The Fannin County Rebels showed hustle and heart last night as they took on the Union County Panthers at home. The Rebels had just come from a win and hoped to carry it over into their non-conference matchup. 

Union started off the game hot as they wasted no time putting points on the board. The Panthers were able to score 19 points before the Rebels put any points on the board. Jordan Bennett was the one to get things started for Fannin as he scored a three-point shot from above the key with 2:55 left on the clock. Landon Norton followed suit as he made a three-point shot of his own to add to Fannin’s score. Norton led Fannin in scoring for the night with 17 points overall, 15 of them being from made three-point shots. The Rebels were able to close the gap and managed to get the score to 20-14 to go into the second quarter. 

Norton started off the quarter with another three-pointer to put Fannin only three points behind Union. Tucker Hanson followed suit as he made a three-point shot to tie up the game 20-20, and contributed 16 points to the Rebels score for the night. The Rebels came to life as they started to make their comeback. When Union scored a layup to take back the lead, Kaeden Twiggs was right there to make one of his own and tie the game back up 22-22. Twiggs showed off his ball-handling skills for the night as he was able to make his way to the basket and put 14 points on the board for Fannin. Norton was able to earn back the lead for the Rebels with two made foul shots to put the score at 24-22. With made three-point shots and free throws, Union was able to take back the lead to go into halftime with a score of 30-28. 

Hanson was the one to get the ball rolling to start the third quarter as he made a foul shot and a layup back to back to put the score at 33-31. Norton showed off his three-point game as he banked one above the key giving Fannin a 34-33 lead. Union answered the call as they made a three-point shot to take back the lead. While they came close, Fannin was unable to take the lead again in the third quarter as Union put the score at 42-40 to go into the fourth. 

Both teams were getting after it and playing their hearts out in hopes of getting a win. Twiggs stepped up and scored three foul shots to put Fannin ahead 43-42. The lead went from team to team until Hanson scored a three-point shot to put Fannin ahead 48-46. Union was able to tie up the game until Twiggs made a layup to give the Rebels the lead once again with a score of 50-48. Despite their best efforts to make a basket, Union was only able to make one foul shot and fell short one point to Fannin’s 50-49 victory. 

The Rebel’s win puts their overall record at 3-4 while their region record remains 1-1. Catch Fannin’s next game on Thursday night as they take on Rabun County at 6:30pm!