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Pana boys drop Meridian in OT, 59-57

(PANA) — It took an overtime, but the Pana Panthers boys basketball team knocked off the Meridian Hawks for the second time in a dozen days, 59-57, in the Pana High School gym. The Panthers first win was in the championship game of the Vandalia Holiday Tournament on Dec. 30, 2021, over the number

3 ranked team in Illinois Class 1A basketball.

The game was 50-50 when regulation ended. Seniors Colin Schmitz and Devon Peebles did all the scoring in the OT period to secure the win. Schmitz had 17 points in the game with
5 of then in the overtime and Peebles added 14, 4 in OT, to lead the way.

Brenden Schoonover contributed 11 points with Max Lynch adding 7. Kyle Kuhn chipped in with 6 and Drew Hackler rounded out the scoring with 4 points. Pana might have been able to close out the game in regulation, but they missed 10-of-24 free throw attempts in the game and were 1-of-3 in the overtime. For the Hawks, they made 6-of-9 free throws in the game and were 2-of-3 in the extra session.

The Hawks owned a 26-25 lead at halftime and after three quarters, Meridian had a 40-37 advantage. Pana out-scored the visitors, 13-10, in the final stanza to send the game to OT. Now riding a 14-game winning streak, dating back to Nov. 30, 2021 when they beat Central A & M, the Panthers are 14-1 and have a tough schedule ahead of them. Thursday and Friday are a pair of non-conference tilts, hosting Nokomis and traveling to Carlyle, respectively. Saturday afternoon, the open the

Litchfield Invitational tournament taking on the host Purple Panthers at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 18, they tangle with Taylorville at the tournament.

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