Last Friday, the Duncanville Panthers played a hard fought game against the Desoto Eagles. After trailing by as many as 12 points at a time, Duncanville found their way back into the game each time. Even taking a four point lead before the half.

It was a very physical game as well. Many fouls were called, in the first quarter, guard, Matt McQuaid was sent to the foul line three straight possessions in a row. Both teams were going for each others jaws. It was a very fun game to watch. Although the game started lopsided with Desoto taking an 11-2 lead, guards, Matthew McQuaid and Jalen Harris led the charge and brought the team back and eventually took a 14-11 lead. Throughout the game, it stayed fairly even, neither team jumping ahead by a huge margin.

Coming out of the half, Desoto’s offense exploded while Duncanville’s defense had a little lag to it. Desoto would regain the lead late in the third quarter. From there, Desoto would drive along smoothly. Entering the fourth quarter, Duncanville brought the game back to one point with about 2 minutes left. Then the perimeter defense collapsed and Desoto started making threes. The lead then grew a little too much, too late. Desoto took a 58-52 lead with about thirty five seconds. The game then slowly came to an end. Desoto won the first matchup between these rivals, 60-52.

The next matchup between these two schools will be February 17 in Duncanville. This game will close out the regular season and should be one of the games of the week since the top three spots in district could still be up for grabs in 6-5a at that point. The Panthers will face Mansfield in Mansfield Tuesday.