Rangers
hand Ponies first loss
Longview News
Journal
Sunday, November 23, 2008
KILGORE - James Graham conquered demons Saturday by forgetting about them.
The sophomore guard for the men's basketball team of Kilgore College was clutch late, helping the Rangers knock off previously undefeated Panola College 63-58 in the Region XIV Conference opener for both teams.
Graham sank two free throws with 16 seconds left to give Kilgore a 61-58 lead. He scored all eight of his points in the second half, when Kilgore rallied from a 51-47 deficit.
Graham was part of a Kilgore squad last season that lost nine conference games by seven points or less, including defeats to Blinn and Jacksonville in which his last-second shots wouldn't fall.
"There were a few times we didn't make the shots last year. When I got fouled, I just forgot about it. I wanted to be the one shooting the free throws," Graham said. "It feels real good to beat an undefeated team, and start the conference season 1-0."
Panola (9-1, 0-1) had a chance to tie the game, but Gary Cox was called for traveling with 7.4 seconds remaining. Kilgore's Chris Johnson iced the win with two free throws with 3.6 seconds left.
The victory was a successful Region XIV debut for first-year Kilgore coach Brian Hoberecht. Kilgore (5-6, 1-0) has won four straight games and is 5-0 at Masters Gymnasium.
The Rangers held Panola to 18-for-63 (28.6 percent) shooting from the field. The Ponies averaged 97.2 points per game.
"I was very proud of our defensive effort," Hoberecht said. "I told our team before the game if they held them under 65 points we had a good chance to win."
Kilgore also had a 39-29 advantage in rebounds, with Troy Cage grabbing 10 rebounds.
Panola coach Jacob Wonders said his team did not underestimate Kilgore because the Rangers have lost to four nationally-ranked teams this season.
"I thought it was more what we did than Kilgore, especially in the first 20 minutes," Wonders said. "If you don't rebound, you're going to lose in Region XIV."
Second half
Panola opened the half with a 7-0 run to take a 27-26 lead. Panola took a 36-35 lead with 13 minutes left on a Fran Urli putback. The Ponies didn't lose the lead until 6:07 remaining, when Kilgore guard LaMarshall Corbett had a three-point play, giving Kilgore a 52-51 advantage and the lead for good.
Chris Johnson scored nine points in the half and tied Cage for Kilgore's team high with 12 points. Cox led Panola with 12 points, all in the second half.
First half
Panola went on a stretch of 6:25 without scoring a point and Kilgore took advantage with a 9-0 run to take a 26-20 halftime lead. Panola was 8-for-21 from the field. Kilgore had a 29-14 advantage in rebounds, but a 13-5 disadvantage in turnovers.
Kilgore's Dexter Dorsey led all first-half scorers with six points.
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