GORE – The Porter Pirates and Porum Panthers got off to a slow start Friday night only scoring a combined 6 points in the first quarter.
There was a lot of passing and movement but not a lot of shooting, and the majority of the shots that were taken missed the mark. Finally, at 4:40 of the period Mikey Wright of Porum opened the scoring for Porum with a 2-pointer.
As the first half ended Porter had taken a slim 3-point lead 15-12.
After the break the scoring was still slow in the third quarter ending in a 4-point Pirate lead, but the final period became the difference in game. The Panthers got in foul trouble allowing Porter 20 attempts from the charity stripe. As a team they went 17-for-20 accounting for all but 3 of their fourth quarter 20 point total.
Mason Plunk was 8-for-10 from the line and Logan Crain was 7-for-8. Sam Hensley added 2 of his 16 total points from the line to propel the Pirates to the finals on Saturday.
Mikey Wright had 15 points and Isaiah Sallee had 13 for the Panthers.
The Pirates will move on to take on District leading Gore for the District title but the Panthers will have to wait until next season.