Basketball Recap: Portal Comes Up Short

Portal lost against Statesboro last Friday and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Saturday. The Portal Panthers were beaten by the Statesboro Blue Devils 91-32. The match marked the Panthers' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Zion Lanier

Steals

12/28/24 @ Statesboro	2
12/27/24 vs Appling County	2
12/20/24 vs Statesboro	2
12/17/24 vs Claxton	3
12/14/24 vs New Hampstead	2
12/13/24 @ Jenkins County	2

Several Panthers players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Zion Lanier, who went 5 for 11 on his way to 13 points. Lanier has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last six times he's played. Rasheen Jackson was another key player, putting up five points and three steals.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Statesboro to victory, but perhaps none more so than Ja'Caiden Cone, who went 7 of 12 on his way to 17 points. Another player making a difference was Muhammad Shareef, who went 6 of 8 en route to 13 points and six rebounds.

Portal has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-6 record this season. As for Statesboro, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-1.

Portal wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 45-42 loss against Swainsboro on the 30th. As for Statesboro, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 64-33 win against Jenkins County on the 30th.