The Norfolk Panthers fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against the Columbus Discoverers on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 74-73 to the Discoverers. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Saturday (68), Norfolk still had to take the loss.
Despite the defeat, Norfolk had strong showings from Chase Swanson, who scored 19 points, and Ethan Synovec, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Swanson has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Easton Sullivan, who scored 13 points.
Luke Messersmith had a dynamite game for Columbus, scoring 21 points along with five assists and three steals. It was the first time this season that Messersmith scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Griffin Micek, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Norfolk's loss was their 23rd straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 6-13. As for Columbus, their win bumped their record up to 6-14.
Norfolk won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Lincoln Southwest at 7:30 p.m. on February 9th. Lincoln Southwest will roll in looking for their fifth straight win, something Norfolk surely won't give up without a fight. As for Columbus, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Lincoln Southeast at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Lincoln Southeast knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past seven matches -- so hopefully Columbus likes a good challenge.
