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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

PELHAM – The Pelham Panthers built off a strong start to continue their winning ways in a matchup against the Mortimer Jordan Blue Devils.

Pelham defeated Mortimer Jordan by a score of 75-56 on Monday, Dec. 16 at Pelham High School for the Panthers’ second-straight victory.

Pelham’s offense came flying out of the gate with 22 points in the first quarter, including six from Greyson Childress off a pair of 3-pointers, five points from Jacob Gibbs and four points from Trey Pittman from two field goals.

That allowed the Panthers to outpace the Blue Devils and take a 22-14 lead into the second quarter.

The offensive pace slowed down in the second as Smith and Eli Lewis combined for all of Pelham’s 11 points during that span.

Mortimer Jordan used a balanced attack on the other end of the floor to cut the deficit by one by the time halftime rolled around, leaving the Panthers up 33-26 at the break.

The Pelham attack rediscovered its first-quarter form during the third quarter in part because of a resurgence from deep. The Panthers scored five 3-pointers in the third, including two from Pittman to get him into double figures for the day.

Andy Olds scored his first seven points of the game in the third and Smith added five to his total from the first half, helping Pelham extend its lead to 58-38 at the end of the third quarter.

With the Panthers in front by a commanding margin, they were able to fend off the Blue Devils’ best offensive quarter of the game in the fourth as the visitors scored 18 points.

Pelham kept pace with Mortimer Jordan and got 17 points from six different scorers in the final period, including five points from Gibbs and four from Smith, to seal the 19-point victory.

Four Panthers finished the evening in double figures as Smith led the team with 18 points and Olds, Gibbs and Pittman each finished with 10 points. Childress scored eight points and Lewis had seven points in the win.

Pelham will play its final game before the holiday tournament season on Wednesday, Dec. 18 when it will host the Woodlawn Colonels at 7:30 p.m. at Pelham High School.