Hot Shooting Hawks Doom Panthers

The Leslie basketball team came out on fire in the opening quarter Friday night and it was too much for the Panthers to overcome as the fell to the Blackhawks 67-57.

The loss dropped the Panthers out of first place in the GLAC and into a second place tie with Leslie with 6-2 records. Perry lead the conference with a 8-1 record.

The Blackhawks seemed like they couldn’t miss in the first. They connected on five triples, including three by Tristan Feighner and scorched the nets for 25 points to take a 25-12 lead after one.

The Panthers cooled them down in the second, but struggled on the offensive end scoring just seven points in the second and trailed 36-19 at the break.

The third quarter was a different story for the Panthers as they exploeded for 20 points and cut the lead to 46-39 at the break. Chris Hall sparked the run with 10 points, while Tylin Ayers scored six.

Stockbridge would get within five points a couple of different times in the fourth, but they ran out of gas trying to rally and the Blackhawks would put the game away late.

Hall finished with a team high 21 points, including 17 in the second half.

Ayers finished with 12 points, while Brandon Nelson scored 11. Noah Robidou chipped in with eight points, Jeremy Pilch three and John Morris two.

The Panthers return to action Tuesday night when they host Lansing Christian.