MIDLAND It wasn’t how the Permian Panthers started, but rather how they ended the game Saturday that was all that mattered.

The Panthers got off to a rough start in the first half, but battled back from an early 10-point deficit to stay within reach of Coppell in the championship game of the Tall City Oilman’s Invitational. Permian then used a dominating fourth-quarter performance for a 58-44 victory over the Cowboys at the Chaparral Center.

“I don’t want us to get down in a ball game like we did today, but I was proud to see us persevere and come back,” Permian head coach Tim Thomas said. “We hadn’t had a game where we’ve had to do that this season. Against a quality team like Coppell, that’s great. Coppell’s a good team. They’re a force to be reckoned with.”

After trailing 16-8 at the end of the first quarter, the Panthers (11-2) worked their way back and stayed right on Coppell’s tail for most of the game.

Trailing 38-36 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Panthers used a 19-6 run to take control.

“I told our guys that we had to go out and win the first four minutes of the fourth quarter and we battled hard on defense,” Thomas said. “I thought we got several stops and were able to make shots. It was two really good teams. They’re really well-coached. I was just proud of our players. They earned this.”

Nakaveion White led the Panthers in scoring, putting up 31 points with 13 coming in the fourth quarter. Shy Stephens-Deary had 14 points and Dreyce Locke had six.

Coppell (11-2) was led by Ryan Agarwal’s 21 points, while Devank Rane and Anthony Black each had six.

“My hat goes off to Permian,” Coppell head coach Clint Schnell said. “They’re a good team. They’re well-coached. They did a good job of exploiting every weakness in our team. We became a team that lives and dies by our outside shot and Permian took that away from us. We couldn’t adjust and they attacked us hard. I wish we could’ve matched up to their intensity.”

The Cowboys got off to a quick start, building a 10-2 lead in the early minutes of the game.

The second quarter didn’t get off to a much better start to the Panthers and it wasn’t long before they found themselves trailing 21-11.

But Permian found some life and used a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to three as the Panthers’ shots started to fall through.

Permian’s new-found momentum saw them down only 25-24 at the half.

Both teams kept it close in the third quarter and Coppell used a 5-0 run to enter the fourth with the lead.

But everything fell apart in the fourth quarter for the Cowboys.

Permian’s Cedric Baty hit a long-range 3-pointer to start the fourth and White followed it up with an inside shot to help Permian jump back in front.

Another Permian 3-pointer followed, this time by White. Seconds later, Baty drove downcourt on a transition for an unguarded layup to extend the Panthers’ lead.

A put-back by Jase Taylor gave Permian a 48-42 lead with 3:32 left and the Panthers continued to defend well as Coppell’s shooting went cold.

The Panthers were to capitalize at the line as Coppell was forced to foul late in the game to help put it away.
