which play to run against the defense,” said Leake.

which play to run against the defense,” said Leake.

The Panther coach said his squad had only practiced one play to offset the diamond. He called, it “the move.” By putting a post man on each comer of the box and the big men on the baseline, the offense was designed to produce a two-on-one situation.

Behind 56-48 midway through the final quarter, the Panthers’ new play netted four points, trimming the margin to 56-52. The play continued to work, resulting in buckets from Porter and Doug Smith, but in the final minute Rappahannock couldn’t force the mismatch. This was when Dunn assumed control for the thrilling finale.

After the game, an exhausted Gary Leake said he was glad to see some EMT patches around. “I came real close to needing them tonight,” he joked.

Leake patted his whole team on the back, saying, "They could have easily folded their tents and gone home in the fourth period. It showed a lot of poise and eagerness to come back the way they did.”

Leake felt his team wasn’t very disciplined on offense. “But for four great minutes in the fourth quarter we went back to the fundamentals,” he said. “They are never more important than at this point in the season.”

Friday night, the Panthers were riding high after their come-frombehind win and they were confident they could give the state’s top dog, the Fluvanna Flucos, a war. Coach Leake told reporters that with the momentum they had, the Panthers could capitalize on their size advantage and upset the 'Flucos.

“Who would’ve thought Luther (Bates) would hit all those turnaround 12-footers in the third quarter?” said Leake, assessing the performance of the talented Fluco sophomore after Friday’s 76-70 defeat. “There’s nothing you can do to defend that.” Hitting from the top of the key and the comer, the 6-6 Bates finished with 30 points for the evening and drew the notice of Virginia Cavaliers coach Terry Holland, who watched from the sidelines.

The Panthers struck first with a basket from Danny Ellis and a pair of free throws by Dunn, but trailed 21-15 at the quarter. They outrebounded the Flucos 9-3, but their prowess above the rim was offset by six turnovers to Fluvanna’s one.

In the second period the Panthers looked in control as they outscored the Flucos 22-18. Porter and Smith began claiming territory under the Panthers’ basket and found holes in the Flucos’ pressure defense, and at the half Rappahannock trailed by only two, 39-37. The difference in the first half was from the foul line: Fluvanna was 11 of 16, while the Panthers were a mediocre eight of 16. The Panthers were also hampered by three fouls on their floor general, Julian Groves.

The Panthers were slow out of the gate in the second half, going three minutes before Groves got their first points. By then, they trailed 45-39 and were never really able to get back in the game. More troubles came when Dunn got his third foul at the 4:19 mark.