Comanche teams lose close games on homecoming

The Comanche basketball teams both came up on the short end of the scoreboard against visiting Amber-Pocasset last Friday night for homecoming.

Both the Panthers and Lady Panthers came into the contest ranked in the top 10 in Class 2A and lived up to their rankings.

Girls

Am-Po 42,

Comanche 40

The Lady Indians, ranked No. 8 in Class 3A, had not been seriously challenged much in more than a month. During their 10-game winning streak, only Marlow finished within single digits.

Comanche looked like they might extend the streak to 11 games in the early going against Am-Po. The Lady Indians hit their first four field goal attempts including three by senior Briannah Keeling to take a 9-0 lead out of the gate.

None of the shots were easy, however, as the Lady Panthers’ tight pressure defense made the Lady Indians work for every point.

Am-Po, ranked No. 6 in Class 2A, though, would start using the three-point line to get back into the game. They would finish the game with seven three-pointers on the night, accounting for half of their points.

Comanche would go on to take a 13-5 lead into the second quarter. A basket by Kenley Lemons to open the second quarter gave Comanche its largest lead of the night at 10. The Lady Panthers’ then began to wake up on offense, outscoring the Lady Indians 13-5 the rest of the way to cut the lead to 20-18 at the half.

Am-Po tied Comanche three different times in the third quarter, but could never take the lead and the game headed into the fourth quarter tied at 31-all.

Am-Po scored the first point of the fourth quarter to take the lead for the first time in the game and they would never give it up.

The Lady Panthers hit two big three pointers in the final two minutes of the game. They led 42-36 with 1:30 to go, but Comanche would not give up and got one more run at Am-Po. Kynli Morris made a basket and Caity Blair made a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 42-40 with 15.3 seconds left. 

The Lady Panthers kept the door open with a missed one-and-one at the free throw line, keeping the Lady Indians within one basket with 11 seconds to go. Comanche got the ball inside, but Keeling’s jumper in the lane at the buzzer came up short and Am-Po escaped with the win.

Scoring

Am-Po (14-3):  Devynn Harris, 20; Teague Muncy, 16; Ainsley McCombs, 5; Kylee Schat, 1

Comanche (14-2): Kenley Lemons, 12; Briannah Keeling, 9; Gracee Miller, 7; Kynli Morris, 5; Caity Blair, 4; Kylie Roden, 3

Boys

Am-Po 43,

Comanche 35

The game featured six lead changes before a third quarter run by the Panthers put them ahead for good.

There were four lead changes in less than four minutes to open the game before Am-Po took an 11-6 lead heading into the second.

The Panthers, ranked 10th in Class 2A, held the lead through most of the second quarter until Comanche rattled off six straight points in the final 1:15 of the quarter as Mason Kulbeth, Jeremy Crisp and Landon Ellis all scored. Ellis’ lay-up with seven seconds left gave the Indians a 19-18 halftime lead.

Kulbeth opened the third with a steal and a lay-up to give Comanche a 21-18 lead, but the lead would not last long. The Panthers’ Jacob Tompkins got hot and hit back-to-back three pointers as part of his eight straight points in less than two minutes to give Am-Po the lead for good. The Panthers would go on to take a 28-23 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Indians could never make a run at the Panthers in the fourth quarter. Kulbeth scored five straight points to cut the lead to 37-33 with 2:48 to go, but the Indians would get no closer. Am-Po would score the next six points to put the game away.

Scoring

Am-Po (14-4): Jacob Tompkins, 17; Kyle Williams, 10; Caiden Thomson, 7; Ian Guthrie, 6; Lawson Braden, 3

Comanche (8-8): Mason Kulbeth, 12; Landon Ellis, 10; Corbin Bowen, 4; Cason Morris, 4; Myles Elllis, 3; Jeremy Crisp, 2