In a back and forth game at AJ Gymnasium, Panola was able to hold off #20 Trinity Valley 70-69. Panola found themselves down by as many as 8 points in the first half before cutting it to 34-33 at the halftime break. The second half featured many lead changes as neither team would have a lead larger than 6. Panola found themselves up 70-69 with 4.5 seconds when Lenell Henry stepped to the free throw line for two shots. He missed them both and Tyson Jolly got the rebound and went the length of the floor. His 24 foot three almost banked in as time expired.
Tariq Simmons led Panola with 15 points. Kamari Brown added 14 points and 5 rebounds. Lenell Henry was able to chip in 9 points and 9 rebounds.
The win puts Panola at 20-7 (10-5 Region XIV) going into their last bye of the season. The second place Ponies resume play next Saturday, February 23 at Bossier Parish.
Earlier in the week, Panola found themselves in a huge hole Wednesday night at home vs Paris. Paris got off to a quick start and was up 44-23 with 4:22 left. Panola was able to make a good run to cut the lead to 50-43 at half. The Ponies found themselves down double digits again in the 2nd but started to chip away. A season high 17 3 point field goals made helped the Ponies pull out the 98-91 win.
Jeff Boyd led the way for the Ponies with 19 points and 5 rebounds. Lenell Henry added 15 points and 8 rebounds. Tariq Simmons and Tylan Dean both added 14 points. Josh Williams and Kamari Brown rounded out the double digit scorers with 12 and 11 points, respectively.