The Alba-Golden Panthers went 2-1 last week in key games to determine a playoff spot in district 15-2A.

The Boles Hornets tipped the ball into the cylinder as the buzzer sounded and came away with a 44-42 win on Tuesday.

The Panthers rebounded with a 41-40 win in a makeup game with Cooper on Wednesday and followed that with a 39-33 victory over Como-Pickton Friday.

That left the Panthers tied for third place at 4-5 with Boles and Como-Pickton.

It was a tough loss for the Panthers, who overcame an early visitors’ disadvantage at Boles’ home court, came back strong in a frantic second quarter and fashioned a fourth quarter comeback to tie the game with seven seconds to play.

Alba-Golden stayed in the game through rebounding. Especially in the second half, the Panthers rallied to the boards and pressed immediately up court. 

The undoing of the Panthers was largely due to the frantic nature of their offensive attack. Alba-Golden committed 11 turnovers in their offensive zone, most of which were self-inflicted. The number of turnovers – largely through trying to create offense with hopeful but low-probability passing – often led directly to Boles’ points.

Early on, it was Boles doing the damage inside. They led 11-4 after one quarter.

The second quarter saw Alba-Golden flex some offensive muscle. Braylon Moffett put up six points in the quarter and had a career night leading the Panthers with 15 points. Moffett scored in a variety of ways: offensive rebound put-back, baseline drive, break-away, corner 3-pointers and from the free throw line. It was a game-ball type performance from the junior. 

Despite the increased activity, Alba-Golden still trailed at the half, 22-16.

Boles came out recommitted in the third quarter and got the better of the Panthers. Momentum had returned to the home side. They hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the third quarter after Alba-Golden had whiffed on three close-in looks at the basket. 

Going into the fourth quarter, the score stood 34-25.

The teams traded scores early in the fourth. Moffett completed a three-point play to start the fourth.

Nick Hallman, Gavin Dailey, Luke Morrison and Blake Weissert scored. Weissert’s score on an assist from Moffett with 3:00 to play brought the Panthers to within four points of the lead.

A 3-pointer from Weissert made the score 42-39 with 1:16 on the clock. Despite turning the ball over in the back court, Alba-Golden rebounded the ball with 15 seconds remaining. Moffett hit a 3-pointer to tie the game. 

Boles advanced the ball with only seven clicks to play. The drive deflected off the back iron. A Boles player elevated and tipped the ball back in. The buzzer sounded as it passed through the netting.  

The Panthers concluded district play Tuesday at North Hopkins, with a win guaranteeing a playoff spot while a loss would leave them in position to finish fourth and in the playoffs or fifth and on the outside.