FROM STAFF REPORTS

Pelham High School senior Qadash Williams connected on a 12-foot jumper as time expired Nov. 21 to cap a furious rally and give the Panthers a 62-60 victory over B.B. Comer in their opener at the Chelsea Thanksgiving tournament.

The Panthers (3-0) were down 55-40 with just over six minutes to play and trailed by 10 with three minutes left.  Pelham outscored the Tigers 22-5, down the stretch to advance to Tuesday’s semifinal round against host Chelsea at 6:30 p.m.

Kenny Meadows’ 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining on the clock gave the Panthers a 60-58 lead, their first advantage since early in the second quarter.  After Owen Wallace hit from in the lane with 26 seconds left to tie the game at 60-60, Pelham ran the clock down.

Pelham coach Joel Floyd called a timeout with five seconds on the clock to set up a final play.  After the inbounds pass, guard Justin Brooks passed in the lane to Williams who hit the game-winner just before the final buzzer.

“This team seems to have a never say die attitude,” Floyd said of the Panthers, who also rallied from a large deficit in their season opener Nov. 11 to win on the road at John Carroll.  “I’m really pleased to see how they continue to fight throughout the game.”

Floyd wasn’t happy with his team’s energy level for much of Monday’s game against B.B. Comer, but they seemed to shift into another gear as the fourth quarter began. The Panthers trailed Comer by a 46-38 margin entering the final eight minutes of play.

“The guys stepped up their intensity on defense and we finally started moving on offense,” Floyd said.

The Panthers forced the Tigers into 23 turnovers and came away with 13 steals, led by Lacey, who had three.

Brooks paced four double-figures scorers for the Panthers as he finished with 20 points, including four 3-pointers..  Williams and Willie Simpson each tallied 10.  Xavier Lacey added 10 for Pelham.

Owen Wallace led B.B. Comer with 24 points while Kendrick Kirksey added 11.  The Panthers struggled trying to contain Wallace inside the paint as he hit 11-of-14 field goals and also led all rebounders with nine boards.

After hitting just 35 percent from the floor in the first half, Pelham connected on 55 percent (18-of-33) after intermission.  B.B. Comer shot 56 percent for the game.