Odessa, TX – While it was not the outcome Permian expected, the effort was undeniable in the 53-42 Class 6A Bi-District loss to El Paso Franklin on Tuesday night.
The Cougars outscored the Panthers 18-5 in the fourth quarter, which was all Franklin needed to avenge the 2022 and 2023 Bi-District losses to Permian. Tanner Jones led the El Paso visitors in scoring with 21 points. Nine of those came in the fourth period. Hayden Brack finished with 13 points, and Santiago Gaytan had 10.
KJ Miller answered with an impressive 28 points for the Black Cats. Vari Beck added another 10 points in the effort. Support from there was just too limited.
Permian opened the contest crisp and focused, delivering concise blows in the first two quarters. Franklin was able to match the production, leaving the game deadlocked at the end of the first stanza and again at the intermission. At the halfway point, the scoreboard read 22-22 with the Panthers and Cougars feeling pretty good about their chances.
Miller contributed seven of the 11 first quarter points for Permian, and he scored six of Mojo’s 11 points in the second stanza. Beck added seven more in the first 16 minutes. Franklin relied on Gaytan in the first frame and Jones in the second.
The Black Cats asserted themselves in the third quarter and began to buffer an eight point advantage. Midway into the period, the Panthers had the Cougars up against the ropes but it felt like Permian took its foot off of the gas and lost focus. It didn’t help when the rim drew cold on the Mojo end of the court. Unfortunately, the cylinder began to heat up on the other end. Franklin’s Jones donated seven points in the period to cut into the deficit. By quarter’s end, the Cougars trailed by only two points at 37-35.
While the scoring drought continued to plague the Panthers, the Cougars took full advantage and possessed their first lead of the game early in the fourth period. Midway into the final frame, Franklin had built a nine point lead with Permian searching for answers. With under two minutes to play, Miller provided a brief spark to pull the Panthers to within six but it wouldn’t last.
Shots would once again fail to fall for the Black Cats as precious time evaporated off of the clock. There would be no rally, no comeback for the Panthers as Franklin ran out the final seconds. The Cougars had ended the Mojo season and playoff run with the 53-42 decision, and they did it on the Permian Fieldhouse court.
The Panthers end the season with a 20-14 record.
| BY QUARTER | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Franklin | 11 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 53 |
| Permian | 11 | 11 | 15 | 5 | 42 |
El Paso Franklin 53, Odessa Permian 42
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
Franklin: T Jones 21, H Brack 13, S Gaytan 10, D Jones 3, R Ramos 2, O Quinonez 2, S Samaniego 2
Permian: KJ Miller 28, V Beck 10, V Berry 4
FREE THROWS
Franklin (9-11): T Jones 7-9, H Brack 2-2
Permian (11-17): KJ Miller 7-9, V Beck 4-8
THREE POINTERS
Franklin (2): D Jones 1, H Brack 1
Permian (3): KJ Miller 3
FOULS
Franklin (15): T Jones 4, R Ramos 3, S Samaniego 3, S Gaytan 3, H Brack 2
Permian (14): KJ Miller 5, V Beck 4, K McCowen 1, V Berry 1, D Bartlett 1, J Calicutt 1, B Anderson 1
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