BRISTOLVILLE - It was as if the Bristol Panthers could not miss - especially from behind the arc.
Bristol set the tone in the first quarter against the Columbiana Clippers as the Panthers made five 3-pointers.
And that was just the beginning.
Bristol made 12 3-pointers in an 86-53 non-conference victory over Columbiana.
The Panthers started the first quarter with an 8-1 run in the first three minutes. The Panthers' Chad Oliver led the run with five points. Logan Koeth was sizzling from 3-point land in the first quarter, hitting two 3s and scoring six points.
Columbiana's Jake DeJong paced the Clippers in the first quarter, scoring six points. After the successful shooting, Bristol led 21-13 after one.
The second quarter was when Bristol started pulling away. Bristol took the was up, 29-21, when Oliver banked in a 3-pointer to push the Panthers lead 32-21. After the 3-pointer, the Panthers' Zeth Tomasiak stole the ball for a easy lay-in, putting Bristol up 34-21, and forcing Columbiana to call a timeout with 4:40 in the second quarter.
Bristol coach Craig Giesy pointed out that he stresses defense in practice, and that the full-court press is an intrical part of his game plan.
"That's what we work on all the time (full-court press),"?Giesy said. "That's our staple, and we're going to go to it as much as we possibly can."
The Panthers closed out the half leading by 15 as Brandon Lee nailed a fade-away 3-pointer to put Bristol up, 43-28.
Halftime couldn't even cool down the Panhters. They started the third quarter on a 9-0 run, giving them a 49-28 lead with 5:30 left in the third. Columbiana's Austin Miner stopped the run as he made a field goal. The Clippers still trailed 52-30 midway through the third quarter.
Bristol closed out the third on a 16-2 run, leading 68-32 after three. Lee was a key player in the third quarter, scoring 13 points.
"I just felt good today," Lee said. "We had a shootaround before the game, and I was just making shots. I didn't lose confidence. I kept taking it to the hole, I was making my free throws and that led to a good game."
Lee finished with 18 for the Panthers.
Oliver was another essential player during the runs in the third quarter. He finished with a team-high 24 points.
"I got a lot of help from my teammates in order to get open shots." Oliver said. "I also tried to get my drive going, to get to the hole and score."
Bristol was tough to defend on the perimeter as the Panthers made 12 3-pointers. In regards to the amount of 3s taken in the game, Giesy said he is just fine with it.
"Whatever the defense gives us," Giesy said. "They're sitting back in a zone, and we have open shots, we're going to knock them down."
Bristol moves to 6-0 on the season and looks to remain undefeated as it takes on Champion Dec. 29 at Champion.
