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After a tightly contested first-half, the No. 9 Lanett boys basketball team took control of Friday’s game, blowing out Valley 88-57.

The difference was the third quarter.

Lanett came out of the locker room up five. The Panthers started the second half on a 10-0 run. This wasn’t uncommon, as the Panthers had built double-digit leads in the first half, but the Rams were able to counter with a run of their own. That trend stopped when the buzzer sounded at the end of the second quarter.

Lanett outscored their cross-town rival 17-7 in the eight-minute quarter, taking a 15-point lead into the final quarter.

“We just went away from what was working for us,” Valley head coach Marshon Harper said. “We had a hot man in the first half in Quez Trammell. We should have gone back to him to see if he could carry us a little bit.”

The Panthers did not let up with the lead, continuously growing it until the end of the game.

With 4:30 left in the game, there was a loose ball while the Panthers were on offense. Even though they were already up more than 20 points, different Panthers kept diving onto the ground trying to secure the loose ball.

“That says that we are getting where we want to be around February,” Lanett head coach Richard Carter said. “I don’t care if there is one minute left, if there is a loose ball, we need to get on the floor and get after it.”

Trammell was a big reason that Valley was able to go on several first-half runs. He was able to get inside the lane and fight through contact, scoring several layups with a foul shot after.

Junior guard Kentavious Dozier led the Panthers in scoring with 15 points.

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday. Valley travels to Brewbaker Tech, while Lanett hosts area opponent Notasulga.