Tigers fall short against Panthers

Lee's Summit did its best to knock off second-ranked Ray-Pec Tuesday night but came up short, falling 48-46. The Panthers got a bucket with 5 seconds to play to stay undefeated in conference action.

The second half was a fun 16 minutes of basketball.

You have to credit Lee's Summit for getting back in the game. They lost to the Panthers by 33 points earlier in the season and they could have thought the game was getting away from them, but they came out with a lot more intensity in the second half.

A lot of that can be contributed to their defense. After forcing the Panthers into just four turnovers the entire first half, the Tigers picked up the defensive pressure and Ray-Pec turned it over six times in the third quarter alone.

WIth that defensive pressure came success on the offensive end as they were able to find a bit of a rhythm. Head coach Keith Miller spread the floor in the second half and the Tigers were much more aggressive.

Miller knows if his team is to be successful in district play, they're going to have to play defense.

"That's how we score," he said after the game. "When our defense creates offense that's when we play our best."

You could just tell the team was more into the game and had a little bit of a bounce in their step in the second half.

The fourth quarter came down to who would get the most our of their possessions and who would make the big plays down the stretch, and while both teams did, the Panthers just made a few more plays including a pair of important offensive rebounds that led to four points.

In the end, little things like offensive rebounds and valuing the ball are key.

"A play here and a play there, those things get magnified in games like these," Miller said.

Still, the Tigers proved that when they play well and compete they have the chance to beat anybody. They just would have liked to pick up one more win Tuesday night. Losing by two instead of 33 is still a loss to them.

"I don't like losing," senior Sean Green said.

If the Tigers play well enough they'll get another shot at the Panthers in the state sectional, but there's still a lot of basketball to go.