SWINK, COTOPAXI- The John Mall Panthers defeated the Swink Lions 47-46 last Thursday. The Cats opened up a 12-6 first-quarter lead, but they fell apart in the second quarter, letting a 6-point lead turn into a 6-point deficit. The Lions’ man-to-man defense held the Cats to 4 second-quarter points, but the hot shooting of Charlie Whitehead in the third kept the Panthers in the game. It was one of their strongest third-quarter performances this season.
Their momentum carried forward into the fourth. The Panthers executed a full-court press with Whitehead and Jacob Wiggins cashing shots out of a well-disciplined offense. Zac Harriman and Dylan Tenorio supplied great pressure on the Swink shooters. With 1:22 remaining, the Panthers tied the game after Steven Rodriguez pulled down a defensive rebound and threw to Whitehead for a lay-up and foul. After an exchange of buckets, the Panthers, down by one, shifted to a full-court press when Harriman tipped a pass forcing a turnover, and Whitehead picked up the loose ball and fed the pass to Dylan Tenorio who converted the easy lay-up for the win.
