Boys basketball: Panthers get huge victory against Cougars

A little defensive pressure on Friday night may have saved the Permian boys basketball season.

Using a stifling full-court press in the second half vaulted Permian to a 62-43 victory over Abilene Cooper in a District 3-5A game at the Permian Fieldhouse.

The victory moves Permian (7-21 overall, 4-6 district) into sole possession of third place, one-half game ahead of Abilene Cooper (5-21, 3-6) and Odessa High (5-22, 3-6).

“Coach told us to press and work hard and leave it all out there, and we did,” Fabian Lara said. “I think this will help us make a push into the playoffs.”

Lara and point guard Diontae Alford returned after missing three weeks because of academic ineligibility, and their presence was felt immediately.

Lara led Permian in rebounds, while Alford brought a calming presence to the point guard slot that had been missing.

“He was making good decisions,” Permian coach Danny Wright said of Alford. “They say one guy can’t make a difference, but he calms our nerves. I have confidence in him and so do the guys.”

The pair also teamed up to lead Permian’s full-court press that forced three consecutive turnovers to open the second half and turned a 25-23 deficit into a 27-25 lead. Abilene Cooper tied the game at 29-29 with 5:29 left in the third quarter before falling apart.

Permian forced 10 third-quarter turnovers and finished the quarter on a 14-0 run. Lara had four points and Alford had two points in the spurt.

“We just knew what we had to do, and we went out and did it,” Alford said. “The key was just denying the ball in the backcourt.”

Abilene Cooper pulled within 43-31 with 7:40 left in the game, but a layup by Chance Smith and a 3-pointer by Melvis Pride made it 48-31.

“All I said at halftime is that the coach can have the greatest words, the facility can be the best and you can have the greatest ball,” Wright said, “but the players are going to have to make the difference. If you play together, you will win.”

Eric Clark scored 13 points for Permian, while Tyrone Moorer and Smith each had 10 points.

Rashad Barnes scored 10 points for Cooper, while Tommy Bowman had five points and seven rebounds.