Right out of the gate, it was clear what the Leopards wanted to do against the visting Panthers Tuesday night. A 9-0 run on 3 straight trays set the tone, and Banks County (16-7; 6-2 in 8-AA) won 89-62. Banks County is now riding a 4-game win streak, and avenged its prior loss at Union County (15-8; 6-2).

Two of the first 3 from beyond the arc came from Luke Dale, and Aaron Scott had the other. That sparked a quick timeout for the Panthers to regroup. Banks County ended up with an 11-0 run, and went up 17-1 when Cade White hit back-to-back long range shots as well. It was all part of a first quarter in which the Leopards splashed down 7 times.

Union ended up battling back fairly well in the opening period, clawing back to within 28-21 with help from a buzzer-beater by Eli Underwood. In the second, the teams continued to trade buckets, but Banks County stretched the advantage up to 48-36. The third saw Banks County immediately get hot again from beyond the arc, and the Leopards went up by 29 points before a late surge got the Panthers within 14 going into the final quarter. From there, Banks outscored Union 20-7.

Prior to the fourth, Dale had 18 points, Kolby Watson had 17, Scott tallied 16, and Hunter Youngblood 15. (Fourth quarter points were not yet tallied when we left). The Leopards had 14 3-pointers before we left the game. Union was paced by Underwood’s 18 (prior to the 4th), Cade Dockrey’s 14, and Houston Henry’s 13.