WEST ALEXANDRIA – The Twin Valley South Panthers are ensconced at the top the Cross County Conference and there is a reason for that – multiple weapons on offense and a stout defense.

The visiting Tri-Village Patriots received a full draft of what the Panthers were capable of on Friday night. Despite making some defensive changes, the Patriots could not stop the Panthers from scoring. On offense, they had a rough time maintaining consistent scoring themselves and would fall, 73-35.

The Panthers were raining treys in the first quarter. They would score 24 points and this would be their best quarter of the night. The Patriots adjusted and spread out to put pressure on the wings in the second quarter. South simply began to work the ball inside to the red zone and score close to the basket. At one point the Patriots closed to within 7 points, but South closed out the half in a flurry and built a 39-23 lead.

Things would not get any easier for the Patriots in the second half. South simply found another gear when they came out of the locker room and peeled off a 19-0 run to start the third quarter. That dashed any glimmer of a comeback. The Patriots got rattled and handled the ball sloppily and gave up a lot of turnovers during this stretch which just fed into the run. They were also being limited to just one shot through much of the game, as they were not getting any offensive rebounds so they were also not getting any second-chance shots.

“You have to give credit to South,” said Tri-Village coach Mackenzie Perry after the game. “They ran some good sets on offense and played hard on defense. They deserved the win. But we have to look at ourselves. We need to have a gut check – it starts with me as a coach and when we get together on Monday, we have a week to get this fixed. I know we can do better as a team and we have 10 games to prove it.”

Next up for the Patriots is Tri-County North, who is also in the middle of the conference.

“They are similar to South,” Perry said. “They will spread things out and shoot from the outside, but if you forget about the inside, they have a couple of big players that can score. We will need to account for the Stinson brothers – either of them can be a threat.”

Tri-Village’s Austin Bruner goes in for a score against Twin Valley South on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Austin-Bruner-1-3-1.jpgTri-Village’s Austin Bruner goes in for a score against Twin Valley South on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35. J. Chris Tilton | For The Daily Advocate

Tri-Village’s Darrell Lee jumps up for a score against Twin Valley South on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Darrell-Lee-1-2.jpgTri-Village’s Darrell Lee jumps up for a score against Twin Valley South on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35. J. Chris Tilton | For The Daily Advocate

Tri-Village’s Derek Eyer goes in for a layup against Twin Valley South on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Derek-Eyer-2-1.jpgTri-Village’s Derek Eyer goes in for a layup against Twin Valley South on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35. J. Chris Tilton | For The Daily Advocate

Tri-Village’s Gage Hileman gets away from a Twin Valley South defender in their Cross County Conference battle on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Gage-Hileman-1-2-1.jpgTri-Village’s Gage Hileman gets away from a Twin Valley South defender in their Cross County Conference battle on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35. J. Chris Tilton | For The Daily Advocate

Tri-Village’s Layne Sarver shoots a 3-pointer from the corner against Twin Valley South on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Layne-Sarver-1-3-1.jpgTri-Village’s Layne Sarver shoots a 3-pointer from the corner against Twin Valley South on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35. J. Chris Tilton | For The Daily Advocate

Tri-Village’s Layne Sarver drives around a Twin Valley South defender down along the baseline in their Cross County Conference battle on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Layne-Sarver-2-1-1.jpgTri-Village’s Layne Sarver drives around a Twin Valley South defender down along the baseline in their Cross County Conference battle on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35. J. Chris Tilton | For The Daily Advocate

Tri-Village’s Mason Lay puts up a bank shot against Twin Valley South on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Mason-Lay-1-2-1.jpgTri-Village’s Mason Lay puts up a bank shot against Twin Valley South on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35. J. Chris Tilton | For The Daily Advocate

The Tri-Village varsity cheerleaders kept the visiting Patriots fans pumped up during the game.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Tri-Village-cheerleaders-1-1.jpgThe Tri-Village varsity cheerleaders kept the visiting Patriots fans pumped up during the game. J. Chris Tilton | For The Daily Advocate

The Tri-Village varsity cheerleaders kept the visiting Patriots fans pumped up during the game.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Tri-Village-cheerleaders-3-1.jpgThe Tri-Village varsity cheerleaders kept the visiting Patriots fans pumped up during the game. J. Chris Tilton | For The Daily Advocate

Tri-Village’s Derek Eyer tries to get away from a Twin Valley South defender in their Cross County Conference battle on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35.

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Derek-Eyer-1-3-1.jpgTri-Village’s Derek Eyer tries to get away from a Twin Valley South defender in their Cross County Conference battle on Friday night. The Panthers won the game, 73-35. J. Chris Tilton | For The Daily Advocate