Boys basketball: All-around efforts help Panthers knock off Bronchos

Danny Wright has been telling his team to attack.

Attack the basket. Pressure the perimeter.

Play tough.

Warren Clark has been paying attention.

Behind the inside play of Clark, the Permian boys basketball team knocked off Odessa High 54-47 for the Panthers' third straight victory on Tuesday night.

Odessa High (2-14, 1-5 District 2-5A) started the game with a five-guard lineup, but Wright decided to stick with his bigger players.

He didn't want to give up Permian's best advantage.

"Our strength is our rebounding," Wright said. "We're one of the shortest teams in the district, but we're athletic, and because of that we're quicker to the ball."

Clark made sure his coach's decision paid off.

Playing the No. 5 spot in Permian's lineup for the second consecutive game, Clark racked up 13 points, 20 rebounds and two blocks for the Panthers (5-11, 2-4).

"We're a tough team now," Clark said. "I've been trying to put in extra effort on the boards."

With Odessa High playing a five-guard lineup to start the game, the Panthers put their emphasis on shutting down the perimeter.

But the Bronchos started the game playing tough defense, too, and the first quarter ended in a 6-6 tie.

Odessa High focused most of its defensive pressure on Tyrone Moorer, Permian's leading scorer, and the pressure paid off. Moorer only scored seven points.

Nathan Thomas picked up the slack.

Behind the slashing scoring of Thomas, who kept finishing at the rim for a game-high 16 points, Permian reeled off 18 points in the second quarter and grabbed a 26-18 lead at halftime.

"I used to play against my brother, and he's a really big guy," Thomas said. "I had to go strong against him, or he'd knock me to the ground."

After Permian stretched its lead to double-digits with five minutes left in the quarter, the Bronchos came roaring back.

A layup by Jonathan Ormsby pulled the Bronchos within four, 36-32, at the end of the third quarter, and Jeremy Flores made a free throw to cut the lead to three at the beginning of the fourth.

Permian never let the Bronchos get any closer.

"We picked it up in the third quarter, but we were trying to climb out of a hole," Odessa High head coach James Johnson said.

With 1:50 left in the game, Clark grabbed a rebound, led the fast break and handed it off to Thomas for a layup that gave the Panthers a 49-41 lead and sealed the game.

"Tyrone didn't shoot the ball very well tonight," Wright said. "When your leading scorer doesn't shoot the ball well, it takes an effort like Warren picking up 20 rebounds to win the game."