Union loses heartbreaker to Dawson
Outcome cements subregion seeds
By JARED PUTNAM

Photo/Jared Putnam Michael Ross had to leave the game to have after a cut below his right eye bandaged.

The Panthers came within seconds of tying Dawson for the top seed in the subregion Friday night, but a desperation three-pointer gave the Tigers the win, and with it, a lock on first place in the subregion.

The Panthers cannot win the subregion now, but also cannot lose hold of second place.

" O b v i o u s l y you're upset because your ultimate goal is to come out here and win all these games, but I hate it more for our seniors because that was chance for an undefeated home season their senior year," Head Coach Tim Hunter said.

The game was fast and furious from the outset, as the two teams traded baskets all night long. The Panthers led 4- 2 early before the Tigers sank back-to-back shots from beyond the arc, giving them an 8-4 advantage. Michael Ross answered with a three-pointer of his own, then dropped the ball into the post where Taylor Neely put the Panthers back on top 9-8. Neely scored six of the Panthers first nine points,

fed inside by assists fed inside by assists from Ross and Austin Collins. The game remained tight through the end of the first quarter as Dawson held a 14- 13 lead going into the second period.

After a basket by Taylor Neely gave Union the lead, Michael Ross followed with one of his own, giving the Panthers a 55-52 advantage with 1:22 to play.

In the second frame Corey Garrett scored first to put the Panthers back on top, but Dawson answered with another pair of backto back treys, giving them a 20-15 edge. The Panthers trailed 26-20 with under a minute to go when Corey Garrett was fouled as he dropped in a layup on the fast break. Garrett missed the freethrow but the Panthers picked up the offensive rebound and Colton Payne hit a three that narrowed the gap to 27-25. Dawson scored again, but Ross and Neely responded with a pair of baskets that tied the game 29-29 going into halftime.

Dawson came out strong in the third quarter, completing a three-point-play before stealing the ball and hitting from beyond the arc, quickly gaining a 35-29 advantage.The game slowed down the remainder of the quarter, as the Panthers scored a mere seven points, but played solid defense that kept them within reach of Dawson's 40-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Michael Ross ties up the ballhandler to force the jump ball.

As the final period began Garrett scored to bring the Panthers within a single basket, but the Tigers answered with another three-pointer for a 45- 40 lead. Neely sank a pair of freethrows to cut into the lead and Garrett scored on a fast break to bring Union within a single point. Garrett then came up with a steal and Neely knocked down a jumper to give the Panthers their first lead since early in the second period. Dawson evened the score with a freethrow before Ross put the Panthers back on top 48-46.

The Tigers responded with a 6-0 run to take a 52-48 lead, but Payne nailed a trey and Neely followed with a lay-in that put the Panthers back on top with under three minutes to play. Ross dropped in another basket that gave the Panthers a 55-52 lead with 1:22 left in the game.

Dawson scored to make it a one point game before Payne hit a freethrow with 39.5 remaining, giving Union a 56-54 lead. The Tigers regained possession of the ball, and with 17 seconds on the clock, threw up a wild three-pointer that found its way into the hoop.

Austin Collins shoots over the outstretched Dawson defender.

"They hit a lot of threes with a hand in their face, and that's as much as you can do on defense," the coach said. "I think they are a lot better team than people gave them credit for."

The Panthers had one final chance to win, but the shot fell short and Dawson grabbed the rebound. The Panthers were forced to foul, and Dawson added three more points from the stripe, holding on for a 60-56 victory.

The coach said that with a successful team comes the inevitability of having everyone gunning for you. "You're going to get everybodys best game," Coach Hunter said. "You're walking around with a big bullseye that says, 'Play hard."

Coach Hunter said that he hopes the way this contest played out will be beneficial for the team in the long run, teaching the players something about winning the close games. "Most of our games have been decided early and our kids had not had to fight one of those to the last minute [until Friday,]" the coach said.

The cheerleaders show their support for the Panthers.

"We just didn't have the right mentality to finish the game out. Its about stepping to the ball every time and catching it, handling the pressure, and boxing out and rebounding. We didn't do those little things down the stretch and they did. It seems like in the games we have lost is where we have an absence of all the things we spend the most time on in practice and stuff I put the most emphasis on," Coach Hunter said.

Corey Garrett led the Panthers with 17 points, followed by Taylor Neely with 14. Michael Ross and Austin Collins each had 9 while Colton Payne scored 7.

The Panthers will head into postseason play as the second seed, and could potentially wind up in yet a third matchup with Dawson for the Region Championship.

Although he is disappointed by the loss, Coach Hunter said he very grateful for the way in which the fans supported the team this season, particularly during that game.

"It was a great crowd. That was one thing I really appreciated seeing and I think the vast majority of our community realizes that our kids are playing hard and doing good things," Coach Hunter said..

Taylor Neely had a big night scoring.

"That's ultimately what we want. As someone who grew up in this community, I'm proud, not just of the basketball team, but also of our community. It was such a great atmosphere to play in. It was so loud it was incredible. It was deafening. You really and truly could not have asked for a better situation."

Ryan Burks and Corey Garrett corral the Dawson ballhandler.