Photography courtesy of Michael Comstock
In a display of resilience and clutch execution, the Pekin Panthers pulled off back-to-back fourth-quarter comebacks over the weekend, defeating Wapello 64-56 on Friday, January 9th and edging Sigourney 48-45 on Saturday, January 10th. The remarkable aspect: Pekin trailed after the first, second, and third quarters in both games before rallying when it mattered most.
Friday: Pekin 64, Wapello 56
The Panthers faced an upset-minded Wapello team looking to avenge their 54-37 loss from December 2nd. The Indians came out firing, shooting an incredible 15-24 from the field in the first half, including 12-14 from two-point range. Wapello led 17–12 after the first quarter and stretched the margin to its largest at 31–20. Pekin responded with a strong run, and despite Wapello holding a 34–32 halftime lead, the Panthers closed the half on a 12–3 surge, briefly taking their first lead at 32–31 with 45 seconds remaining.
Justyn Faulkner paced Wapello with 11 first-half points, but Pekin’s defense locked him down in the second half, limiting him to just three additional points.
The third quarter remained tight, with Wapello maintaining a 47-43 edge heading into the final period. That’s when the Panthers took over.
Fourth-Quarter Domination
Pekin didn’t grab its first lead of the second half until the 7:00 mark of the fourth quarter at 48-47, sparked by Cole Millikin’s two quick three-pointers to open the period. The Panthers then controlled the final minutes through a combination of clutch shooting, offensive rebounds, and timely steals.
With 3:25 remaining and the Panthers up two, Henry Adam found Nolan Glick under the basket. Glick missed the layup, but Alijah Brock grabbed the offensive rebound and scored to push the lead to 56-52. After a defensive rebound, Brock hit a mid-range jumper to extend the advantage to 58-52.
Following another defensive rebound, Wapello scored on a Pekin turnover to cut it to 58-54. Glick went 1-2 at the free-throw line, and Riley Smith grabbed the offensive rebound. Millikin was fouled on the ensuing shot attempt with 1:55 left but missed both free throws. Adam came up with a crucial steal to maintain possession.
Then came the play of the game. With 1:32 remaining, Smith found himself wide open on the opposite side of the court, unnoticed by Wapello’s defense. He converted an and-one layup and made the free throw to push the lead to 62-54. Remarkably, Wapello didn’t get back to their offensive end from 2:20 to 1:24 on the clock.
The Panthers’ dominance in the fourth quarter was built on offensive rebounds and steals. Pekin outscored Wapello 21-9 in the final period, holding off the Indians as they were forced to foul late with no chance of mounting a comeback.
Statistics
Alijah Brock recorded a double-double with 17 points (11 in the first half) and 13 rebounds (five offensive), adding one assist and two steals on 8-14 shooting. Cole Millikin scored 16 points (10 in the second half), grabbed seven rebounds, dished two assists, and added one steal while going 5-11 from three-point range.
Henry Adam orchestrated the offense with nine points, five rebounds, 12 assists, and an impressive eight steals on 4-7 shooting, almost getting a triple-double with points, assists, and steals. Riley Smith contributed six points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Nolan Glick added five points, six rebounds, one assist, and one block.
Off the bench, Cal Miller was efficient with six points and two rebounds on 3-4 shooting. Carson Comstock chipped in three points and one rebound, and Henry Eubanks added two points and one rebound.
Wapello’s Justyn Faulkner finished with 14 points, five rebounds, nine assists, six steals, and three blocks in a strong all-around effort.
As a team, Pekin shot 26-60 from the field, 8-20 from three-point range, and 4-9 from the free-throw line. The Panthers dominated the glass with 40 rebounds (15 offensive), distributed 18 assists, recorded 13 steals, committed 12 fouls, and had 14 turnovers. Wapello shot 22-48 from the field, 4-14 from three-point range, and 8-17 from the line with 30 rebounds, 18 assists, 12 steals, 13 fouls, and 14 turnovers.
The victory improved Pekin to 7-3 overall and 6-3 in conference play, while Wapello dropped to 2-9 overall and 2-7 in conference play.
Saturday: Pekin 48, Sigourney 45
If Friday’s comeback was impressive, Saturday’s was equally clutch. Once again, Pekin trailed after every quarter except the fourth, this time against Sigourney.
The Savages led 11-8 after the first quarter and held a 21-20 halftime advantage. Sigourney was particularly effective at the free-throw line in the first half, scoring 12 of their 21 first-half points from the charity stripe while going 12-14. Meanwhile, Pekin struggled from the line, missing all three first-half attempts.
Sigourney maintained a 33-32 edge after three quarters, setting up another dramatic fourth-quarter finish.
Down-to-the-Wire Thriller
The game was tied at 40 with three minutes remaining when Nolan Glick broke the deadlock with a layup off an assist from Henry Adam to give Pekin a 42-40 lead with 2:08 left. Sigourney couldn’t score on their next possession.
Millikin missed a shot, and Sigourney rebounded and scored with 1:16 remaining to tie the game at 42. After a Pekin timeout, Millikin came through in the clutch, draining a huge three-pointer to put the Panthers up 45-42 with 54 seconds left.
Sigourney threw the ball out of bounds with 34 seconds remaining, giving Pekin possession. Henry Adam was fouled with 22 seconds left and made 1-2 free throws to create a two-possession game at 46-42.
But Sigourney wasn’t done. The Savages hit a big three-pointer to cut the deficit to 46-45 with 13 seconds remaining. Adam was fouled again with 11 seconds left and made both free throws to push the lead back to 48-45.
After a Sigourney timeout with 7 seconds on the clock, the Savages had one final chance to tie. Pekin’s defense stood tall, preventing Sigourney from getting a wide look at a game-tying three-pointer as the Panthers held on with the defensive rebound for the thrilling 48-45 victory.
Statistics
Henry Adam led the way with 13 points (9 in the second half), one rebound, four assists, and one steal. Nolan Glick posted a massive double-double with 12 points (eight in the second half) and 15 rebounds. Cole Millikin added 10 points, three rebounds, one assist, and two steals, while Alijah Brock recorded his second consecutive double-double with 10 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block.
Riley Smith contributed one rebound, one assist, and one steal. Carson Comstock added three points, two rebounds, and one block off the bench, with Henry Eubanks and Cal Miller also seeing action.
As a team, Pekin shot 20-53 from the field, 3-16 from three-point range, and 5-11 from the free-throw line. The Panthers grabbed 38 rebounds, distributed eight assists, recorded six steals, committed 13 fouls, and had just eight turnovers.
The victory improved Pekin to 8-3, while Sigourney slipped to 6-3.
Coach’s Perspective
Pekin head coach John Swanson was proud of his team’s ability to finish games strong.
“Two great wins this past weekend. Both games we were down at the end of each quarter and found ways to win it in the fourth. Henry Adam with two great performances including a near triple-double on Friday. Alijah Brock with two double-doubles and Nolan Glick with a big double-double on Saturday.”
Looking Ahead
The Panthers will look to continue their winning ways on Tuesday, January 13th when they host WACO. Pekin will be seeking revenge after falling to the Warriors earlier this season. With momentum building and the team showing an ability to win close games, the Panthers appear to be hitting their stride.
