The Saint Jo Panthers fell to Ector on Friday night in the area round of the playoffs at S&S Consolidated.
The Eagles would pull away in the second half, winning 56-39 after a tight first half.
Saint Jo came into the game after a one-sided victory against Perrin-Whitt earlier in the week. The Panthers were trying to get to the regional quarterfinals for the second straight year to rematch state power Graford, but were slight underdogs.
Ector was on top for most of the first quarter as the team tried to attack the rim with drives and post ups. Saint Jo was never behind by more than two scores and eventually took the lead 11-9 to end the first quarter on top. Connor Thompson scored six of the team’s points.
The Panthers started the second quarter well up 15-12 in the opening few minutes. The Eagles responded with an 8-0 run as they started to make some 3-pointers while mixing in some scores near the basket.
Down 20-15, Saint Jo cut the lead to 22-20 in the next minute heading into the final two minutes of the quarter. From there Ector made some shots to close out the quarter as it led 26-22.
The Panthers competed well, playing tough defense against the feisty Eagles looking to post up and drive. While Ector had made three 3-pointers in the second quarter, it was a manageable amount with the rate Saint Jo was scoring the ball.
Senior leading scorers Logan Morman and Thompson combined for 14 points mostly trying to attack the basket while Kile Thurman and Brice Durham had both made crucial 3-pointers in the game.
A good third quarter would be needed to try and possibly wrestle the lead away from the Eagles or at least stay within range.
The two teams struggled to score for most of the quarter. Ector seemed to dedicate even more attention to trying to wall off the paint from Morman and Thompson with free throw attempts rarely awarded for either team.
The Eagles were up only 30-27 with a little more than two minutes to go in the quarter when they hit their groove. Thanks to some well executed pick and rolls and a timely 3-pointer, Ector ended the quarter on an 8-0 run upping its lead to 38-27 heading into the final quarter.
Saint Jo would need to bounce back in a big way offensively to make up the double-digit hole it was in. The Panthers continued to drive into the paint and got to the free throw line more than it had in the entire game.
Unfortunately, Saint Jo only made 5-9 of its free throws in the quarter while making only three field goals. The Eagles pulled away even more as Garen Norwood seemed to score at will inside as he scored 10 of his game high 17 points.
The Panthers fought hard until the end, but could not make enough shots to come back as Ector won 56-39.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.