William Peace beat cold-shooting LaGrange 88-68 in a USA South game Sunday in Mariotti Gym. The Panthers are now 7-16 overall and 6-10 in conference play. LC has two regular season games left; playing at Huntingdon on Wednesday and hosting Maryville on Saturday. The Panthers are one game back of Maryville for the fourth and final East Division berth in the upcoming conference tournament.
"If you're a competitor you know what your up against, your backs are against the wall," said Coach Kendal Wallace about the importance of the final games. "We've talked about this all season and we continue to wait to the last minute to try to do things. If you want to be a successful team or program you cannot do those things you have to take advantage of every opportunity you get. We looked like the exact opposite team that showed up yesterday. It was a rough day for us."
The Panthers' trio of Kyle Brown, Lincoln Anderson, and Ronald Youngblood combined for 44 points. Brown had a team-high 18 points, Anderson 16, and Youngblood 10.
Julian Cameron, the USA South's leading scorer, was held to a season low of 5 points. It was the first game for Cameron under 10 points. LC shot 35.9 percent in the game, going 0-for-11 from 3-point range.
The Panthers led 6-2 in the opening minutes. Henry Blair converted a three-point play for a 13-12 lead with 13:09 left in the first half. The Pacers (12-11, 10-5 USA South) retook the lead and lead by as many as 11. Youngblood's two free throws got LC within five, 40-35, before the Pacers took a 42-35 halftime lead.
In the early going of the second half, LC cut the Pacers' lead to five twice, the last time on Porter Law's layup. The Pacers built a double-digit lead and Anderson's two free throws got the Panthers withing nine, 54-45, with 15:30 remaining. It would be as close as the Panthers would get.
