The Panola College men's basketball team defeated
Weatherford College here Wednesday night by a score of 81-78. With the win,
the Ponies improve their record to 3-1 on the year. "We played in an
extremely hostile environment." explained Head Coach Grant McMillan. "Going
on the road in Region V is never easy. Our guys competed at a high level
and executed the game plan." He added.
After a seesaw first half, Panola took a 4 point lead into the locker
rooms, 46-42. A flurry of buckets to start the second half gave Panola
their biggest lead, 53-44 with 17:55 remaining in the game. Weatherford
crawled their way back to tie the game at 68-68 with 8:32 left. A Terry
Holt *(Nashville, Tennessee*) layup sparked a quick 8-2 run where the
Ponies never surrendered the lead. Weatherford did close the gap within 2
points, 77-75 with 38 seconds remaining but Charles Tucker *(Lansing,
Michigan)* sank two free throws to ice the game.
Leading Panola in scoring for the second straight game was Jonathan
Wiley *(Houston,
Texas)* with 19 points. Also scoring in double figures was Holt with 17,
Tucker with 15, and Chan Williams-Bey *(Hartford, Connecticut)* with 12.
Tope Arikawe *(Nigeria) *led the Ponies in rebounds chasing down eight,
while Tucker also led the team in assists with seven. As a team, Panola
knocked down 27 of 35 free throws and shot 46 percent from the field.
Panola will be back in action this upcoming Friday as they head to Athens,
Texas to play in the Trinity Valley Community College Classic. The Ponies
take on Southwest Christian Community College at 5:30 PM on the campus of
Trinity valley.