close.     

Troup hit a 3-pointer just before the horn sounded and at the quarter break, the Panthers led 9-7.

The methodical first quarter gave way to a runaway second quarter. The fast pace seemed to favor Troup, but with 4:30 on the clock to halftime, the score was knotted at 17. 

The Panthers could manage only three scores before halftime – a baseline jumper and an offensive rebound follow-up from Gibson and a free throw from Dailey. The Panthers’ shooting hand had grown cold as halftime neared. 

Meanwhile the Tigers hit three consecutive 3-pointers, which, it could be argued, won them the game. They took a 10-point lead into half.

The third quarter was a physical battle between the two squads, with neither one gaining a decisive edge. It was hard, physical basketball. As the quarter closed Troup maintained an 8-point edge. 

The home side needed a run. They came out in the final quarter and put together a great effort. Kennedy snagged a rebound off a missed foul shot and fed Brayden Randolph for a score. Moments later Kennedy scored after receiving a pass on the baseline from Braylon Moffett. Gavon Dailey hit two free throws, Kennedy sunk two more foul shots and Alba-Golden had closed the score to 45-44. 

Troup got back on track with an offensive rebound put-back and a break-away lay-up. 

With 2:00 on the clock, Jerry Skinner hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make the score 54-52, Troup. Each side missed a pair of free throws in the final minute. With enough time yet remaining to steal the win, a technical foul against Alba-Golden sunk the Panthers’ comeback.

Yet still early in the season, the Panthers are showing considerable improvement over last year. Gone is the frantic nature of play, having been replaced by an aggressive yet under-control tempo. The strength of the team is clearly inside, with positional rebounding a key to their play. If there was one takeaway from the loss it would have to be the further improvement needed in getting the ball from the wing into the post. 

After hosting Edgewood, Tuesday, the Panthers are in the All Saints Tourney this weekend. Their next home stand is Tuesday, Dec. 6 against Big Sandy. Varsity tip-off is expected at 6:15 p.m.