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Pelham honored nine seniors with an 84-65 victory against Stanhope-Elmore on Tuesday, Feb. 1. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

PELHAM – During a night of celebration, Pelham’s offense didn’t get distracted in another jaw-dropping performance that saw the Panthers put 84 points on the board.

Honoring nine seniors on senior night, the Panthers scored 16 or more points in every quarter and 19 or more in three of the four, while 11 players scored in an 84-65 victory against Stanhope-Elmore.

The Panthers trailed by two at the end of the opening quarter, but completely flipped the script from there, outscoring the Mustangs 68-37 over the final three quarters of the game.

Senior Michael Jones led the team in scoring with 25 points, while senior Jordan Holloway scored 10. Kamari Hollis, a junior, added a third double-figure score in the win with 11 points.

Early in the game, however, Pelham looked like a completely different team, starting slow on senior night.

The Mustangs took advantage with laser focus and put together a 16-4 run out of the gate.

Pelham responded with a big 12-2 run to end the quarter, which seemingly flipped the momentum in the Panthers’ favor, but Stanhope responded once again.

Up 18-16 to start the second quarter, the Mustangs jolted out to an 8-0 run in the period.

But again, the Panthers responded—and this time for good.

Pelham ended the opening half on a 19-6 run to completely erase the 10-point deficit and take a 35-32 lead into the half.

Jones was a big reason thanks to 16 points in the first half, but the second half was a more balanced attack, which led to the Panthers pulling away as everyone on the floor caught fire.

In the third quarter, it was a barrage of 3-pointers that made the difference.

The Panthers knocked down four from beyond the arc in addition to four other field goals and a free throw to total 21 points.

Most impressive, however, was the change in defensive pressure.

They still gave up 16 in the third quarter, but the shift on that end of the floor started to become apparent and led to opportunities the other way.

Then, in the final quarter, it led to their best period of the game.

The Panthers closed the night out with 28 points in the fourth quarter on 10 made shots and a 6-7 mark from the free throw line.

That was more than enough to pull away for the 19-point victory in honor of the seniors.

In addition to his 25 points, Jones also had nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

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