The Portal Panthers put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. In a tight game that could have gone either way, they made off with a 51-50 win over Bryan County. Given Portal's advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 15th, while Bryan County is ranked 194th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Elijah Coleman, who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. Those eight rebounds set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Amir Jackson, who scored five points along with 11 rebounds and four steals.
Bryan County's loss came despite strong showings from Elijah Mincey and Justin Beck. Mincey dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Beck scored 17 points. Beck continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Gerbrae'vion Collins, who scored four points along with eight rebounds.
Portal's win was their 14th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-0. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.5 points per game. As for Bryan County, their defeat ended a three-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 3-2.
Portal will head out on the road to face off against Manchester at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Bryan County won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against South Effingham at 5:30 p.m. on December 16th. South Effingham comes in still looking for their first win of the season.
