#4 Lufkin escapes Jacksonville late in the 4th Quarter

JACKSONVILLE, Texas (TXAN 24) — On Tuesday night at John Alexander Gymnaisum in Jacksonville, Texas #4 ranked Lufkin Panthers trotted into take on the 12-12 Jacksonville Indians who were on a mission to pull off an upset.

From the opening plays the Indians took the lead and the crowd fueled the flames that brought the heat to the top ranked Panthers. The Indians held on to a three points lead at the end of the first period.

This was a tough, physical game with a score of 19-16 in favor of the home team. Early in the game the three ball was falling for Indians. On the other end of the court, careless turnovers for Panthers plagued any momentum that they managed to build.

But the Panther did indeed build that momentum and took the home crowd out of the game with sound basketball and grabbed the lead and pushed it to a breathable distance by the end of the first half.

After halftime, the teams picked up where they left off, with both sustaining cheer-worthy runs of points. The longer Jacksonville hung around on the score board, the more excited the home student section grew. The Indians would come within inches of taking the lead and an error pass or missed shot held the lead out of their grasp.

The crowd was on the edge of their seats for the majority of the fourth quarter. But the ball seemed to bounce the Panthers' way on each crucial crunch time play.

Eventually great free throw shooting from the Lufkin Panthers would padded this narrow margin of victory to double digits by the time it was all said and done.

Final Score

#4 Lufkin: 66

Jacksonville: 56