By JEFF ALLISON / Special to the Reporter

CHELSEA—The No. 6 Pelham Panthers defeated Chelsea 66-34 Friday, Dec. 11 on Hope for Gabe night at Chelsea High School. The Panthers led by eight points at halftime, but outscored Chelsea 34-10 in the second half.

“We struggled again at the beginning of the game,” said Panthers Head coach Joel Floyd. “I was pleased with our effort in the second half. Getting stops on defense makes a world of difference for us. It was nice to see Seth (Torman) finally find his stroke. We really need him to be confident with his shot.”

In the first quarter, Chelsea went on a 9-1 run thanks in part to Aaron Washington scoring five points. The Panthers responded by tying the game after the first quarter. With 4:49 left in the quarter, Alex Reese made a layup to cut the Hornets lead to 9-3. With 4:00 left in the quarter, Mitchell Rottier made a 3-pointer to trim the Chelsea lead to 9-6. A Rottier steal and layup cut the Hornets lead to 9-8. With 1:44 left in the quarter, Justin Allison made a driving layup to cut the Chelsea lead to 14-12. With 45 seconds left to go in the quarter, Rottier made a tip-in to tie the score at 14 all after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Saadiah Bennett made a layup to give Pelham a 16-14 lead with 7:18 left in the quarter. With 5:31 left in the quarter, Cole Whitman made a 15-footer to give Pelham back the lead at 18-17. A lead they would not loose again in the game. With 4:16 left in the half, Reese made a steal and turned it into a dunk and Pelham led 23-17. With 3:12 left in the half, Allison made two free throws and with 2:25 left in the half, Allison came right back on a driving left-handed layup to put the Panthers up 27-21. With 1:57 left in the quarter, Rottier made a layup to give Pelham a 29-22 lead. Allison made two free throws with 18 seconds left in the half to make the halftime score 32-24 Pelham.

In the third quarter, Reese made a 10-footer and free throw to give the Panthers a 35-24 lead with 7:42 left in the quarter. With 6:15 left in the quarter, Reese threw down another dunk from a full court pass from Devon Jenkins. The Panthers led 37-24. With 4:10 left in the quarter, Rottier made a layup and Pelham led 41-26. With 2:27 left in the quarter, Allison made a 3-pointer from the top of the key and the Panthers led 46-29. With 1:05 left in the quarter, Torman hit a three-pointer to give Pelham a 51-29 advantage. With seven seconds left in the quarter, Torman hit another three-pointer to give the Panthers a 54-30 lead after three quarters.

In the final frame of the game, Whitman made a layup to put Pelham up 56-32 with 6:36 left in the game. With 6:07 left to go, Reese made a layup to put Pelham up 58-32. With 3:32 left in the game, Allison made his second 3-pointer of the game and Pelham led 63-33. With 2:36 left to go in the game, Torman made his third 3-pointer to give the Panthers a 66-34 lead.

For Pelham (7-3), Reese led the Panthers with 24 points and eight rebounds. Justin Allison had 15 points, six assists and five rebounds. Rottier had 11 points, four rebounds and three steals. Torman had nine points and six rebounds. Whitman had five points, five rebounds and a steal.

For Chelsea, Washington had 12 points for the Hornets. Mathew Marquet added 11 points for Chelsea.