CHANUTE, KS – The Neosho Panther Men's Basketball team held the #3 scoring Independence Pirates to just 31 first-half points but it was the Pirates 68 second-half points that ultimately doomed the Panthers in a 99 to 75 home loss.  The Panthers gave up 37 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half and 31 points in the final 8 minutes.
 
"I was pretty pleased with our attention to detail and effort in the first half." Head coach Jeremy Coombs said. "We just flat didn't execute defensively in the second half and if you want to beat a team like Indy you can't afford to make mistakes and not fix it."
 
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Five Panthers landed in double figures in scoring. Jae-Min Yang 16 points led the way for Neosho. (This was Yangs 13th double-digit scoring game of the season.)  James Taylor added 14 points, Jonathan Breeland Jr. scored 13 points, Corbett Kimberlin tossed in 11 points, while Daniel Titus chipped in with 10 points.
 
FIRST HALF
Both teams were efficient to start the game as Neosho hit eight of their first 13 shots. The Pirates were 6-of-11 from the field in the same time span. The Panthers took an early 12 points lead while the Pirates never led the game in the first 20 minutes.
 
Panthers were able to start the game with an 8-2 run. But a quick 5 point run by the Pirates would trim the Panthers lead. The Panthers would extend the lead to seven which forced a timeout by the Pirates. After the Panthers would extend the lead to 12 with just 5:27 left in the half but Indy would make a late run to close the gap on their last four possessions. Neosho would then take a 32-31 lead to the locker room.
 
SECOND HALF
Indy began the half with eight points in the first 2:20. But a Corbett Kimberlin three from the corner shaved the Pirate lead to just 1 point with 13:27 remaining in the second half.
 
Indy would get their second-half lead to as much as 13 points but with 7:49 left to play the Panthers would cut the lead to 5 points after a James Taylor layup.
 
The Pirates ended the game by forcing the Panthers into 14 turnovers and converting on 10 of them.
 
NEXT UP
The road doesn't get easier in the Jayhawk East as the Panthers will travel to Arkansas City to face the #6 team in the nation the Cowley County Tigers this Saturday. The tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information, go to www.goneosho.com or follow @GoNeoshoHoops or GoNeosho on Twitter for updates throughout the year.