Written by: Danny Talbert
The Samuel Moss 19-point performance helped the Panthers rise above the Skyhawks 76-65.
First half details
Both teams' defenses started the game locked in. LC had the packed Mariotti Gym on their feet early after Parker Gonzalez made a big-time block on the Skyhawks shooter. The score at the first media timeout was Panthers three Skyhawks five. The best play of the half happened when Gabe Cofield sprinted into the paint, grabbed his own rebound and finished the layup to put the Panthers up 7-5. Only a few minutes later, Samuel Moss also made an electrifying play. The freshman guard grabbed the Point rebound, ran down the court and made a crisp finger roll over his defender to extend the Panther lead to 14-10. The rest of the half was very tight and both teams looked evenly matched. Even though it did not show on the scoreboard, the teams were battling on the court, and the crowd was fully invested. With five minutes remaining in the half, LC led 22-20. The Panthers took the lead after Brodie Scott crashed the boards on a missed LC free throw and put up a contested two. These types of hustle plays have been the defining factor of Scott's play this season. LC was able to pull away at the end of the half to lead 37-26 at the break. Samuel Moss had a team-high nine points at the half. As a team, the Panthers shot 38% from the field and a season-low 8.3% from three.
Second half details
The halftime speech from Coach Wallace must have been magical because the Panthers came out of the break raining shots on the Skyhawks. On the first possession, LC began the half with a Gabe Cofield nothing-but-net three. On the very next play, Samuel Moss stole the ball from the Point guard, drove down the court and dunked over the Skyhawks defender. Cam Lyons then stole the ball, drove down and hit a layup to extend the Panthers lead to 45-28. This sequence of plays was the most impressive Panther run of the season and the crowd was loving every second of it. Only two minutes later, Parker Gonzalez had another Panther steal then found a streaking Samuel Moss for Moss to slam his second thunderous dunk of the game. LC led 53-33 with 15 minutes remaining in the half. The Panthers played with an intensity that Point could not hope to match. Each defensive series, rebound and LC shot taken was played as if it was to win the game. With 11 minutes in the half, the Panthers made back-to-back threes to put the LC lead at 66-43. There were too many standout moments in the second half to crown one as the best play. Tonight's performance was truly a team effort. Despite Point's best attempt, the Panthers were too much to handle for the visitors. LC went on to win 76-65.
Top Panther performances
Samuel Moss had another impressive offensive performance. The freshman consistently gives 100% effort on both sides of the court and it shows. Moss scored a team-high 19 points, shooting 47% from the field and 33% from three. He also had six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Gabe Cofield also had a great game today. He made 13 points, shooting 50% from the field and 33% beyond the arc. The Troup county native also accounted for five rebounds and one steal.
The freshman guard Kameron McCall also had a standout performance. McCall scored 14 points, shooting a solid 57% from the field. He also had four rebounds and one steal.
Next game details
The team travels to Memphis next weekend to take on Rhodes on Dec. 16, at 2 p.m.
