CHANUTE - The Neosho County Panthers went toe to toe with league-leader Cowley County Wednesday night before falling 109 to 126.  The Panthers hit the 100-point mark for the 4th time this season but it just wasn't enough to beat the #2 scoring team in the country.
 
Panthers had six players in double figures, led by sophomore Jae-min Yang with 19 points, freshman guard Jonathan Breeland Jr. scored 17 points, James Taylor and Tory Cargo added 16 points, while Corbett Kimberlin added 12 points while Jadis White rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11. The Panthers made 14 three-pointers at 50%, but the Cowley Tigers knocked down 16 shooting an outstanding 69%.
 
In the first half, the Panthers would start by breaking the Tigers press and scoring easy buckets to jump out to an early lead but the constant pressure and intensity from the Tigers took its toll over the first half. The Panthers would find themselves down 7 points midway through the first half and 10 points with 1:37 left in the first but would battle back to cut the deficit to 3 points at the midway point.
 
"I thought we handled the situation the best we could," Coach Jeremy Coombs said, "They just play differently than any team in the conference so you can't play the way you would vs the other teams but I thought we did a nice job with the adjustment."
 
In the second half, the Panthers made an early run but Cowley would continue its red hot shooting by knocking down 8 threes to expand their lead. With just 16:26 to play both teams were in the bonus and it was ultimately Cowley's ability to knock down key free throws that would put the Panthers away late as the Panthers fell 126 to 109.
 
"We shot just OK from the free-throw line but if you want to beat a team like this you must shoot it well and we just weren't good enough in that category." Coombs said, "If was defiantly a fun game to coach and one I really would have like to win but I feel it made our young guys better and tougher."
 
The Panthers now hit the road for their next two games traveling to Colby on Monday, January 19th and then to Butler on the 21st before returning home Saturday the 25th to take on Powerhouse Coffeyville.
 
"This is the best conference in the country and is competitive every game," Coombs said, "The east is way tougher than the west this year so we have a tough road ahead of us."
 
For more information, go to www.goneosho.com or follow @GoNeoshoHoops or GoNeosho on Twitter for updates throughout the year.