Hornets can't hang with Panthers

Wilson Memorial got off to a fast start Friday in their battle for second place in the Shenandoah District, but unfortunately, the Page County Panthers were poised to claw back into the game quickly and went on to a 65-54 victory.

The win moves Page into a second-place tie with the Hornets with three regular season games remaining.

The Panthers (12-6, 7-4 Shenandoah District) seemed to still be suffering from a lopsided loss at Buffalo Gap on Tuesday and Wilson took full advantage.

The Hornets led 14-5 late in the opening period on a hoop by junior Damon Frazier and again 16-7 on a basket by Michael Curry before the Panthers woke up.

Six straight points by Page sophomore Tim Brown got the Panthers right back in the game to close out the quarter.

Page senior Pete Monteleone tied the game at 18 with a basket early in the second quarter, but Wilson regained the upper hand on back-to-back hoops by Brandon Poole and Thomas Goins.

The two rivals battled for the lead as the clock moved toward halftime. Senior Connery Swift scored with less than a minute to play before Page senior Boo Painter assisted freshman Jacob McKay to beat the halftime buzzer.

The Panthers' momentum carried over into the second half, as Page scored nine unanswered points to start the third quarter.

A 3-pointer by Curry stopped the Page run and Frazier followed with a basket to cut the Page lead to 40-35.

But that would be as close as the Hornets would get for the rest of the game.

Page head coach Mike Purdham praised the defensive effort of his team in the victory.

"Defense is our bread and butter," Purdham said. "Tonight, we kept our defensive intensity even when we went through some offensive woes."

Swift led the Hornets in scoring with a dozen points and pulled down 10 rebounds, but fouled out late in the game. Curry had 11 points for Wilson (9-8, 7-4 Shenandoah District).

Painter led four Panthers in double figures with 18 points and also had 10 rebounds.

"Wilson's a physical team so I was proud of our effort," Purdham said.