Fort Scott KS. - The Panthers watched an 8-point lead disappear into a 69-79 loss to the Highland Scotties on Friday afternoon at the Gladbach Classic. Neosho shot just 24 percent from the field and 15 percent from behind the arc in the second half.
 
 During the first half of action, the Panthers shot a solid 42% from the field and connected on 6-13 deep balls. The Panthers scored eight straight points at the end of first half  to tie it up at 37 a piece.  "I thought we played a solid first half," Head Coach Jeremy Coombs said, "We started off slow, but finally woke up and ended up clawing our way back into the game."
 
The Panthers came out hot in the second half, which led to a commanding 8-point lead.  But Neosho saw it quickly disappear after the Scotties went on a 6-0 run. After a timeout by the Panthers, the Scotties capitalized on two Panther turnovers to take the lead with just 8 minutes remaining.    The next 4 minutes was back and forth affair until the Scotties connected on their only three pointer of the half off another Panther turnover. The Panthers made just 6 of their 25 field goals in the second half, while the Scotties connected on 41 percent from the field.
 
Davion Benton led the Panthers with 20 points, while Jay McMiller added 12 points.  Also scoring for the Panthers were Brian Tolefree and Magic Reliford contributed 11 points each.
 
The Panthers travel back to Fort Scott on Saturday, as they take on the Fort Scott Greyhounds in day two of the Gladback Classic. Tip-off is set for 6:00 pm.