LCMS Basketball

By Jason Fite/Sports writer

Pete Noblin/Photos

The Lewis County Middle School Lady Panthers traveled to Columbia and E.A. Cox Middle School to take part in the Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association Class 2A Area 9 Tournament. The Lady Panthers faced off with the Tullahoma West Lady Bobcats in the opening round.

Lewis County got in the board first with a basket from Jazzy Conner, but the Lady Bobcats would take control of the first quarter with a 9-0 run to take a 9-2 lead heading into the second quarter. The Lady Panthers would continue to struggle with the Tullahoma West pressure and were held to a lone B.B. Smith free throw as the Lady Bobcats pulled out to a 20-3 halftime lead. The break for halftime didn't help Lewis County as the same struggles continued in the third quarter as Lewis County was held to four points over the six-minute period and the Lady Bobcats padded their lead with twelve in the quarter to take a 32-7 lead into the final period of regulation. Lewis County would cut into the lead slightly, but the margin was just too much as the Lady Panthers season came to an end in a 37-14 final. Jazzy Conner led the Lady Panthers in the loss with 8 points, B.B. Smith added 4, and Jaelin Baugh had 2 points.

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The Lewis County Middle School Panthers traveled to E.A. Cox Middle School to play in the Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association Class 2A Area 9 Tournament. The Panthers' first-round opponent was the Murfreesboro Central Magnet School Tigers.

Central Magnet jumped on the Panthers early, dropping the game's first eight points. The Panthers would fight back in the opening period as Maddox Tanner and Kobe Feichtinger would account for eight-straight Panther points and the Tigers would hold a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Panthers would run off eleven-straight points to start the second quarter and opened up a 22-17 lead as the game reached it's halfway point. The pace slowed in the third quarter as the Panthers were held to eight points, but the Lewis County defense allowed only a single basket to the Tigers and held a 30-19 lead moving into the final eight minutes of action. The Panthers would pull away throughout the final period and sealed a 44-29 in the opening round. Dakota Hull led the Panthers with 14 points, Maddox Tanner added 11, Kobe Feichtinger and Bo Banks each had 8, and Phenix McDonald finished with 3.

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The Lewis County Middle School Panthers traveled to E.A. Cox Middle School in Columbia for the second round of the TMSAA 2A Area 9 Tournament. In the Semifinal Game, the Panthers were matched up with the Spring Hill Middle Raiders.

After three early points from Dakota Hull gave the Panthers an edge, Spring Hill went in a 5-0 run to take a lead. The teams exchange the lead in the first three times before a three from Phenix McDonald and a bucket by Maddox Tanner gave Lewis County a 10-8 lead after one period. In a slow second quarter the teams played even for six minutes, and the Panthers held on to a two-point advantage at 16-14 at halftime. The Panthers came alive in the third quarter as Tanner (9) and Hull (7) paced the Panther attack that took control of the game and pulled out to a 41-20 lead moving into the fourth. Bo Banks would score seven points early in the fourth and the Panthers ran away to a 51-34 win. Maddox Tanner was leading scorer for the Panthers with 15, Dakota Hull added 14, Bo Banks had 11, Phenix McDonald 10, and Kobe Feichtinger 1.

The Panthers will meet the E.O. Coffman Panthers in the Championship Game on Tuesday, January 24th.