The Russellville Panthers faced the Warren East Raiders on Friday. The Raiders were undefeated until Friday when the Panthers beat them 79-64.

The Panthers started the game slow with a small lead of 14-12 after the first quarter. The Raiders ended up taking the lead after the first half leaving the Panthers down one point with a score of 30-31 heading into the second half.

The Panthers came back out on the court and had a strong third quarter scoring 29 points to gain a huge lead of 59-47 going into the final quarter of the game. The Panthers continued to keep the lead and finished the game 79-64 over the Raiders.

Jordan Kennedy led the Panthers ending the game with 24 points. Josh Hampton finished with 15 points and Darrion Quarles ended the game with 14 points.

“We missed a lot of free throws in the first half and only missed one in the second half. We played pretty good defense and rebounded well. We still have too many turnovers, we need to work on taking care of the ball,” said head coach Phil Todd. “They all did an outstanding job and it was a good win to a undefeated team and we needed that win. I hope we can keep this momentum up all season.”

The Panthers have also lost a player for the remainder of the season. Near the end of the game, Zach Hines went up for a lay-up and came down hard, which resulted in a broken and dislocated wrist. Hines will be out for 6-8 weeks.

“He’s going to be missed,” said Todd.

The Panthers will travel to Ohio County this Thursday to face Breckinridge County as the Lady Panthers head to Trigg County to face Lone Oak.