The Panthers overcame a 17-point deficit in the first half and pulled off a comeback in their season-opening 84-80 victory Tuesday night at Black Hawk.
"Our play early on put us in that deficit, we had 13 turnovers and 16 teams fouls, and they were 13 of 20 from the free-throw line. It gave us some confidence by playing as bad as about as the half as we could and then it gave us some confidence," said head coach Jon Rush.
The Panthers were led by their southpaw star guard Taaj Davis, who posted a team-high 22 points. Davis connected on three from deep that helped put together the impressive comeback.
"Taaj really kept us in the game in the first half, scored most of his points in that first half, which was huge for us. He transferred schools and didn't get a lot of playing time and he is a very capable talent and he is acclimated, and he will big part in what we do this season," said Rush.
Trailing by only four at the half, it was what led down the stretch of the first half that gave the Panthers much-needed confidence and momentum.
"It was huge down the stretch of that first half. We streamed together getting a few defensive stops. One of the things we preach is to get the kill, which is three consecutive defensive stops. How many kills we can get over a game we ended up and finished with a huge kill to end the half," said Rush.
The stat of the night was what the Panthers accomplished in the final 30:39 game time of regulation. Morton College trailed 27-10 in the first half and it didn't look great at the time with some disappointing turnovers.
However, the Panthers went to work and outscored Black Hawk 74-53 in the final 30:39 of regulation.
"It speaks volumes of the toughness, the mental toughness of our group when our season started and with the coaching change and new staff, the thing I have told the team is that it is life. When adversity comes, it is how we respond to it. Loved the comeback," said Rush.
There were plenty of other highlights in the 84-80 victory. Tubari Stewart had an electric tomahawk slam dunk plus the foul with 6:21 left in regulation. The momentum was all Panthers at that point, but it gave the squad a 71-70 lead.
The team continued to build off their momentum from the end of the first half.
Four scorers posted double-digits, including 14 from Matas Deksnys. The southpaw drilled three from the outside and the length on the defensive end of the court was vital in the victory.
Deksnys was overpursued by the Black Hawk defense with under 90 seconds left in regulation in a tie-ball game. Dishing from the top of the key to guard Manny Rodriguez proved pivotal.
The play of the game had occurred as Rodriguez buried a three with 1:20 left in regulation to give the Panthers an 81-78 lead, which they did not relinquish.
Despite not being able to connect from the outside prior to that three, the Panthers counted on their star-studded backcourt and they came up aces.
"The shot was very important, Manny is a sophomore, leader, and offensive player, he is a guy that we want to stay confident in even when the offensive shooting woes may occur. We have all the confidence in him to take and make those shots and we know has the talents to make those shots, he is a great guy for us," said Rush.
Rodriguez finished with 14 points and the Panthers pulled off the comeback, 84-80. As far as what lies ahead for the Panthers, they will look to continue their momentum on Saturday at Milwaukee Area Technical College
"We like to take this and jump-start from it, last night was where we came out on the top, but didn't necessarily play our best brand of basketball and get back to it on Milwaukee on Saturday," said Rush.
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