Panola Men Defeat Lamar St-Port Arthur in Region play, 79-74

January 6, 2017 - Port Arthur, Texas – The Panola College men’s basketball team traveled to Port Arthur, Texas Friday night and defeated Lamar State College Port Arthur, 79-74. The victory raises Panola’s record to 9-5 and 2-2 in Region 14 play. “There are no easy games in this league and it’s extremely hard to win on the road. Our guys responded, battled and found a way to win.” Head Coach Grant McMillan stated. “I think a lot of the early season adversity helped us win the ball game.” He added.

After taking an 8-6 lead, Port Arthur went on a massive 17-0 run to take a 23-8 lead with 9:48 remaining in the first half. Panola turned up their offensive intensity and went on a major run of themselves to end the half. Hitting six three-pointers in the final 9:00 of the first half, Panola took the halftime lead 39-33. For the majority of the second half the Ponies held a steady lead until Port Arthur connected on a three-point play and a traditional three-point play on consecutive possessions to take a 66-62 lead with 4:42 seconds remaining. Alex Holcombe scored four straight points and back-to-back three pointers by Juwan Williams and Jeffrey Boyd gave Panola the lead for good and ultimately the victory.

Marlon Taylor came off the bench and recorded a double-double, tallying 23 points and 12 rebounds. Williams nailed five three-points in route to 19 points. TJ Killings chipped in with 12 points while Holcombe recorded six blocks in the victory. As a team Panola shot 54 percent from three.

Panola continues Region 14 play when the host Angelina College this upcoming Monday, January 8th. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM on the campus of Panola College, AJ Gym.