Panthers take tough road loss in OT

The Pekin Panthers had won four of their last five games but ran into a roadblock when they faced off against Winfield- Mt. Union on January 30. In a game that went down to the wire and went into extra time, the Panthers found themselves on the shorter end of a 43-52 loss.

Early on it didn't seem like an overtime would even be considered, as Pekin was able to establish play from their post and other taller players. On several possessions, the Panthers were able to work the ball down low and get a close-range basket out of it. The defense kept up the pace, shutting down the Wolves after giving up a couple buckets to begin the game. After the first quarter of play, the Panthers found themselves up 16-8.

“I thought the last four or so minutes of the first quarter was some of the defense we’d played all year long,” Pekin coach Ken Hutchinson said. “We were communicating, boxing out screens, it was awesome. Then it was all downhill from there.”

The lead began to evaporate throughout the following quarter, as Pekin's offense got cold. The Wolves put together a couple scoring runs, but Pekin didn't relinquish its lead. A key possession gave the Panthers their only points of the quarter with just around two minutes left. The Panthers were able to get in front of a pass and pick it off, looked to score on a fast-break but then got fouled on the layup. The first free throw was made, but the second missed, was tipped out to a shooter behind the arc who then buried the shot.

Before that turn of events, the Wolves had closed the gap all the way down to two points and had fully taken the momentum away. Not only did the Panthers extend their narrow lead, but they took back the momentum late in the quarter. Pekin held onto that six-point lead and went into the half up 26-20.

The third quarter wasn't a good one for Pekin, the offense played more stagnant and the defense couldn’t get some of the necessary stops like they had in the first half. The Panthers were able to get the ball down low at times, but they couldn't get those shots to fall. Heading into the final quarter, the Panthers found themselves trailing 30-36.

“The second half we had no confidence, and nothing was falling for us,” Hutchinson said. “A lot of point-blank shots that turned into bricks in the third and fourth quarters. Not to mention we only had five offensive boards, and that’s not okay considering the size and athleticism we have.”

Pekin came out with a different approach and knowing they needed to finish strong with the final quarter. The offense started flowing easier again, better choices were made with the basketball and they started to attack the basket more. As a result, the Panthers would either score or find themselves at the free throw line. On the other end of the floor, the defense stepped up their intensity too. For the first six minutes of the quarter they held the Wolves scoreless, minus a couple free throws.

Just when it seemed like the game would be on ice, Pekin had a turnover late, which led to a layup with a free throw to tie the game with only seconds left. A last chance for Pekin saw a long range shot miss, sending the two teams into extra time tied at 41.

“We had a great possession towards the end of the fourth, got a nice drive and dumped it off to Winn for the layup,” Hutchinson said. “Then we just jogged back, and they threw it over the top and got the foul on the shot. That negated everything we did positive there.”

The Wolves got some big points from their senior guard, who knocked down some big three pointers to give Winfield – Mt. Union the lead. Pekin was unable to find the same success, scoring only three points in the overtime. The Wolves wound up coming out on top and handed Pekin a 43-52 loss, avenging the Panthers' 60-38 win earlier in the season.

Pekin was led by Cameron Millikin, who finished up with 12 points, including the teams only conversion from behind the arc. Millikin also had three steals, two rebounds and two assists. Caleb Comstock chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. Levi Long and Chandler Eckley had eight points apiece and combined for eight rebounds, four steals, four blocks and one assist. Keenan Winn wrapped up the scoring with six points to go along with one rebound, one steal and one block.

“I’m a little perplexed, I thought we’d come out a little more focused,” Hutchinson said after the game. “We have some work to do, and we need to reinvigorate some confidence while implementing our defense for a full game.”

The Panthers headed home to host Iowa Mennonite on February 2, before wrapping up their regular season back on the road against Louisa-Muscatine on February 6.