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Cumberland Gap guard Neil Bunch releases a 3 from the corner in front of the Claiborne bench. Bunch made the shot in the second quarter with the Panthers trailing 15-4, he would hit another soon after to spark the offense as they went on to a 62-59 win. (Photos by Jay Compton)

Claiborne’s Drew Epperson scores inside late to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance. He finished with 17 points.

Cumberland Gap’s Gabe Daniels makes an acrobatic drive through the lane to get a shot off during Friday’s game.

Panther center Gavin Barton goes up between Claiborne’s Colton Jones and Kris Ford for two of his12 points in Friday’s 62-59 win.

Claiborne senior guard Cole Holt pulls up to hit a deep 3-pointer during Friday’s game.

The Cumberland Gap Panthers rallied from an early 11-point deficit, then held on down the stretch for a 62-59 home win over Claiborne Friday night.

Kolton Goins finished with 22 points to lead the Panthers while Brady Harris added 13, Gavin Barton 12, Neil Bunch six, Keaton Clawson five and Gabe Daniels four. Kris Ford scored 18 and Drew Epperson 17 for the Bulldogs. Claiborne’s scoring was rounded out by Cole Holt with eight, Colton Jones with six,  Kaden Lovin with five, Chace Robinette with three and Hunter Greer with two.

Claiborne’s JV had pulled out a 53-47 win in Friday’s opening game and the varsity Bulldogs came out looking for a similar result. Ford scored five of his points in the early going and a 3 from Holt put Claiborne up 10-2 with just over 5:00 to play in the first.

Cumberland Gap managed just two baskets in the entire first period, one each by Goins and Barton. An Epperson free throw and a basket from Jones gave the Bulldogs a 13-4 lead after one quarter.

The lead grew to 15-4 after  a basket from Lovin. Bunch got the Panther offense on track with consecutive 3-pointers to cut the lead to 17-10 at the 4:42 mark of the second period. Claibonre stayed in front thanks to two baskets from Ford and two free throws from Greer but a late basket inside from Barton brought Cumberland Gap within 23-18 by the half.

The Panthers scored the first seven points of the third quarter with Clawson giving them their first lead, 25-23 at the 6:25 mark. A 3 from Epperson put the Bulldogs back on top, but Daniels answered at the other end to start a 14-4 spurt that saw Harris and Barton scored six points each for a 39-30 Cumberland Gap lead.

An old fashioned three-point play from Epperson and a basket from Ford made it 39-35 going into the fourth quarter.

A basket from Harris and a 3 from Goins pushed the lead to nine and the Panthers would answer with a big shot whenever Claiborne threatened.

Lovin hit a 3 and Jones hit a jumper to cut the lead to three, then Clawson knocked down a 3 with 5:28 to play to stretch the lead back to six. Baskets from Jones and Ford got the Bulldogs within 51-47 with 2:39 remaining but Goins answered with a 3 to push the lead back to seven.

Goins hit two free throws with 16 seconds to play that gave Cumberland Gap a 60-53 lead. Holt pulled up for a 3, Goins hit two more free throws, then Robinette made a 3 from the corner with one second left that set the final at 62-59. The Panthers were able to inbound the ball and run out the clock.

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