It was truly a tale of two halves. #10-ranked Banks County owned the first quarter, going up by 15 points against visiting Union County and holding a slim lead after the first quarter on Tuesday in Homer. The second half belonged to the #8-ranked Panthers (16-3; 3-1), as they outscored the #10-ranked Leopards (14-7; 5-1) 48-33, also holding a 15-point lead. The loss for Banks County snapped an 8-game win streak and gave the Leopards their first loss.

An 11-2 Banks County run shocked Union from the opening jump, as Kolby Watson had 7 points early. The Leopard lead was up to 20-6, as Watson had 12 points and Aaron Scott 8 in the first quarter, which ended with a 24-10 score. A Hunter Youngblood shot from downtown early in the second ballooned the lead to 15.

Houston Henry got Union County back in it with a 3-point play. His layup off a steal moments later had the deficit whittled down to 3 at 36-33. A Hayden Hughes trifecta tied the game momentarily at 36, but Banks County held a 38-36 lead going into the half.

From there, it was all Panthers. Union County got another AND 1 from Henry to take its first lead of the game at 44-42. A 9-1 run had the Panthers up 50-43, and they outpaced the Leopards 21-12 in the quarter to take a 58-50 lead into the final period. Caden Watson did nail a buzzer-beating triple to end the third, narrowing the gap to just 8. In the fourth, Union County held off Banks, as the Leopards got within 4 points on a 3-pointer, but the Panthers rallied back to go up by as much as 15 and hold on til the final horn.

Henry led Union County with 27 points, while Jaxon Totherow had 22 and Cade Dockrey 15. Hughes finished with 13, Maddox Young 4, and Jude Ellis 2. Banks County got a 28-point performance by Kolby Watson, who fouled out midway through the fourth. Youngblood had 15, Scott 12, Luke Dale 5, 4 each for Caden Watson and Antonio Gonzalez, and 3 for Dayden Rogers.