Pana boys team in Vandalia championship game

(VANDALIA) — The Pana Panthers boys basketball team will play in their 11th finals game of the Vandalia Tournament at 8:00 p.m. Pana made 10-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold off Flora, 50-40 on Wednesday night. Pana went 4-0 in pool play this year.

They will take on Meridian, also 4-0 in pool play in the championship. Meridian had the tournament’s number 1 seed while Pana is number 2.

For the Panthers, they are seeking their first championship since 2015. Pana has been the tournament champions six times.

In Wednesday’s game, Colin Schmitz led all scorers with 19 points and Brenden Schoonover added 16 in the contest. Down the stretch,

Schmitz went to the free throw line8timesandconverted7of them. Schoonover went 4-of- 5 at the charity stripe in the final stanza.

Pana trailed, 10-9 after one period and at halftime, built a 22-14 lead. It was Pana, 31- 21, to start the fourth quarter.

Kyle Kuhn added 8 points with Max Lynch getting a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. Devon Peebles and Drew Hackler each scored 2 points to round out the scoring.

Cole Young led the Wolves in scoring with 13 points.

The Panthers were 12-of- 15 at the line, 80% and Flora made it to the line 5 times with 3 going in for 60%.

Pana is 10-1 overall, riding a 10-game winning streak.