Panola College
March 22, 2017 Hutchinson, Kansas – The Panola College men’s basketball team fell to South Plains at the NJCAA national tournament, 88-84. With the loss, Panola finishes with their season 26-9 and winners of 13 of their last 15 games. “Our guys played so hard all night long. We battled and battled and that’s all that I could ask for.” Head Coach Grant McMillan stated. “We just ran out of time on our special season.” He added.
South Plains had control of the ball game and took their biggest lead of the ball game 27-16 with just under 11:00 minutes to go in the first half. Steady defense saw the momentum shift to Panola the rest of the half. Despite shooting 1-10 from the three point line, the Ponies were only down 41-36 at halftime. The second half Panola chipped away and took a 65-65 with 8:49 remaining in the second half. Multiple South Plains offensive rebounds help the Texans stretch their lead back to six before Panola came charging back. Panola cut the lead to three with just under two minutes to play and four points on two separate occasions but could not get any closer.
Leading the way offensively for Panola was Tope Arikawe with 19 points. Eric McGill recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists. KJ Byers chipped in with 12 points. TJ Killings and Bryson Lockley came off the bench and combined for 23 points. As a team, Panola shot 50 percent from the field but was outrebounded for the night, 46-32.
Panola’s season comes to a close with a school record 26 wins, which breaks last seasons of 24. The Ponies were the North Division regular season champions, Region 14 runner ups, reached the national tournament with the 15th overall seed, and advanced to the NJCAA national tournament round of 16.
Submitted by Adam Blaylock
March 21, 2017 Hutchinson, Kansas – The Panola College men’s basketball team defeated Shelton State here Monday afternoon in the first round of the NJCAA D1 national tournament, 77-65. With the victory, Panola advances to the second round of the Tournament. The Ponies improves their record to 26-8. “Our guys did a tremendous job playing in the moment. We made plays and executed all game long.” Head Coach Grant McMillan stated.
Shelton State led the first six minutes of the ball game before Panola took control. Eric McGill scored 13 first half points and took the biggest lead of their game, 17 points, with 37 seconds remaining in the 1st half. Panola took a 42-27 halftime lead. Panola maintained a double-digit lead most of the second half until back-to-back Shelton State three pointers cut the Panola lead to six with just under 5:00 minutes remaining. An Eric McGill three pointer and a KJ Byers lay-up extended their lead back to double-digits and the 12 point victory.
McGill led the Ponies in scoring with 20 points for the game. Tope Arikawe had 15 points and chased down seven rebounds. Devyn Wilson scored in double figures with 10. Byers recorded three blocks in the victory. Panola shot 42 percent from the field and 76 percent from the free throw line. They forced 15 Shelton State turnovers.
Panola will take on South Plains College March 21st at 6:30 PM at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. The game is streamed live on NJCAA TV.
Submitted by Adam Blaylock
March 20, 2017 - Panola College rodeo team was back in action this last weekend in College Station for the 8th of 10 regular season rodeos. It was a great weekend for rodeo action and Panola athletes took full advantage of the indoor arena to display some spectacular abilities.
Abby Phillips, a sophomore from Marshall, had a great weekend in the barrel racing. Abby and her horse Fame won 1st in the long go with a time of 16.01 seconds. The pair came back in the short go, to run a 16.04 for another 1st place finish. Abby dominated her event this weekend wining both goes and the average. Abby moved to second place in the Southern Region standings and improved her chances of qualifying for the CNFR in June. Jeffrey Collins, rodeo coach at Panola College, said a horse that can run with these horses in this region like that can run with any of the top horses in the world. Abby not only has a great shot at a national title for us here but has a great shot of making the NFR. Abby is a dedicated athlete who works very hard we will hear more about her in the near future.
Logan Cook , freshman in the ranch and land management program, had something to say in the Saddle bronc riding. Logan scored a 79 point ride on his first horse to win 1st place in the long go. The horse he rode was #12 Golden Ticket, the horse has won many titles in the pro rodeo world and was very rank and hard to ride. Cook came back in the short round with another 1st place win with a 76 point ride. Logan moved to second place in the Southern Region standings as did Abby and has almost secured himself a trip to CNFR. Logan is another young man we will hear a lot about in the near future.
The Team roping duo of Laramie and Colton Johnson, twins from Shreveport, where in fine form this weekend. The pair posted a first round time of 7.6 seconds. The time was fast enough for a 4th place finish in the long go. They came back to the short go and won another 4th place spot. The pair held on to 4th in the average as well. The season will come down to the last two rodeos, Laramie and Colton are in the 9th place spot, but have enough room to still qualify for the CNFR.
Steer Wrestler, Caleb Cogbill, had a great run in the long go posting a 5.4 second run good enough to place 6th in the long go. Caleb is a sophomore that will be graduating this year with a degree in Petroleum Technologies. Caleb plans to continue to rodeo while he also pursues a career in his field of studies.
The combined efforts of each team for the weekend found the women’s team in 2nd place and the men’s team in 4th place. Both teams held their spot at 4th place overall in the region.
The rodeo team will participate again this weekend the 23-25 at Hillsboro, TX.
Submitted by Jeffrey Collins
March 20, 2017 Jacksonville – The Panola College men’s basketball team defeated Angelina College here Friday night in the Region 14 conference tournament, 82-65. Panola advances to the tournament championship game against San Jacinto College Saturday night. Both teams receive a bid to the national tournament. San Jacinto won the Region 14 regular season and Panola earns the regional rotating bid. The victory improves Panola’s record to 24-7 and pushes their winning streak to 12 games.
“This is a proud moment for the Panola basketball program. Our guys have bought in and trusted the process all season long. With all of the adversity we went throughout this year, our kids deserve this moment.” Head Coach Grant McMillan mentioned.
Panola came out on fire taking a 20-10 lead 8:00 minutes into the game. Angelina slowly crawled back to and took a 28-26 lead with 4:12 remaining in the 1st half. After two ties and four lead changes Panola pulled away and took a 36-33 half time lead. The second half belonged to Panola as they came out on a 22-2 run eventually taking a 67-44 second half lead. Panola held on the rest of the way to take a 17 victory.
Leading the way offensively was Devyn Wilson who netted 20 points, sinking four three pointers. Tope Arikawe scored 13 points and Marlon Taylor added 11. Bryson Lockley chased down seven rebounds. As a team, Panola outrebound Angelina 42-28 and shot 43 percent from the field for the game.
Panola will take on San Jac tomorrow night at 8:00 PM in the conference championship game. The game will be played in Jacksonville, Texas on the campus of the former Lon Morris College.
March 14, 2017 - Ponies to Play Shelton State
Carthage, Texas – The Panola College men’s basketball team has been awarded the 15th seed in the NJCAA Division one national tournament. They will take on the 18th seed, Shelton State Community College. Shelton State is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The tournament features 24 teams.
The national tournament takes place in Hutchinson, Kansas and is played at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Tip off for the first round game is set for 2:00 PM on Monday, March 20th. All tournament games will be streamed live in NJCAA TV on the NJCAA website, www.njcaa.org.
March 12, 2017 - Jacksonville, Texas- One night after the Panola College men’s basketball team clinched a berth in the national tournament and notched their 25th win, most in school history, they were defeated in the conference championship game by San Jacinto, 92-67. “San jac is so special offensively and it just seemed like we couldn’t get anything to bounce our way. The effort was there.” Mentioned assistant coach Adam Blaylock. “The best part about tonight is that we get to look ourselves in the mirror and clean some things up for the national tournament.” he added.
In a fast paced start both teams traded buckets when Panola found themselves up 10-8 just under the 17:00 minute mark. With 9:04 remaining in the fourth Panola was down 25-22 when San Jac went on an 8-0. Panola answered found themselves down 47-37 at halftime. San Jac maintained much of their double-digit lead most of the second half. A Devyn Wilson three with 6:12 remaining cut the led to 80-66 but Panola count not get any closer.
Leading the way offensively for Panola was Eric McGill who scored 20 points and chased down five rebounds. Tope Arikawe recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. As a team, Panola struggled from the field only shooting 35 percent for the game.
The tournament bracket for the NJCAA National Tournament will be released at 2:30 PM on Monday Afternoon. The tournament will take place at the Sports Arena on the campus of Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas.
March 10, 2017 Jacksonville, Texas – The Panola College men’s basketball team defeated Paris Junior College in the quarterfinals of the Region 14 conference tournament here Thursday night, 81-64. With the victory, Panola moves into the semi-final of the tournament. Panola improves their record to 24-7 and increases their win streak to 11 games. “I sound like a broken record, but it’s a new person every night who has stepped up.” Head Coach Grant McMillan mentioned. “We executed the game plan and gave great effort all game long.” He added.
There were three lead changes and two ties early in the ball game but Panola gradually pulled away with steady offense and stingy defense. The Ponies led at halftime, 39-23. Panola stretched its lead to 19 points early in the second half, 48-29. Paris cut the lead to twelve but couldn’t get any closer.
Leading the way offensively for Panola was Eric McGill with 20 points. Keith Hayes added 16 points and Marlon Taylor chipped in with 13. Bryson Lockley came off the bench and scored 11 points and chased down 8 rebounds. As a team, Panola chased down 41 rebounds and recorded 17 assists.
Panola takes on Angelina College tomorrow in the Region 14 semi-final. Tip-off is set for 8:00 PM at the former Lon Morris College gymnasium.
Submitted by Adam Blaylock
March 9, 2017 - The Fillies traveled to Jacksonville, Texas and faced region foe Kilgore College, Wednesday night.
After being voted 10th out of 11 teams in the preseason, the Fillies finished at the 3rd spot for the regular season, placing them against the 6th seed. Their incredible journey came to an end last night as they fell 74-77 to the Rangers of Kilgore College in the first round of the region tournament. "The numbers don't show how hard we worked tonight" stated Head Coach Eddie Kite. He added "we fought back and played our hearts out, and I couldn't be more proud of this team".
Panola fought in the first quarter to take a lead of 13-11. But a big second quarter by Kilgore's athletes would put them up 5 heading into half time. In a grueling match up, the Fillies still had some fight left and were able to leave it all on the floor.
In the second half, The Fillies proved why they were a force to be reckoned with. With only 1 minute ticking off the clock, the Fillies would take the lead up 40-39. The game would flow back and forth until Kilgore was able to pull away at the end of the third up 49-56.
In the final stanza of the night, the battle continued and Panola would find themselves down by as much as 11. But with heart and grit, they still found a way to get within 1 at 1:07 left in the game. Then a quick drive by Freshman Patience Okpe would tie the game up at 74 apiece. A few foul calls later, the Rangers went to the line and were able to pull off the win.
Sophomore Charlynn Perry came off the bench and led the Fillies with 18 points. Patience Okpe added 15 points and Sophomore Genesis Rivera put up 11 points and 7 rebounds. Freshman Daria Eremeeva pulled a new career high with 12 rebounds on the night.
The Fillies represented six different countries this season: Belarus, Brazil, Nigeria, Russia, The United States and Venezuela. But in the end of their amazing 23-8 run, they were all #1PCFamily.
Submitted by Nalani Hernandez
March 6, 2017 - Panola College opened conference play last weekend and defeated Bossier Parish Community College two out of three games. BPCC won game one 9-1. Panola responded and swept the double header on the road by score of 14-4 and 10-2. With the wins Panola extends their overall record to 17-3 and 2-1 in conference play. Panola travels to Angelina College on Thursday to face of against the Roadrunners in a three game conference series. Panola will be back at home on Saturday March 11th for a double header vs Angelina. Game times are set for 1pm and 3pm.
Bossier Parish Bats To Hot For Panola In Game One
Panola College watched the game slip away early and couldn't recover in a 9-1 loss to Bossier Parish on Thursdays game one of the three game conference series.
Bossier Parish took an early lead in the second inning. Zayas homered on a 0-1 count in the second inning, scoring two runs.
Cayne Ueckert took the loss for Panola. He threw two innings, surrendering five runs, five hits, and striking out five.
Home runs for Bossier Parish came when Wright homered in the sixth inning, Frost homered in the third inning, Zayas homered in the second inning, and Santiago homered in the second inning.
John Mike Bounds led Panola with two hits in three at bats.
Bossier Parish had ten hits in the game. Stegall, Zayas, and Santiago each collected multiple hits for Bossier Parish.
Panola College Blows Out Bossier Parish In Game Two Thanks To Big Fourth Inning
Panola College scored nine runs in the fourth on its way to a 14-4 victory over Bossier Parish on Saturday in game one of the double header.
Panola took the lead with four runs in the third inning when Duke Ellis doubled, driving in one run and Colby Price homered, driving in three runs.
Panola scored nine runs in the fourth inning. Panola scored on a double by Chandler Morris, a home run by Cameron Jacobs, a stolen base by Austin Blakeley, and a single by Colton Oberthier.
Logan Bailey earned the win for Panola. He pitched four innings, allowing three runs, three hits, and striking out five.
Home runs for Panola came when Jacobs homered in the fourth inning, Price homered in the third inning, and Blakeley homered in the fourth inning.
Home runs for Bossier Parish came when Bonds homered in the fifth inning, Zayas homered in the second inning, and Stegall homered in the second inning.
Panola collected ten hits. Morris, Oberthier, and Price each collected multiple hits for Panola. Price, Blakeley, and Jacobs each drove in three runs to lead Panola. Panola was sure-handed in the field and didn't commit a single error. Oberthier made the most plays with five chances.
Panola College Beats Bossier Parish By Eight Runs In Game Three To Take The Series
Panola College blew out Bossier Parish 10-2 on Saturday in game two of the double header.
Taylor Tomlin earned the win for Panola. He pitched five and two-thirds innings, surrendering one run, five hits, and striking out four. Gannon Reiswig threw one and one-third innings, as two relievers helped Panola finish off the victory.
Home runs for Panola came when Cameron Jacobs homered in the fifth inning and Julian Flores homered in the seventh inning.
Panola collected 16 hits. Christian Boulware, Duke Ellis, Austin Blakeley, Logan Bailey, and Colby Price each collected multiple hits for Panola. Bailey, Blakeley, and Boulware each drove in two runs to lead Panola.
Bossier Parish had seven hits in the game. Zayas and Koch each collected multiple hits for Bossier Parish. Zayas went 3-for-4 at the plate as he led the team with one run batted in.
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Submitted by Brandon Benton, Assistant Baseball Coach
March 6, 2017 Carthage, Texas – The Panola College men’s basketball team defeated Paris Junior College on sophomore day, 85-77. With the victory, Panola wins the North Division of Region 14 owning the tie breaker over Tyler Junior College and Trinity Valley Community College. Panola finishes the regular season 23-7 and 15-4 in Region 14 play and increased their win streak to 10 games. “Again, we have different people step up every single night.” Mentioned Head Coach Grant McMillan. “We talked about getting a first round bye at the conference tournament all year long.” He added.
Panola found themselves down 18-15 with 13:17 remaining in the half. A steady offensive output the rest of the half gave the Ponies a 46-37 halftime lead. Panola stretched their lead to as much as 14 points in the second half but Paris didn’t go away. They cut the lead the three with just under a minute to play before Keith Hayes made a layup to secure the victory.
Leading the way for the Panola was Eric McGill and Devyn Wilson who netted 16 points apiece. Hayes netted four second half three pointers on his way to 14 points. KJ Byers recorded a double-double scoring 12 points and chasing down 10 rebounds. TJ Killings came off the bench and added 12 points. Panola recorded 22 assists and chased down 39 rebounds.
Panola is the two seed in this week’s Region 14 tournament. They play at 6:00 PM this upcoming Thursday, March 9th against the 1st round match between Bossier Parish and Paris. All games are being played at Jacksonville Independent School District gymnasium, former home of Lon Morris.
Submitted by Adam Blaylock
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