Written by: Danny Talbert
The men's basketball team wins 73-70 over the Blazers in a barn burner until the very end. LC finishes the regular season 2-0 against Belhaven.
First half details
Both teams began tonight's game with settled offenses. After the first five minutes, LC led 8-7, with half of the Panther points coming from Brodie Scott. Over the next few possessions, each team traded points. Every time LC pulled away, the Blazers would respond with points of their own. With only 10 minutes left in the half, the Panthers led 17-16. Out of the eight-minute media time-out, the Panthers began to run their patented press defense. Despite this making the Blazers look pressured, Belhaven was still able to score contested points. Similar to the first game, both of these teams looked very evenly matched. The two teams traded leads for the remainder of the first half, but the game ended up tied 31-31 at the break.
As a team, LC shot 40% from the field and 13% from three. Samuel Moss had a team-high 15 points, shooting 50% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc.
Second half details
The Blazers began the second half going on a 12-2 run. That was until Samuel Moss scored back-to-back threes and made a contested layup to cut the Belhaven lead to 43-41 (16 minutes remaining). In the first five minutes of the half, Moss had scored 11 of the 15 Panther points. The game continued to be incredibly competitive and the packed Mariotti gym was fully invested. With under 11 minutes remaining, the Blazers held a tight 56-54 lead. Over the next three minutes, the Panthers jumped in front 59-58 with the help of two consecutive Brodie Scott hustle plays that resulted in points. The Panthers were able to extend their lead slightly to 68-64 with under four minutes left. This was partly due to the great communication and teamwork demonstrated by the Panthers. Despite the visiting Blazers' best efforts, the Panthers handed them a loss for the second time this season. LC held on to win 73-70.
Top Panther performance
Samuel Moss led the Panthers in scoring with 33 points, shooting 58% from the field and 56% from beyond the arc. The Georgia native also grabbed six rebounds.
Next game details
The Panthers take on Maryville on Friday, Feb. 2. The game tips off at 7 p.m.
