By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
The Petal High boys turned some heads Thursday at the City of Palms Classic at Ft. Myers, Fla., one of the nation’s premier holiday prep basketball tournaments.
The Panthers broke open a close game in the second quarter and cruised to an impressive 78-56 victory over Glens Falls (N.Y.) in the semifinal round of the tournament’s Signature Series bracket.
Petal (11-0) will face La Crosse Central (Wis.) at 3 p.m. Saturday in the championship game. La Crosse Central (6-1) defeated Brunswick (Ga.) 70-57 in the other semifinal game.
The Panthers trailed 17-16 after the first quarter, then took the lead for good early in the second period. Petal outscored the Indians 20-8 over the last five minutes of the first half to lead 42-28 at intermission.
Glens Falls (6-1) closed the margin to eight points, 55-47, after the third quarter, but the Panthers pulled away on a 16-9 run to open the fourth quarter and won going away.
Junior Caleb McGill scored 27 points to lead Petal. Junior Marcell Blackwell added 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, and senior Don Avila scored 18 points, pulled down 8 rebounds and had 7 assists.
Joseph Girard III, who came into the tournament as the nation’s leading scorer with 46 points per game, was held to 22 points for the Indians on 5 of 23 shooting from the field, including just 2 of 14 from 3-point range.
Prep Basketball Summary
City of Palms Classic Signature Series semifinals
Thursday at Ft. Myers, Fla.
BOYS
Petal 78, Glens Falls (N.Y.) 56
Petal 16 26 13 23 – 78
Glens Falls 17 11 19 9 – 56
PETAL (11-0): Caleb McGill 27 (5 steals), Marcell Blackwell 20 (8 rebounds), Anthony Henderson 2, Don Avila 18 (8 rebounds, 7 assists), Landyn Shows 11. TOTALS – FG 29-59 (3FG 4-9), FT 16-24 (78).
GLENS FALLS (6-1): Joseph Girard III 22, Trenton Girard 19, Connor Girard 2, Nick Danahy 4, Kyle Vachon 9 (12 rebounds). TOTALS – FG 19-63 (3FG 6-31), FT 12-17 (58).
NOTE: Box score and other game information courtesy of @petal_hoops on Twitter.
