A slow start in the beginning of the game was the downfall for the Florala High School Wildcats as they lost to the Georgiana High School Panthers 71-59.

The Panthers went on a strong 9-0 streak as until 5:30 left in the first quarter when Mekhi James made a basket.

Georgiana kept increasing their score, going up by 11 points at the end of the first quarter 22-11.

The Wildcats started to get on the board in the second quarter after a couple of layups from Shun White and Rashaad Coleman.

Florala scored 19 points in the second quarter to cut the lead to 37-30 at the half.

White started the half with a layup, but Georgiana replied back with a three pointer to increase their lead to 40-32.

White was on a roll in the third quarter after several layups and free throws. With the help of Coleman, they cut the lead down to 42-37.

It was a close game at the end of the third quarter after James ended the quarter with a layup to make the score 52-49.

The Panthers outscored the Wildcats 19 to 10 in the fourth quarter to help the Panthers seal their victory.

11 of those Panther points in the fourth quarter were from free throws.

Rashaad Coleman lead the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points with White behind him with 17 points.

“We started really slow,” Head coach Troy Turman said. “In the second quarter and third quarter we started playing a lot better, but there are a lot of things that we need to work on.”

Turman said that going into the next game, they will work on being more aggressive.

“We didn’t make plays in the first quarter so we need to start fast,” Turman said. “We also need to be more aggressive and tougher with the ball.”

Despite the loss, Turman said that he is still proud of how the players battled back.

“We are a very young team,” Turman said. “I mean we only have two seniors, so I’m really proud of how they battled back. We just need to learn how to win these big games. I’m not worried though, we will get more experience this season and grow together.”

Florala plays tomorrow at 4:30 p.m., against the Opp Bobcats.