RUSSELLVILLE, Mo. - The Prairie Home Panthers boys basketball team took control of the 59-39 win versus the Russellville Indians quickly, as they started the game on a 20-0 run.
Prairie Home made four three-pointers in the first quarter, as they ended the quarter up 22-5. Russellville did not score until there was just under 1:30 left to play in the quarter.
It was the sixth-straight win for the Panthers. Prairie Home head coach Mark McLaughlin said the team is in a nice groove.
"The kids are in a nice groove right now, and we'll turn in practice to the development of depth, working on some technical things we can improve, and keep the train rolling," McLaughlin said.
The Panthers held Russellville to under double digits in the second quarter, as well as they outscored the Indians 19-8 in the quarter to enter halftime with a 41-13 lead. The Panthers made seven three-pointers in the first half.
In the second half, Russellville had more success, scoring the basketball, but were still unable to close the gap with Prairie Home, despite the Indians outscoring the Panthers 26-18 in the second half.
Russellville struggled with turnovers, as they had 18 in the game and shot 5-9 from the free-throw line. Prairie Home had eight turnovers in the game and 3-6 from the free-throw line. Prairie Home led by as much as 29 points in the game but Russellville was able to cut the lead down to 25 points with a minute left to play. The Indians finished the game with a 14-9 run.
Kassen Lock led the way for the Panthers with 18 points and six rebounds. Clayton Pethan scored 12 points and also had six rebounds. And Blaine Petsel had 10 points.
For Russellville, Bryce Mehrhoff had a team-high 11 points and Nikolas Graham scored six.
Prairie Home is now 6-2 on the year, while Russellville is 1-7 on the year.