Eagles fall to Panthers as sectional matchup looms

South Putnam got off to a hot start against visiting Riverton Parke on Tuesday night in boys’ basketball action, but the Panthers rode the hot hand of senior guard Brandon Hazzard to record a 71-60 victory.

The Eagles ended the regular season at 5-18, while Riverton Parke is 11-11 heading into its regular-season finale on Thursday against Clay City.

South Putnam and Riverton Parke will match up again at 6 p.m. next Wednesday in the Southmont Sectional.

The Eagles jumped out to a 17-11 lead with 2:29 left in the first quarter, and increased that margin to 23-14 at the first stop.

South Putnam increased that advantage to as much as 27-17 in the second quarter before Riverton Parke used a 13-2 run to go up 30-29 with 3:07 left in the half.

Riverton Parke had a 20-4 run during the second quarter, with a late South Putnam trey cutting the Panther lead to 37-34 at halftime.

Riverton Parke increased its lead to as much as 44-36 before a 6-0 run by the Eagles cut the deficit back to two points with 2:17 left in the third period.

Hazzard, who finished with 31 points for the winners, hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game in the third period to put Riverton Parke up 49-44 at the final stop.

The Panthers kept raining treys, with Hazzard hitting another one and Pierson Barnes and Hayden Gilstrap also hitting from long range to put the Panthers up 60-48 with 5:52 left.