Panthers move to 2-0 in subregion
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Taylor Neely goes in strong for two.

The Panthers picked up their second subregion win of the season Friday night, defeating the Fannin Rebels before going on the road to defeat the Copper Basin Cougars for the second time this season.

Union 63 - Fannin 44

Union pulled out to a 9-6 lead in the first quarter before a Michael Ross 3-pointer doubled the advantage to 12. Thanks to some big putbacks the Panthers were able to extend the lead to 10 at 16-6. The lead continued to build, stretching to 32-9 thanks to a 23-3 run. Union led 34-12 at the end of the second period.

"Fannin is a very big, physical team," said Head Coach Tim Hunter. "We didn't start off defending well but ultimately we clamped down on defense and held them to 12 points in the first half and had a good lead going into halftime. It is a little different philosophy [playing Fannin] because normally we have had to key up on guarding some really tough guards but with Fannin that burden goes more to your post players. Taylor Neely did a good job on what is probably their best player and limited them on offensive rebounds."

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Corey Garrett dunks on the Rebels.

Fannin rallied in the third quarter, winning the period 21-8 to narrow the gap to 46-33. Fannin continued to chip away at the lead by scoring the first buckets of the final quarter, closing within single digits. "The guys kind of relaxed in the third quarter and Fannin got on a pretty good run.

"It seems like those two things always happen together," Coach Hunter said with a grin.

Michael Ross pushed the lead back to 12 with a trey, then followed his own miss with a rebound and putback. Corey Garrett scored to push the lead back to 16 at 53-37, then put the exclamation mark on the game with a dunk that put Union ahead 61- 42. That 19 point advantage would be the difference as the Panthers went on to win 63-44.

"We finally went on a good run to close the game out," said Coach Hunter. "I really wish we had been a little more focused in that third quarter, but the guys had the heart to fight it out and still end up with a pretty good win."

Corey Garrett led the team with 14 points.

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Taylor Neely puts up the shot.

Union 78 - Copper Basin 48

The Panthers defeated the Copper Basin Cougars in Tennessee Friday, where 19 seemed to be the magic number. 19, as in the number of points that the Panthers scored in each of the first three quarters, including a big second quarter in which they outscored the Cougars 19-5.

"Down here we held them scoreless in the first quarter but after the Fannin game the guys were a little tired and a little more relaxed and we didn't play great in the first half.

"I put in some of our subs and started pressing and I really gave Basin some fits."

Copper Basin continued to have trouble handling the pressure and the Panthers continued to extend the lead through good ball distribution.

"I was very pleased at how unselfish a lot of our guys played in that game," said Coach Hunter. "They would be making a good drive and see an open guy and did not hesitate about making the dish.

"We were able to play everybody and I was really pleased with every guy I threw on the floor," said the coach. "Our bench did a tremendous job and made the difference between that game being dragged out a little bit and picking up the pace of the game, getting turnovers and getting to the rim."

Sentinel photo/Jared Putnam Colton Payne fires a three-pointer.