The Pikeville Panthers defeated the previously unbeaten Harlan Green Dragons on Thursday, 76-63, to win the Pikeville Invitational Tournament championship game and exact a bit of revenge.
Ten days prior, the Green Dragons handed the Panthers a 73-61 loss, but the Panthers were able to control most of the contest this time around.
Pikeville (5-2) led 22-19 after the first quarter and used a strong second quarte to take a 42-30 advantage into the locker room at the half. Harlan (9-1) played the Panthers pretty evenly in the second half but could never quite catch up.
Rylee Samons led the way for Pikeville with 29 points. Eli Johnson followed with 22 points. Charlie Fitzer owned the paint with 12 points and 18 rebounds. Josh Hughes registered 5 points. Heath Jarrell recorded 4 points and dished out 9 assists. Ian Onkst also chipped in 4 points.
Harlan was paced by Kyler McClendon’s 23 points in the loss.
The Panthers will next play in the Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic in Gatlinburg, Tenn., on Wednesday.
