Vincent pulls shocker
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, February 18, 2003
The heavily favored Wicksburg Panthers faced off against Vincent in the Boys '2A Regional game Tuesday night in the day's finale.
However, the self-proclaimed "smallest team in the state" upset the Panthers 55-53 and disappointed the lively Wicksburg crowd.
Surprisingly, the Yellow Jackets dominated inside, forcing the Panthers to take outside shots, which they hit early bringing in the game.
However, the faster Vincent guards moved swiftly past the seemingly giant Panthers forwards and Vincent moved ahead 28-25 at the half.
The crowd would liven up the Panthers as they tied the game at 30, only to see the Yellow Jackets make a 9-1 run to move ahead 41-34 after three.
Wicksburg would again make a run to open the quarter pulling to within one, before Vincent was able to speed up the tempo and take a comfortable lead.
The Panthers made a run late hitting two threes in a row, but Terrance Olds, who scored 10 in the first quarter, stepped up and sank eight key free throws in the closing minutes.
"Terrence and myself spent countless hours alone practicing those shots," Vincent coach Bubba Livingston said.
The extra effort would be extremely beneficial, because it would be those shots from the line that would be the difference.
Vandrell Rivers scored 29 and had 13 boards in a losing effort as the
Panthers ended their season with an outstanding 25-3 record. Vincent, on the
other hand, hopes to simply improve to .500 in their upcoming game against
Calera.