By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
The Petal High boys got off to a slow start Saturday afternoon and suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of La Crosse Central (Wis.) 78-44 in the championship game of the Signature Series bracket at the City of Palms Classic at Ft. Myers, Fla.
The Red Raiders (7-1) jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, then finished the first quarter on a 5-0 run and led 20-11 after the opening period. Central steadily pulled away in the second quarter, outscoring the Panthers 19-8 to lead at halftime 39-19.
It was more of the same in the third quarter, as the Red Raiders enjoyed a 62-27 lead going into the final period.
La Crosse Central owned a huge advantage on the boards, outrebounding Petal 42-17, including 15 offensive rebounds, to just two for the Panthers. As a result, Central shot 52.8 percent from the field, including 18 of 31 (58.1 percent) in the second half.
Junior Caleb McGill had another excellent game to lead Petal (11-1), scoring 20 points, and Landyn Shows added 17 points.
The Panthers will return to action on Friday, facing St. Andrew’s at the St. Andrew’s Christmas Tournament at Ridgeland. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Petal travels to Pass Christian on Jan. 5 before opening Region 5-6A play at home Jan. 8 against Meridian.
Prep Basketball Summary
Saturday at Ft. Myers, Fla.
City of Palms Classic
Signature Series Championship
BOYS
La Crosse Central (Wis.) 78, Petal 44
Petal 11 8 8 17 – 44
LC Central 20 19 23 16 – 78
PETAL (11-1): Caleb McGill 20, Marcell Blackwell 2, Don Avila 5, Landyn Shows 17. TOTALS – FG 17-45 (3FG 5-10), FT 5-6 (44).
LA CROSSE CENTRAL (7-1): David Hayden 9, Jacob Servais 3, Johnny Davis 18 (9 rebounds), Brecjen Austin 2, Austin Brown 7, Darius Driver 2, Terrance Thompson 4, Jordan Davis 22, Noah Percher 9 (7 rebounds, 7 assists), Clayton Phillips 2. TOTALS – FG 30-57 (3FG 7-20), FT 11-14 (78).
NOTE: Box score and other game information courtesy of @petal_hoops on Twitter.
