Last Friday night the Pflugerville Panthers were able to defeat their cross-town rivals, the Connally Cougars 62-43, in District 25-5A action. The Panthers improve to 21-4 overall and 4-1 in district, while the Cougars drop to 8-11 overall and 0-4 in district.

After DarRenaldo Hall scored the first two points of the night, the Panthers scored seven unanswered points to take a 7-2 lead. The Panthers increased their lead to 9-4 after Deon Mitchell came up with a steal and found Jarrell Turner for a fast-break basket. Darrian Dempesy scored the final three points of the quarter to give the Panthers a 12-4 lead.

At the start of the second quarter, Terres Wilson quickly made the score 12-7 with a 3-pointer. The Cougars went on a 15-9 run to cut the Panthers’ lead to 21-20. During the run the Cougars benefited from the outstanding play of senior Wilson, who scored nine points in the quarter. After the Cougars closed the deficit, the Panthers got a 3-pointer from Storm Woods and two free throws each from Zach Beeler and Mitchell to close the quarter on a 7-0 run.

At the beginning of the second half, the Panthers turned up the defensive intensity, led by Keith Bunton. The junior guard frustrated the Cougars guards into several turnovers. He also accounted for four steals and three points during the quarter. His play led to several easy baskets for the Panthers, who took control of the game by outscoring the Cougars 20-10 in the quarter to take a 48-30 lead. Turner also added eight points during the quarter.

In the final quarter the Cougars cut the Panthers lead to 56-43 behind the hot shooting of Devon Lewis, who had six points in the quarter, and the steady play of Terres Wilson. However, the Panthers scored the final six points of the game for the home victory.

The Panthers were led in scoring by Turner with 14 points, while Terres Wilson led the Cougars in scoring with 15 points.