CARY, NC – The opening half between SWAC rivals Panther Creek and Cary proved to be one of runs as both teams worked the fast break and perimeter offense, waiting to see which squad would be able to stay hot. Panther Creek’s offense  stayed sizzling all the way into the fourth quarter, as they were able to finally pull away from a resilient Cary squad 71-54 to stay undefeated in SWAC play. Cary dropped their second straight game to fall to 6-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

The first quarter showed no lack of scoring, as both teams combined to pour in eight three-pointers and 39 points. Cary’s man-to-man defense placed an emphasis on locking down the Catamount’s elusive junior point guard, Juan Munoz, holding him to only three points in the opening eight minutes. The pressing defense from the Imps proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Catamounts, allowing for more opportunities from their supporting cast as freshman Riley Adams and junior AJ Morris combined to score 17 of the Catamounts’ first quarter points.

“The plan backfired, the freshman out there made some shots, AJ (Morris) made shots early” said Cary head coach Allan Gustafon. “That’s the whole point of defense like that is you try and make other players make plays to beat you who normally don’t make those plays.”

With neither team able to pull away, the halftime break had the Catamounts holding a slim 35-29 lead. As Cary made adjustments to slow down Adams and Morris, it allowed Munoz to score ten of his 21 points in the third quarter to widen the Catamounts’ lead to 50-41 entering the final period of play.

“I feel like AJ, Riley, we’re all great players” Munoz said. “When they try and stop one, they can’t stop the other two and vice-versa.”

As the Imps’ yet again placed their focus on slowing down Munoz, the Catamounts were able to outscore the Imps’ 21-13 in the fourth quarter. Riley Adams ended a two quarter scoring drought, dropping in seven points; Morris added another eight, giving the Catamounts a 71-54 victory.

The offensive explosion (11-for-22 from behind the arc) wasn’t something new to Panther Creek head coach Shawan Robinson. “We’ve had a couple games like that this year,” Robinson said. “Against Hoggard we shot it real well, there’s a couple games we’ve shot it really well, as we did tonight.”

The move from junior varsity head coach to varsity hasn’t been a difficult one for Robinson, “It’s been a seamless transition,” he said, noting he had helped develop the majority of the players on the varsity team just a year or two before.

The night was a notable one for Morris, who was playing against his former school for the first time. “I was really pumped up, because this is my old school and a lot of my friends play for them,” he said. “I knew (Gensler) and (Tatum) pump fake a lot, so I could play defense on them better than probably some of my other teammates.”

Junior guard Cory Gensler has taken over captain duties for this year’s Cary team that has no seniors. Head coach Allan Gustafon has cited a lack of a clear leader as an issue for his young team “Cory leads more by example than anything else, he’s a quiet young man and he doesn’t speak a whole lot,” he said. “Sometimes you need someone to get in someone’s face and say ‘let’s go,’ and that’s just not in Cory’s nature.”

Overall mindset is a part of his team Gustafon hopes to improve on as the season continues. “We’re young, and so we will address the areas we can get more mentally tough,” he said. “We can definitely improve our mental toughness on the floor.”

Donte Tatum, Cory Gensler, and Kyle Gensler combined to score 51 of the Imps’ 54 total points.

Junior forward Justin Smalls added a double-double for the Catamounts, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. AJ Morris finished with 21 points, as did Munoz.

Adams set a career-high in points, scoring 15 “Riley has been playing well, he’s been setting a career-high each of the past three games” said Robinson.

Panther Creek will attempt to keep a clean sheet in conference as they travel to Middle Creek on Thursday (12/18). Cary takes on Holly Springs at home the same night.